Throughout history, the state of being “true” or “false” has always been a major aspect of any statement, event, belief, or object. Individuals use any or both states to assert an idea, influence, convince or even lead or rule over groups of people. In the modern context, the idea of truth and falsity is used to express ideas about society, especially in the media such as films and literature (Blackburn & Simmons, 2011).
In the recent past, the 2011American animation film “Rango” provides evidence of the controversy between the truth and falsity in the society. In the Dirt community, almost every aspect of life is controlled by some falsehood, which convinces the entire community, denying the members the right to know the truth and free themselves from falsehood.
The idea of truth and falsity has remained an important topic in philosophy. Several theories have been developed to explain “what is the truth” and “what is falsehood or falsity.” Although philosophers have developed diverse schools of thought to explain “truth and falsehood,” it is evident that most philosophers agree that the term “truth” denotes the “conformity between the human mind and an object (Le Morvan, 2008).
If the knowledge of human mind is conformable to a known object, the mind has “logical truth,” which leads to “true judgment” as the true understanding of theory, notion, or fact (Schiffer, 2009). Similarly, if an object is “cognoscible or conformable” to a possible or real knowledge, the mind has some “metaphysical truth” (Tomberlin, 2003).
On the other hand, falsity is the direct opposite of the truth. Negative falsity is the mere absence of truth. According to the principle of bivalence, the two states (truth and false) are exhaustive in a joint manner. Also, they are mutually exclusive options for any statement. Something is either true or false, but not both (Baldwin, 2006).
Directed by Gore Verbinski, the film “Rango” revolves around the life of a lizard named Rango, a false name he uses to hide the truth about his origin, background and the reasoning for coming to the desert town of Dirt. Also, the story revolves around the plight of desert animals at the Dirty Town.
They have to endure drought and continuous absence of piped water because the town mayor, an old and cunning Tortoise, uses falsehood to deny other animals the right to access water to remain under his control. There is a competition between Rango’s falsehood and the Mayor’s falsehood, which eventually reveals the truth, giving the animals a chance to regain their rights to access water.
First, the audience is introduced to the idea of “truth versus falsehood” when Rango, a pet lizard, pretends to be “popular” and “hero,” yet he is encircled in a small glass terrarium by his owner, an unidentified human (Verbinski, 2011). The audience realizes that Rango’s only companion is a pet fish that does not speak.
Secondly, Rango does not know his name. Before the accident, he wonders “who am I,” which makes the audience realize that he has always been a pet in his life (Verbinski, 2011).
Moreover, after the accident that lets Rango off the terrarium, he is given some bits of the truth. Roadkill (Alfred Molina), an armadillo who is seeking for a mysterious spirit named “the spirit of the west” informs Rango that the only solution to the problems facing the animals of the desert is “enlightenment”, which can only be obtained from the mystic spirit of the west (Verbinski, 2011).
Rango also realizes that the desert animals are afraid of the individuals from the west, a mysterious region believed to be the home of heroes and spirits. To ensure that he survives in a strange land and a strange community, Rango uses the truth given by Roadkill to convince the desert animals in Dirt City that he was actually from the west.
He also creates the name “Rango” from “Durango,” a kind of liquor made from cactus juice. To ensure that the other animals accept him at Dirt and recognize his presence, Rango has to use several falsehoods. First, he creates a story to claim that he killed seven Jenkins brothers “with one bullet,” yet the audience knows that he had escaped death in the desert when he was attacked by a red-tailed hawk (Verbinski, 2011).
This false, which looks like a “mysterious truth” to other animals, contributes to Rango’s sudden recognition as a hero. Rango further uses his false and chance to convince the other animals that he was in fact “from the west” and had killed “…seven brothers with one bullet…” (Verbinski, 2011). By chance, he kills the hawk, which had continuously been killing the Dirt animals for food. This further contributes to his promotion from a stranger to the new town sheriff.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the major aspect of falsity versus the truth is seen in the character of the town mayor (Ned Beatty). The mayor is the oldest animal in the city of Dirt. He is powerful and protected by a group of gangs. He also commands the desert rattlesnake named Jake. He seeks Jake’s help whenever there is any form of rebellion against his rule. However, the mayor’s ability to reign over a large community of desert animals is based on a secret.
