MovieChat Forums > The Temptations (1998) Discussion > Question about David Ruffin's story

Question about David Ruffin's story

posted 11 years ago by mjd_subs2
3 replies | jump to latest

Hi there,

I just watched this movie on YouTube and came here to read comments on it. I read a little bit on Wikipedia as well.

I understand that Hollywood takes "poetic license" when adapting stories for film, but I was a bit surprised that Ruffin's "story" was so different than his actual history.

Does anyone know the reason why he was said to be abused by his mother's pimp in the movie but he supposedly traveled with his family for ministry work according to Wiki? Is the truth somewhere in between?

Also, it was mentioned that his family sued NBC about the depiction of his death and they lost the case and the appeal. Is it because NBC has deep pockets or some other reason? Why depict his death so inaccurately?

Thanks for reading!

"Get busy living, or get busy dying." Andy (The Shawshank Redemption)

[–] b-touch 11 years ago

Ruffin didn't travel very far from Meridian, Mississippi with his family's gospel group: he was adopted by a man named Eddie Bush and traveled further with him and a succession of other gospel singers.

That's the truth according to biographers. I've no idea where the line about the pimp came from in their script.

The Ruffin family lost their lawsuit case because, according ot the court, nothing dePasse Entertainment and NBC did in the production and broadcast of the miniseries violated Michigan law in as far as defamation of character, publicity rights violations, etc. You can read the court decision here: ftp://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.htm/01a0345p-06.htm

It should be pointed out that biographical films and miniseries are works of historical fiction, not documentaries, and far more of what you saw in those four hours than Ruffin's life and death were fictionalized.

[–] mjd_subs2 11 years ago

b-touch, thanks for responding. I guess it bothered me because the edited story is just more "all black people have messed up histories" mindset. It may not look that way and some will just say "get over it" but these social stereotypes are just ridiculous and getting tiresome. I'm not suggesting he was an "angel" by any means, but it disproportionally portrayed by the media.

I am aware that it's not a documentary. To me, that's irrelevant because the rewritten story only exemplifies this institituionalized racism mentioned above. It could have been rewritten in various ways without demeaning the experience of those whose story it was trying to tell.

"Get busy living, or get busy dying." Andy (The Shawshank Redemption)

[–] jefgg 10 years ago

I also wondered about that. David Ruffin's mother died shortly after his birth. Ruffin's father remarried shortly afterward. Ruffin, along with his other siblings traveled with their father and their stepmother as a family gospel group, opening shows for Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, among others. So what David said in the movie was inaccurate or he was a pathological liar.