Unreliable Narrators - Why We Love To Be Lied To 

The Take is putting the Gone Girl monologue into every video they can and I’m there for it!

I loved how "Gone Girl" made both Nick and Amy unreliable narrators, in different ways. You may start off rooting for Nick when he protests that he's innocent, until the reveal that he's cheating and Amy's implications in her diary that Nick may have been abusive. Then it's cleverly revealed that Amy orchestrated the entire scheme to implicate Nick, and despite her being totally insane, you're more inclined to root for her over Nick.

We know who is the best unreliavbe narrator in whole media history: -Hey Goob what's up? cool binder -Hey Goob , wanna come over to my house today? "they all hated me"

Ted Moseby is a SOLID example of an unreliable narrator. Despite how clearly incompatible he and Robin were, he strangely insisted that their relationship was some perfect ending to How I Met Your Mother

Unreliable narrators are interesting because you slowly get the "unreliable" part of it, when the protagonist is not good or relatable as they wants you to think and whoever opposes them are painted as antagonists, when actuallt they have good reasons to do so.

I’d argue that ‘Mr Robot’ is the most empathetic view of the “mental illness” plot twist, namely bc the plot doesn’t cast him as the villain all along and end shortly after the twist: the story continues on, and over the course of the next 3 seasons we see Elliot trying to deny and suppress his personalities before eventually realising they’re a part of him that are here to stay; he’s not fractured, but rather they are the pieces that make him whole, and once he makes peace with that he achieves catharsis

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that *poof* he’s gone.” - Verbal Kint

Mr Robot deserves its own video. There’s so much to analyze.

I am surprised that Wanda Vision isn't at least nominated here as an extreme level of manipulating the narrative

I wonder how much of Rue's narration of the other characters is inaccurate

Forest Gump is a prime example of this, he had such a simple approach to life in very dramatic events in history. He became very successful and didn’t think much of it. He viewed Jenny as an angel when she was really damaged and had severe issues.

We don't love being lied to. We love discovering the truth, and being able to claim that we have the ability to do it... because we subconsciously fear that we _do not have that ability._

The first season of The Good Place is an accidental unreliable narration. We knew as much as Eleanor knew, once she figured things out, we had a more balanced view. Then the show had so many plot twists, sometimes I didn’t even know what to believe

Holden Caulfield is the most infamous unreliable narrator ever. He does warn us from the very beginning that he's a Terrific liar, and it's only when he states that he's been telling the entire story from a mental asylum, that you begin to question everything that happened in the story.

The best way to play a character who has no grasp on reality is to be at ease being yourself, because mental illness isn’t always dramatic. The trailer of ‘The Father’ was just brilliant!

Lolita was spot on, I genuinely sympathized with the protagonist for a long time, until I realized I was not understanding the point at all.

This makes me question how much of an unreliable narrator I am and what kind of self-serving world have I made up in my head. I remember I had this conversation with my friend once imagining that, what if one day I just woke up in an asylum or something and everything I knew was just all in my head. Like damnnn...

Aren't we all a bit of unreliable narrators..?

This episode is a Literature teacher's dream 🥰

You guys should talk about Euphoria and how we (as a society) need to empathize more. Everyone talks about it at work, but no one talks about how the cast just made some wrong decisions. I think it would be a great topic.

I have anterograde amnesia, not as severe as Leonard and I must say that Memento is a freaking work of GENIUS!! Christopher Nolan definitely consulted with people who have TBI and Amnesia for the film.

Unreliable narrators are always hit or miss- stories either get them right and knock it out the park, really using the trope to its best potential, or they aren't really unreliable at all except for this one key point that hides the twist

The handmaiden have multiple unreliable narrators...such a treat!

Normally as much as The Take’s videos vaguely intrigue me towards certain movies and shows I haven’t seen before, I typically don’t end up going and watching them. But this one intrigues me enough that I really want to go watch several of these titles right away

'Im thinking of ending things' is a good example of this trope also!

I'm so glad to see you talk about Unbelievable!! It's an amazing show, about women, by women, with a mostly female production team.

The Prestige movie is a great example of an unreliable narrator too, actually two of them. Viewers are still debating about it. Such a great film. Loved this video!

When I watched Shutter Island, that’s the first time I learned not too trust the narrator. The ending shocked me.

I would love a reference list of the films shown/mentioned in your videos in the description. I often have to go back to search for the title of something I find interesting and want to watch.

Sometimes I feel like I am the unreliable narrator of my own life lol 😂

I never realized the parallels between Mr Robot and Fight Club!

The unreliable narrator story is one of the most interesting stories imo. Thanks for putting a spotlight on it.

The reason we keep falling for false narratives is because reality is actually far to much what you make of it and believing a reality that suits your current emotions feels right as it suits the emotions. As a nurse i see this constandly on both sides of the vaccination debates. The moment anyone gets swept in the emotion that connects them to an argument. They believe a side often more because that connects with their feeling of either their fear of something or their hope to avoid a fear

even when used as a gimmick, it really feels comforting to see people like us as the lead role

Saying labyrinth and cutting to Zendaya from Euphoria, genius

Yes! So happy to see that you put Elliot Alderson in the thumbnail! (Especially bc so many of us Mr Robot fans wrote him in on the community page vote!!) Thanks!!!

Another great film you could have referenced that featured an unreliable narrator is a Netflix film called "I'm Thinking Of Ending Things" starring Jesse Plemons and Toni Collette. You think it's about a girl who wants to break up with her boyfriend, but it's way more twisted and disturbing and the ending is way out of left field. I highly recommend it!

Cobra Kai is a good example of perspective and unreliable narrators. Johnny makes Daniel out to be the bad guy in season 1 of the Karate Kid events while Daniel makes himself out to be the same hero he was in the 80s.

y’all the Afterparty is a murder mystery show founded on the premise of unreliable narrators each telling the story of what happened the night of a murder. each episode is a character recounting the nights events from their perspective and it is SO GOOD and such a good example on how who’s telling the story can completely decide how the audience views the story. each characters episode accounts the night in its own genre, one persons version of the night is a horror movie, the others is a romcom, another persons is an action movie, another’s is a musical. and you really see each persons own self obsession warping how the story is told and what even happens. the unreliability comes out in subtle ways, like peoples outfits changing, or what’s said in conversations or how people just generally behave. but the unreliability ofc comes out in bigger ways, like a whole plot point where someone is being chased down and then threatened by an angry guy, when finally shown from another persons perspective we see oh that wasn’t at all what was happening, this guy wasn’t angrily chasing him down over what we thought he was, but was just trying to approach him over something completely different, and when we thought he was threatening him he was literally just yelling the word “Koala” over and over again, not threatening him like the first guy thought he was because the first guy literally couldn’t hear him. entire conversations, motivations, and character personalities change based off who’s telling the story. and of course keeping in mind one of the people telling their story is lying, because one of them is the murderer, so the biggest unreliability is in not knowing who’s lying about the entire thing and why. I cannot recommend this show enough it is so funny and so intriguing i’m so obsessed with finding out whodunnit, seriously i can’t stop thinking about who killed Xavier. each character is so thought out and interesting in their own rights, and each has their own colour scheme to reference Clue characters. this show is hilarious and has so many hidden details and it’s a travesty it’s not more popular. final episode comes out tomorrow on apple tv. if you’re interested in unreliable narrators then this show is definitely one to watch.

"This is The Unreliable Narrator Explained...or is it?" I love this channel

Really good job on NOT putting an ad in this one as you ultimately urge your viewers to be sure to analyze, research, and verify all new information in order to come to their own conclusions unswayed by self-serving narratives. An ad, any ad at all, may have clouded this point. Kudos and thank you. 💕

'Cruel summer' better be in this video. I mean, the whole series is a bunch of unrealiable narrator teens.

Damn this one’s full of spoilers 😂 I decided to keep watching bc "how bad can it be?" and now I’ve spoiled myself quite a few series and movies. I’ll still watch them though, they’re not spoiled, really.

Rashomon is practically a trope in itself. Shows like All in the Family and M*A*S*H had episodes based on its premise.

Amy was so well written and played, I couldn't hate her. Nick was less likable 😂

I literally JUST watched a video yesterday comparing the unreliability of the narrator in the movies Perfect Blue and Momento!

I’m surprised The Last Duel didn’t get a mention here. Unreliable narration is the film’s entire M.O., and because that aspect was so on-the-nose, it worked.

The thing about it being harder to work with unreliable narration in film made me wonder why, and I have two thoughts: 1) the way cameras are used movies always feel like an omnipotent 3erd person perspective, which (correct me if I'm wrong) are never untrustworthy. 2) when we see things in a movie the unreliable event feels more real and therefore harder to distrust

I was waiting for that Gone Girl monologue to pop up, and y’all did not disappoint! I love for it every time!

Would it be possible to get a list of movies/ shows referenced in the description?

Marvel has Moon Knight on the way, and WandaVision took the unreliable narrator and made it a crisis so big the government had to get evolved! It's interesting to see how this is being used in new genres. Anyway, I really need to finish The Affair. And glad to see The Father get mentioned. Really good video, that covered just about all the best examples I could think of and more. 👍

You really had to hold yourself back to not play the gone girl narration bit! (I'm proud of you)

Finally someone talks about Mr Robot

We’ve been so gullible and it’s enough. It’s hard work to find the unvarnished truth.

This is the beauty of fiction: by engaging with unreliability it reveals its existence in the actual (but not always factual) world. I always get frustrated when "fiction" is used as a synonym to "lie," when it is the exact opposite: a way of knowing the truth. Not the only way (there is also science and history). But one very potent and privileged way.

The anime film "Perfect Blue" (which 'inspired' Black Swan) is a brilliant example of the narration switching through multiple possible realities to let the viewer experience the protagonists mental breakdown as she struggles to understand what is real. At times it flips through what the protagonist actually sees, what she believes she sees, what her role as an actress sees and even what may have been a dream - with all this switching the viewer has to keep a fluid view of 'reality' or be sucked into believing a false story only to suffer whiplash as the scene changes.

You should consider making a list in the description box of the movies that you are presenting în this videos! I always feel like I should take notes while watching your content. Maby this will make things easyer for people like me. 😁

I think the most unreliable narrator I've ever seen is the protagonist of Legion. Even though it's an X-men show it's really artistic and between the main character having both schizophrenia and reality altering/mind altering superpowers and the artistic style of the show in general, it can be really hard to understand what's happening in the show because the main character doesn't even know what's happening most of the time but it's beautiful nonetheless. I think it's severely underrated

Take...this is such an interesting direction to take the Euphoria hype! I love this!

I have watched "The usual suspects" so many times, it was the first movie that blew my mind with such an ending!

Brazilian autor Machado de Assis with his book Capitu is the pinacle of the "trust or don't trust in the narrator"

Take a shot every time a Take video shows the "Cool Girl" clip. IS IT EVERY TIME?

I always find it amazing how many examples you include in your video essays, absolutely love your stuff guys ❤️

Surprised there was no mention of ‘The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’ which has a version from each point of view.

Joe in You continually tries to convince the audience that he is "saving" a helpless vixen from harm. After applying the unreliable trope to the premise of the show its hard not to think about the true nature and motive of Beck and others. It makes you really think, "Was Peach as manipulative as she was portrayed", or, "Was Beck as flighty and immature as we came to know her". It would interesting to see the story of You from a different character's perspective because most fans stanning for Joe justify it by the fact that he's ultimately attracted to horrible women that give Joe reason and motive for his unorthodox actions. Just a thought.

Mr robot deserves a video to itself.

“a beautiful mind”

Alias Grace should have been mentioned. Such a great underrated show.

this channel has saved my life. and ty again for giving me something new, i was not aware of the movie anette. im def watching it tomorrow!

The unreliable narrator is really an effective technique to have the audience rooting for a character they would otherwise be quick to distrust or condemn, as they're engaging in questionable if not downright criminal behaviors. In the short British TV series The Drowning, the story's protagonist would be seen as an antagonist without this narrative device. Things would be less confusing in the series Behind her Eyes without this as well. By the time you realize the unreliable nature of these narrators you already care too much about their characters to start viewing them in any objective manner.

Great video and topic, thanks!!

I’m looking forward to Moon Knight for this reason. I enjoy an unreliable narrator story. It’s a psychological mystery for the audience to uncover

LOVED this one! Now I have a list of movies I haven't seen that I simply MUST see!!

