History Main / ArtisticLicense

* AcousticLicense

'''Also see:''

[[/index]]

[[index]]

not on purpose for the sake of the story but simply getting their facts objectively wrong, which is a flaw in the story. There isn't a complete consensus, of course, about which stories are on the right or wrong side of SturgeonsLaw. Another major downside is that this trope often used negatively in an AuthorTract, usually to construct a StrawCharacter or deliver a [[TheWarOnStraw straw argument in favor of, or against, something]].

In a nutshell, the writer is aware that some parts of the show are inaccurate. The history is wrong, or the science is off, or something else. It's easy to assume that the writer didn't bother with research. But they may well have. Often they know that what they are writing is off, and wrote it anyway. Sometimes, it's because [[TheCoconutEffect it's the way it's always been done in show business]], and, even if they themselves know the truth, the audience [[RealityIsUnrealistic still wouldn't believe it otherwise]]. In some cases, the research couldn't be done because information was lacking, so the artist made an educated guess.

However, this is [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools a double-edged sword]]. For the license to work, the story has to be good. A bad story will often look worse for its inaccuracies. There isn't a complete consensus, of course, about which stories are on the right or wrong side of SturgeonsLaw. Another major downside is that this trope often used negatively in an AuthorTract, usually to construct a StrawCharacter or deliver a [[TheWarOnStraw straw argument in favor of, or against, something]].

It's about [[AnthropicPrinciple putting the story first]] -- after all, the most important thing in fiction is telling a good story. Besides, whoever first said "truth is stranger than fiction" didn't know what they were talking about [[note]]It's actually part of a longer quote by Creator/MarkTwain; the full quote is, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."[[/note]]. If some things have to be fudged for the sake of a good story, then they will be fudged. If things have to be sped up to stay interesting, they will be. These are changes to ensure EmotionalTorque.

See also HollywoodStyle (various forms of artistic license), GarnishingTheStory (in that adding to the story is the primary reason for inclusion), ThePowerOfIndex (an element is much stronger than it would realistically be), and RuleOfIndex (where the license is from how cool/funny/scary/etc. something is).

!!Tropes:

[floatboxright:
'''Also see:'''
+ HollywoodStyle

'''Sub-categories:'''
+ ArtisticLicenseArt
+ ArtisticLicenseAwards
+ ArtisticLicenseBiology
++ ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare
++ ArtisticLicenseArachnids
++ ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology
++ ArtisticLicenseOrnithology
++ ArtisticLicensePaleontology
+ ArtisticLicenseCars
+ ArtisticLicenseChemistry
+ ArtisticLicenseEconomics
+ ArtisticLicenseEducation
++ ArtisticLicenseUniversityAdmissions
+ ArtisticLicenseEngineering
+ ArtisticLicenseExplosives
+ ArtisticLicenseFilmProduction
+ ArtisticLicenseGeography
+ ArtisticLicenseGeology
+ ArtisticLicenseGunSafety
+ ArtisticLicenseHistory
+ ArtisticLicenseLaw
++ ArtisticLicenseChildLaborLaws
+ ArtisticLicenseLinguistics
+ ArtisticLicenseMartialArts
+ ArtisticLicenseMedicine
+ ArtisticLicenseMilitary
+ ArtisticLicenseMusic
+ ArtisticLicensePharmacology
+ ArtisticLicensePhysics
++ ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics
+ ArtisticLicensePolitics
+ ArtisticLicenseReligion
++ ArtisticLicenseTraditionalChristianity
+ ArtisticLicenseShips
+ ArtisticLicenseSpace
+ ArtisticLicenseSports
+ ArtisticLicenseStatistics
]

+ SomewhereThisIndexIsCrying

* SocietyMarchesOn

However, this is [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools a double-edged sword]]. For the license to work, the story has to be good. A bad story will often look worse for its inaccuracies. There isn't a complete consensus, of course, about which stories are on the right or wrong side of SturgeonsLaw. Another major downside is that this trope often used negatively in an AuthorTract, usually to construct a StrawCharacter or deliver a [[StrawmanFallacy straw argument in favor of, or against, something]].

+ ArtisticLicenseAstronomy

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shot638.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-"Dear, I don't remember it quite like that."\\
"Mother, it's a ride! It's poetic license! An artful recreation!"\\
"It's a lie."-]]]

''Sub-categories:''

It's about [[AnthropicPrinciple putting the story first]], Administrivia/TropesAreTools and all that.

Telling a good story is what is most important in fiction[[note]] (unless you're [[{{Postmodernism}} PoMo]] in which case storytelling can also take a back seat to playing semiotic language games)[[/note]]. Plus, whoever first said "truth is stranger than fiction" didn't know what they were talking about.[[note]]It's actually the first part of a longer quote by Creator/MarkTwain; the full quote is, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."[[/note]] If some things have to be fudged for the sake of a good story, then they will be fudged. If things have to be sped up to stay interesting, they will be. These are changes to ensure EmotionalTorque.

However, this is a double-edged sword. For the license to work, the story has to be good. A bad story will often look worse for its inaccuracies. There isn't a complete consensus, of course, about which stories are on the right or wrong side of SturgeonsLaw. Another major downside is that this trope often used negatively in an AuthorTract, usually to construct a StrawCharacter or deliver a [[StrawmanFallacy straw argument in favor of, or against, something]].

* ArtMajorBiology

+ ArtisticLicenseIndigenousPeoples

+ ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics

++ ArtisticLicenseOrinthology

+ ArtisticLicensePaleontology

+ ArtisticLicenseTraditionalChristianity

'''Sub-categories:''

+ ArtisticLicenseEducation
++ ArtisticLicenseUniversityAdmissions

'''Sub-categories:'''
+ ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare