Julia and “Julia” - The Show vs. Real Life

[SoMuchTV]

I don’t have anything to contribute at this point but the series is making me want to explore further. I hope folks with more background knowledge will contribute. One thing I’m curious about is Paul’s background. The show is definitely giving off an “if I tell you I’d have to kill you” vibe. I’m inspired to research further but I’d love to hear what others already know. 

[MonicaBWQ]

I have no interest in the character of Alice. She is an entirely fictional character mixed up with a bunch of people who really existed.   I felt similarly,  but in reverse with Lenny Bruce in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I understand the need for sometimes there to be minor composite characters to advance the story. But Alice is a major character for apparently no reason. I am much more interested in how things went, although obviously fictionalized for actual people and real events!

Edited December 7, 2023 by MonicaBWQ

[SoMuchTV]

14 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

This show has only confused the reality of Julia's life with fiction and I have a problem with the way it's doing that, as does the real Russ Morash who famously went on record with his complaints in an interview on PBS entitled "Separating Fact vs. Fiction in the Life of Julia Child".  I get it that the show wants to empower young women by inserting fictional female producers and directors, but that only gives young people the misperception that things were more advanced in the early '60s than they really were.  And I'm not sure that's a good idea.  This show goes to great lengths to get some things historically correct which only makes the deviations from that feel like chalk screeching on a blackboard for those of us that remember the real history.  And no, there were no female directors on Julia's shows.

^^ copying this over from an episode thread, since it looks like it addresses a lot of the questions I have.  It's a YouTube video but there are links to jump to segments that address various things.

[MonicaBWQ]

4 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

^^ copying this over from an episode thread, since it looks like it addresses a lot of the questions I have.  It's a YouTube video but there are links to jump to segments that address various things.

Thank you! I started watching. It’s very interesting. It makes me feel even more strongly about my original statement. The real people and events are interesting enough to draw upon. It wasn’t necessary to invent characters like Alice.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

^^ copying this over from an episode thread, since it looks like it addresses a lot of the questions I have.  It's a YouTube video but there are links to jump to segments that address various things.

 

5 hours ago, MonicaBWQ said:

Thank you! I started watching. It’s very interesting. It makes me feel even more strongly about my original statement. The real people and events are interesting enough to draw upon. It wasn’t necessary to invent characters like Alice.

Don't miss Russ Morash's part starting around minute 26 or so.  He isn't happy with the way he was portrayed as not being initially happy with being asked to work on the show.  He says it was quite the opposite.  Her grand nephew is good but I think he is a little too forgiving of the departure from accuracy probably because he doesn't want to offend anyone.  He excuses the show for "needing drama", but I'm with both of you that there is plenty of drama in the actual facts.  They didn't have to invent plots that made the characters go against the the natures of the people they are based upon.  Everything doesn't have to be completely based in fact, but they've put stuff in there that makes both Julia and her friends and coworkers look quite different than they really were.  In some cases it's very unflattering.  

Listening to Russ's and Alex's recollections of Julia is fascinating.  It's too bad the show didn't consult them for stories they could use on the show.  At least they'd be more realistic.

[peeayebee]

I finally found the time to watch this. Very good and interesting. Thank you for the link.

When they're asked what meal they would prepare for Julia, Alex mentioned the fish in puff pastry. He called it loup de mer (though on the show it was called loup en croute). He relates that Julia and Simca had this in France and went home to replicate it and says, "It's really not that hard," which is certainly not how it was portrayed on the show! I did like when Alex was saying that Julia isn't a documentary. While many of us get irked when we see a movie or TV show that doesn't portray real events accurately, I understand why that happens.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I finally found the time to watch this. Very good and interesting. Thank you for the link.

When they're asked what meal they would prepare for Julia, Alex mentioned the fish in puff pastry. He called it loup de mer (though on the show it was called loup en croute). He relates that Julia and Simca had this in France and went home to replicate it and says, "It's really not that hard," which is certainly not how it was portrayed on the show! I did like when Alex was saying that Julia isn't a documentary. While many of us get irked when we see a movie or TV show that doesn't portray real events accurately, I understand why that happens.

True, it's not a documentary but there are ways to do historical fiction that don't go so far as to offend history.  Plus it usually tackles people and eras that are far enough in the past that most of the people watching wouldn't know any better.  Right now I'm watching "the Gilded Age" and I have to respect the way the writers are handling weaving fictional characters and situations into real history.  That is set further in the past than this and yet it does a better job of it than this show in my opinion.  I just think it takes a lot of nerve to take a beloved person and turn her into something she was not.  I would think the one thing they would try not to alter too much is the character of the person the show is all about.  But I tend to think their view of Julia is skewed because they really don't know that much about her.  This version of her seems to be based on surface impressions, not knowing the real Julia.

[Irlandesa]

On 12/10/2023 at 2:44 PM, MonicaBWQ said:

The real people and events are interesting enough to draw upon. It wasn’t necessary to invent characters like Alice.

 

I think the value of Alice is that you can tell different stories of the times with her than you will with Julia, Paul, Russ, and Avis and the writers wanted to include that perspective.  We probably wouldn't have had a scene like the one we got a the bust stop with Zephyr Wright if we didn't have Alice. 

I don't mind mixing real people, fictionalized real people, and fictionalized characters.  I think it can be a part of developing a narrative and pushing the audience to learn or feel things.  There have been changes that may have made people less flattering, but there have also been changes, or omissions, that hide some aspects of these characters that the audience would likely find offputting. 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Irlandesa