Catfish vs. TalHotBlond

I've been on a documentary kick lately.  Big time.  Space, history, social constructs, if it's well done, I'll watch it.  Just today, as I'm lying in bed warding off the general yuckiness I've contracted, I watched "Talhotblond."

Now to fully explain my train of thought I need to back up a few years.  When Jon and I were first dating, we caught (what we thought was) an indie horror film at the local Art Theatre.  I had been a big fan of Blair Witch Project as a teenager, at least until I figured out exactly how fake it all was.  I was still intrigued by the premise of a documentary gone wrong, even if it was fake.  I was hoping "Catfish" would be more of the same.  This was probably late 2010.  So we go in, sit down and watch.  "Catfish" takes us on a journey documenting the online relationship between two people who have never met in person.  They eventually decide to meet and things start to get weird.  (This is where Jon and I were hoping a chainsaw wielding psychopath would appear.)  What we find out is that Nev (the narrator) believed he had been talking to a young woman named Megan, when in fact she didn't exist.  Or at least not in the way he thought she did.  "Megan" was a fictionalized personality that another, middle-aged, heavy-set woman had created, seemingly out of boredom.  One of several personalities she had constructed as an escape from her unfulfilling life.  It's an interesting story, but the film has been questioned to it's authenticity...even by Jon and myself as we left the theatre.

Fast forward back to today, when I decided to watch a similar documentary called "Talhotblond"  Which is extremely similar, except that both parties are not who they claim to be and a young man (who is the only honest one amongst the threesome) gets caught up in the middle.  It does not end well for him.  This film...was released in 2009.  Catfish was released merely a year later, in 2010.

Seriously people, all you have to do is watch "Talhotblond" to realize that "Catfish" is about as authentic as the Blair Witch Project.  But far less interesting.  If they were going to copy it, they should've kept more of the original story (that ACTUALLY HAPPENED) because it's far more interesting.

This felt like a big realization for me, so I wanted to share it.  I'll gladly elaborate when I'm feeling back up to speed (came home sick from work today.).  For now, I think it's nap time.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.  Proverbs 10:9