Line #5 Main/BasedOnATrueStory


1	A StockPhrase in fictional works of all kinds. Popular, partly because you can get away with more outrageous elements if you say it really happened, and partly because some works [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin happen to be based on true stories]].
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3	Not to be confused with ''Series/BasedOnATrueStory'', the 2022 TV series starring Creator/KaleyCuoco and Creator/ChrisMessina.
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5	[[index]]
6
7	!!Strength of Basis
8	As an illustrative example, we will use the story of [[http://www.snopes.com/luck/declare.asp Donald Sheer finding an original copy of the Declaration of Independence behind a painting bought at a flea market and auctioning it for US$2.42 million]].
9	* {{Documentary}} (and {{Nonfiction}} in general): "A true story", no "based on" -- something like the ''[[{{WebSite/Snopes}} Snopes.com]]'' page above, only told with interviews, StockFootage, and narration. Elements can still possibly be exaggerated via ManipulativeEditing or use re-enactments to visualize him finding the painting.
10	* RomanAClef: A true story, just [[Franchise/{{Dragnet}} with the names changed, to protect the innocent]]. Perhaps you will call the hero "Daniel Light" and write dialogue for the bits which weren't televised, but he'll still just find the Declaration and sell it.
11	* BiographyAClef: The inversion of RomanAClef, where instead of fiction serving as a "key" to real-life events, the real-life of artists is presented with a key via their interactions with the inspirations for their fictional creations.
12	* {{Dramatization}}: Changes are made, but largely for the [[PragmaticAdaptation sake of telling the proper story]] instead of adding drama / conflict to the proceedings. Such changes might make the painting be bought at a yard sale or three seperate appraisers are [[CompositeCharacter merged into one]] specialist to avoid redundancy. The actual term {{Dramatization}} can refer to any of the other types, depending on how it is used.
13	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The idea came from the story, and you can tell it did if you look at the original story, but characters and events are invented, conflated, distorted, etc. From this a plot might be added where the previous owner suing Daniel for a share of the auction money or Daniel has to barricade his house from potential thieves.
14	* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: Purporting to be RomanAClef or [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very Loosely Based]], only the "true story" never existed (for example, if Stan Caffy's garage had burned down before he donated the painting to the thrift store, but you told one of the above anyway).
15	** {{Mockumentary}}: A fiction or parody that takes the form of a genuine {{documentary}}, but unlike a DocumentaryOfLies is not intended to be taken at face-value.
16	** DocumentaryOfLies: Purports to be {{Nonfiction}}, but is [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very Loose]] or BlatantLies.
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18	!!Related Tropes
19	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: A (usually [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory loose]]) adaptation of a story very recently in the public eye for fiction.
20	* PatchedTogetherFromTheHeadlines: An adaptation is clearly inspired by multiple real-life news stories.
21	* InspiredBy and SuggestedBy: Alternatives to the phrase "Based on a True Story" (or "Based on the Novel", or "Based on the Legend", or...) that imply the [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very Loosely]].
22	* DirectLineToTheAuthor: Where the creator pretends that a work of fiction is a "true story" or a {{Dramatisation}}
23	* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: When fans theorise that a work is based on actual events, which are published as fiction.
24	* ThisIsAWorkOfFiction: Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If there ''is'' any such resemblance, it will only be discussed in {{Fanfic}}s, WildMassGuessing and the like.
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26	[[/index]]

Context Main / BasedOnATrueStory