So happy you mentioned “The Affair”!

In a visual media, there are no reliable narrators. Everyone has different POVs and if you dare to step into the other side of the coin you can discover something new.

Is there a list of featured films and/or series? I can never remember the ones I want to check out after the video ends 😅

Amazing editing!

Synecdoche New York is an incredible haunting example of the unreliable memory and sense of reality.

The last line of the video, really awesome!

The series finale of I May Destroy You demonstrates this perfectly.

Once again I love y’all’s videos

This Take video was very much needed

Nice work! Thank you!

God, The Father was such a gut-wrenching experience to watch. Definitely a masterpiece of this trope. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes and amaze me every time even though I already know the plot twist.

the take please do more euphoria videos!!!!

I think you should a take on "For the greater good" you can reference the 100, Clarke is a sucker for that, and also Handmaid's tale

Y’all’s finger is on the pulse of society. Love it ladies!

How an "unreliable" narrator wraps us in is how every day people get swept in cults. We expect objective truths from the stories we watch or read when most minds are not objective. Much of our experiences that help us identify with characters are subjective.

Why the spoiler alert for Shutter Island and not for The cabinet of Dr. Caligari?? 😭😭😭😭

One of my very favorite examples of an unreliable narrator (both book and film) is Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived In the Castle.” Particularly in the book, the process of figuring out what may or may not be real via what the narrator, Merricat, tells the reader is very uncertain. Things *feel* off, but you can’t necessarily figure out why. The film, with Taissa Farmiga in the central role (she was fantastic) manages to capture the atmosphere and unfolding reality really well. I’d add to the list One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest too, particularly the book.

yes! finally you are back!

Every single war-movie ever made pretty much has an unreliable narrator, since the director clearly has a POV. There you go - idea for another Take. For that matter you can go through every single genre of movie and find an unreliable narrator...

Mr. Robot video when

Alright. I’m in. I’ve watched 4 straight and have given 4 👍🏽! Very well written and critically composed insights.

Just name the channel Amy Dunne ☺️

This is one of my absolute favorite tropes!

Hi :) Could you please start using spoiler warnings for all mentioned movies? I know a lot of these are older films but a lot of people haven't seen them even though they want to (since nobody has the time to watch every great film out there). It wouldn't take long to put a little wanting before fight club like you did with shutter island. Personally I was too young to watch fight club when it came out but I was planning to watch it this weekend... Oof But thank you for all these videos, I love them!

I definitely had a "wait, what?" moment in that reveal about the matching tattoos.

*"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the next best time is now"* I consider this to be best motivational quote I've heard in a very long time. But motivational quotes are useless if you don't practice what you preach.*

Media Mentioned in the Clip: I may have missed one, so feel free to add to the list The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) American Psycho (2000) Lolita (1962 & 1997) The Usual Suspects (1995) Euphoria (2019- ) Mr Robot (2015-2019) Fight Club (1999) (500) Days of Summer (2009) Secret Window (2004) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Rashomon (1950) The Father (2020) Black Swan (2010) Memento (2000) You (2018- ) The Affair (2014-2019) Annette (2021) Shutter Island (2010) The Morning Show (2019- ) The Story Behind the Anti-Vaxx Movement in America After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020) Gone Girl (2014) Unbelievable (2019) The Sixth Sense (1999) Lars and the Real Girl (2007) The Voices (2014) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) Planet of the Apes (1968) Psycho (1960) A Beautiful Mind (2001) The Machinist (2004) Joker (2019) The Fisher King (1991) Split (2016) Still Alice (2014) The Simpsons (1989- ) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005- ) Big Fish (2003) American Animals (2018) Knives Out (2019) The Handmaiden (2016) How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021- ) Total Recall (1990) A Scanner Darkly (2006) Blade Runner (1982) House of Cards (2013-2018) Dexter (2006-2013) Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Othello (1995) Fleabag (2016-2019) Sex and The City (1998-2004) What If...? (2021- ) Sucker Punch (2011) Atonement (2007) The Great Gatsby (2013) The Girl on the Train (2016) Parasite (2019) Yellowjackets (2021- ) Forest Gump (1994)