He has used lies to convince the entire community that water is a scarce resource, yet he has huge resources at his disposal. The audience realizes that the mayor controls a secret valve in the desert, which was once used to supply water to the city. The mayor’s knowledge of the secret of the valve is a major truth that he has been concealing.
He ensures that the other animals gather for a mysterious ritual every Wednesday to worship him in small exchange volumes of water. He further wants to build a modern city with water and other resources, which will only accommodate those who are loyal to him. However, the impact of the truth seems to be stronger than his false.
When Rango arrives, he is aware that the animals are desperately thirsty. He is also aware that the spirit of the west is the only solution to the problem. However, he keeps this knowledge but provokes the mayor saying, “…you control the water and control everything…” (Verbinski, 2011). The audience realizes that the mayor’s secret is known by some few animals, yet they are afraid of his strength.
On the other hand, Rango uses the strength conferred to him by his falsehood about his identity and origin to provoke the mayor. Since both characters are hiding some truth and using falsehood to hold high social positions in the Dirt community, the strengths of their falsehoods seem to fight each other. After realizing that Rango was becoming more popular than him, (and was about to challenge his position and falsehood) the mayor decided to exterminate Rango.
He uses his gang and Jack to humiliate Rango. Rango’s ability to use false to convince the community that he is from the west and has the power to kill seven individuals with one bullet is challenged, and the truth revealed. At this point, the strength of the falsehood held by the mayor overcomes Rango’s falsehood.
Nevertheless, Rango seems determined to convince the community that the mayor’s claims about water shortage are false. He attempts to reach for his old friend the armadillo, but by chance, he finds the spirit of the west. The audience realizes that the character “Spirit of the West” is not special, but a determined individual is searching for some truth. Nevertheless, he seems to be a wise individual who reveals the truth, but in parables. For instance, he tells Rango to return to Dirt and reveal the truth about the mayor’s major secret.
Rango’s meeting with the Spirit of the west is also a major factor that provides evidence of the controversy between the truth and falsity. The truth about the water is revealed. Rango and the armadillo realize that the mayor has been controlling the water flow to the town by shutting up valve number 6, which controls the water supply to Dirt City (Verbinski, 2011). This leads to the fall of the Mayor after Jake kills him. Rango contributes to the return of the water in the dry town.
In this story, the mayor uses lies about the water shortage to gain power and trust among his subjects. He makes the other animals suffer but remain hopeful that the water will come one day. He tells Rango that “you control the water and control everything” (Verbinski, 2011).
He also reveals that truth “animals here remain hopeful that tomorrow will better than today” (Verbinski, 2011). On his part, Rango’s ability to use prior knowledge of the beliefs about the “west” and the spirit makes him a hero, but only after lying that he came from the west and had met the spirit of the west.
In conclusion, this story reveals the reality in most societies. An analysis of this story reveals the question of truth versus falsity in the lives of the members of the Dirt community. It is evident that the story attempts to reflect the lives of people in normal societies. In most cases, governments and sociopolitical leaders attempt to conceal the truth and use lies to convince their subjects that their regimes are justified. In a philosophical perspective, the truth about the state of the water in the Dirt city is an example of “logical truth.”
The film provides the audiences with some facts that the major knows the logical truth. The audience can derive “true judgment” that the state of water supply at Dirty city is based on falsity. It also reveals that the state of Rango’s origin is also falsity. Nevertheless, the opposing forces between these two states of falsity reveal the “logical truth,” which frees the animals from their problems.
References
Baldwin, T. (2006). The Identity Theory of Truth. Mind, 100(3), 35–52
Blackburn, S., & Simmons, K. (2011). Truth. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Le Morvan, P. (2008). Ramsey on Truth and Truth on Ramsey. The British Journal for the History of Philosophy 12(4), 705-718.
Schiffer, S. (2009). The epistemic theory of vagueness. Oxford, UK: Blackwell
Tomberlin, J. (2003). Philosophical Perspectives. Oxford and Boston, MA: Blackwell
Verbinski, G. (Dir.). (2011). Rango [DVD]. Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures.