Cinema & TV

Beyond the movie: Lydia Tár is real on the Internet

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Tár, the award-winning movie with Cate Blanchett released in 2022, shocked the spectators so much that many were obsessed with discovering the true story behind it. Surely, the events explained in the film are realistic: the case of a world-renowned orchestra director who abuses her position with favoritism and sexual relationships with her collaborators is definitely something that can happen everywhere (as other movies proved). And the internet didn’t really introduce much more clarity: Lydia Tár is a real presence on the internet, and people were puzzled. How real is she, is she based on someone in particular? Let’s find out.

You can watch the official trailer for Tár here on Youtube.

Tár movie: is Lydia Tár real? Is she based on a true person? Her presence on the Internet

The movie Tár, released in 2022, is entirely fictional. Lydia Tár is not real; she’s just a character in the film. And there is no true story of a female orchestra director who abused her power in real life. Someone was led to relate the movie with Marin Alsop, the world’s best-known female conductor, but nothing in Marin’s true story got anywhere close to the events we see in the movie. Marin even attacked the film, declaring she felt offended by the “many superficial aspects of Tár that seemed to align with my own personal life.”

So no true story and no real Lydia Tár behind the movie. Then why are people so confused? Well, it’s because the fictional character of Lydia Tár took life on the Internet. For example, you can find here her (fictional) official website, born after the movie’s official release. The website contains the bio we hear in the opening scene of the movie, and it also has a page dedicated to her books, with the titles mentioned in the film.

Visit lydiatar.com, Lydia Tár’s fictional official website

To make things more confusing, the website links to what’s supposed to be the official Twitter profile of Lydia Tár. Even in this case, the profile was created in November 2022, after the movie’s release. Although it’s nothing real, Lydia Tár Twitter profile became famous when, in March 2023, it announced her death here. That tweet became viral, with many replies insisting on pretending Lydia really existed. According to that tweet, Lydia Tár died after falling down the steps of the Dolby Theater, which was hosting the night of the Oscars.

Add to all that this weird article on Vulture telling “49 true facts about Lydia Tár” (including her “real name”), and there you understand why people got so confused. Again, let’s make it clear: Lydia Tár is not real; she never existed beyond the movie. But the Internet took all the chances it had to build a fictional presence of her so that everybody could at least have a doubt. At least, the Wikipedia page dedicated to her doesn’t exist, although we see it in the movie.

Published by Carlo Affatigato

Carlo has been a web content creator for over 10 years. He founded Auralcrave in 2015, envisioning it as a new space capable of offering different perspectives on topics that passionate all of us. With a scientific background, Carlo developed an interest in music, cinema, literature, and art at a young age, transforming it into a complementary dimension to his professional growth. For years, he was a music journalist specializing in electronic and dance music, writing for the most important Italian magazines (both online and print). Movies and TV series have been a true obsession in many phases of his life: during university, it was not uncommon for him to set the alarm in the middle of the night to watch classic films airing on TV. With the advent of the Internet, Carlo became a keen observer of web and social phenomena, addressing light topics such as advertising, trends, fashion, and general themes. He is the main author of Auralcrave and personally manages its social media, editorial line, book publication, resource management, and business expansion. A former engineer, life coach, husband, and father, he believes that every area of knowledge has interesting stories that deserve to be told and is convinced that doing so makes the world a better place.