“An Occasionally True Story”: Biofiction, Authenticity and Fictionality in The Great (2020)

Abstract

AbstractContemporary visual and literary culture has seen a proliferation of quasi-biographical texts that blur the lines between fact and fiction and often imply that by subverting or questioning the dominant portrayal of a given historical figure they offer a “true” version that had hitherto been suppressed. These so called “biofictions” (e.g. Netflix series The Crown, or Baz Luhrman’s feature film Elvis) are hybrids of biography and pure conjecture, but despite their essentially fictitious nature, they make claims to authenticity, often implying that the sensationalised versions of the famous lives are the “authentic” ones.This chapter seeks to analyse the recent critically acclaimed television series The Great (season 1: 2020, season 2: 2022), created by Tony McNamara, starring Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, against the backdrop of recent trends in biofiction and costume drama. In particular, the chapter focuses on the interplay between the conventions of historical biofiction and biopic (and in particular of the “queen pic”—a biographical film about a female royal) and the series’ progressive and presentist agenda, and it aims to position the case study of The Great within the broader discussion of attitudes towards the past in modern popular culture.