Wolf Man Addendum: Wikipedia and interpretive authority

The beauty about fiction is that all our experiences are different. Our life influences how we view and interpret a piece of media and it can be so joyful to discuss these interpretations. 

Sometimes when I go to Wikipedia to check something about a movie or a book, I will be confronted with an interpretation that is quite different than mine. And that's generally not an issue. Despite what I might joke about from time to time, I do not actually believe my opinions are the only correct ones. However, because these interpretations on Wikipedia usually aren't presented as such and are instead, for example, part of the plot synopsis on the same site that lists facts about the movie like its director or year of release, that makes it seem like a fact as well. 

 For example: In the plot summary of Wolf Man (2025) it says "like his now-estranged father, he [Blake] struggles to control his temper when he senses Ginger is in trouble", which makes it sound like he has anger issues that are in line with his own father. Especially considering the next part of the sentence talks about his wife's growing sense of alienation from her family, a problem that marks her character throughout the movie. I viewed - and therefore described to you - the scene with his daughter differently. Yes, it parallels Blake and his daughter with earlier scenes of Blake and his father but - in my opinion - not to show how they are similar but instead how they are different. Instead of treating her harshly in general, Blake just yells out when he thinks she might get hurt. As is reasonable I think. And instead of more anger and blame, he is the one to apologize to her and get on her level to explain. To me, this is an early sign of how Blake managed to break the cycle and not how he is like his father. 

Maybe this seems nitpicky to you - and admittedly, it isn't that important in this instance - but it is just the most recent example of a phenomenon I've come across many times in the past. 

And sure, I, too, don't constantly add "in my opinion" or "I believe" to sentences I write but on personal blogs you can expect the audience to understand that. People don't go to Wikipedia for opinions. 

 I feel similar about some of those "XY ending explained" videos or articles. Because while they sometimes do just explain references or symbols or similar you might have missed, sometimes they do in fact present and interpretation of a purposefully ambiguous ending as the one true and correct one. 

All in all, it is not a major problem in the grand scheme of things, especially considering the stresses fiction is under, but I want to remind everybody that while some interpretations might be more valid than others (and some interpretations are plain wrong), just because it's written down on Wikipedia or presented by a YouTuber as the truth doesn't mean it isn't merely one of many interpretations.