Spinning tales : an investigation of illusion and belief

Abstract

Can I convince people that a well-known folktale is historic fact? In theater, we as designers extend an invitation for the audience to suspend their disbelief in what they know to be unreal. A well-constructed illusion holds high market value in the entertainment industry and is often applied to manipulating the beliefs (and even actions) of people through advertising and propaganda. Museums hold significant power as guardians of knowledge and history, but what reinforces this perception? If governments, ad agencies, and museums can manipulate belief in this way, this same power can be harnessed to construct convincing illusions for entertainment experiences. By staging the folktale of Rumpelstiltskin within the framework of a historical museum exhibit, theatrical props may be transformed into historical documents. Using elements that audiences already perceive in relation to “fact” may inspire an audience to willingly partake in the illusion and doubt the reality, if only for a moment