Watching Flags of Our Fathers, I noticed that Clint Eastwood appears to have a taste for stories that examine the truth behind the myth. As Flags of Our Fathers spends its 2 plus hours detailing the story behind a photograph, Eastwood's earlier film The Unforgiven spends about 5 minutes revealing the reality behind the myth of living legend English Bob. After receiving a sever beating at the hands of Little Bill Daggett, Bob is further humiliated when Daggett proceeds to tell Bob's biographer the sordid facts behind Bob's alleged triumphs. Perhaps this would carry greater weight, if the film didn't end with Eastwoods character proving that he's every bit the legend that's surrounded him - killing all who've wronged him and setting back housing construction for sheriffs by one life.
The joys of viewing one bio-pic led me to another, The French Connection inspired by the real life drug bust made by Eddie Egan and Sonny "Cloudy" Grosso. Inspired in that Eddie Egan (now Popeye Doyle) didn't shoot a French assassin in the back and didn't chase the B train through Brooklyn with his car; amongst several other liberties. Reality being pushed to the side in order to get the crowd roaring, and to outdo the car chase scene in Bullitt. Cinema looking to pathos as the deciding factor in determining dollar grosses perhaps.
Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman, writer of Maus, mentioned in the Hirsch article, is one of the brains behind the popular bubble gum card series Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages. I've attached a few examples
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