unreliable exposition

Background information or context presented within a narrative that may be false, biased, or misleading — exposition that the reader should question rather than accept at face value.

• (compound critical term)

• unreliable exposition in fiction
• question the exposition
• misleading exposition

1. 1.In "Wuthering Heights," Nelly Dean's exposition about Heathcliff and Catherine is coloured by her own biases and limited perspective — the reader must filter her account. (biased narrative context)
2. 2.Film noir frequently opens with voice-over exposition that later proves partial or false — the audience discovers they've been misled alongside the protagonist. (genre technique)

• misleading context (background that creates false impressions)
• biased framing (presenting information with a slant)

"exposition" from Latin "exponere" (to set forth, to explain) — "ex" (out) + "ponere" (to place) — information placed before the reader that may not be trustworthy