Acting vs Lying

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Is that Acting or Lying? "Lying is a thriving vocation," says Susanna Centlivre. There is no way to stop the flow and influence of words, especially when they are taken fully advantage of. Actors and liars are skilled magicians who use the magic of words to weave elaborate illusions to deceive us all. Motive, method and presentation are the main differences that set actors and liars apart from one another It can be agreed upon that actors and liars all wish to form an illusion so good their "audience" can't help but believe every word they say. Their motives, however, are quite different. When actors weave their words into an illusion, they do so in order to entertain. They want the audience to be transported to another time and place. Actors do not wish to harm anyone with their illusions. When liars produce an illusion it is more often, than not, for their own purposes. They may not necessarily wish to harm the person they are lying to, and perhaps only wish is to spare the other person's feelings or avoid conflict. The liar does not want to deal with things head on, and so he spins a web that covers the eyes of his "audience." Actors and liars both use the basic method of words and body language to get their point across to whoever is listening. Liars have to rely solely on the illusion that they themselves can weave without further help. A husband who has lied to his wife about where he was after work has to rely primarily on the confidence that his wife has instilled in him and how far he can push that trust before she begins to doubt him. He'll take her gently by the arm and smile down at her, speaking to her in soothing tones as he spins his deceitful web around her. He'll be careful to come up with a reasonable excuse, and maybe he'll have a receipt from the liquor store to show her that, yes dear, I really was there at precisely, at 8:30 P.M.

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