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 I totally understand where you are coming from...

After you watch a movie or read a book that made you feel something really quite profound, it instantly becomes even more impressive if you see "based on a true story" printed on it. I remember feeling this way about the Japanese story of Hachiko. Hachiko was adopted by a professor who would, everyday, get off the train routinely at the same time. And everyday, Hachiko would greet him there. He continued this his entire life, until one day, the professor, due to some sort of ailment, died and never went back to the train station. Despite this, Hachiko continued waiting for nine years every day at the same time for his master. Even though he was adopted by another family, he would often escape and go to the train station precisely at the time that the professor used to come home. Hachiko continued doing this up until the last day of his life, when he collapsed--en route to the train station.  This is a very important story in Japan as it symbolizes intense loyalty and dedication--very important aspects of Japanese culture. 

Looking at that story, there is no doubt that knowing it is a true story makes it even more impressive. I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that when we know it is non-fiction, we suddenly accept it more as our own--it has become an active story to us that has existed in our own world and then it seems much more credible and important. In fiction, however, I have a feeling that we separate it from ourselves much more than we should--we are told to accept another reality (though, truly, this is a very hard thing to actually do) and I think that in turn, this causes us to be more laid-back and view the story as entertainment. I know that when I am reading fiction, I think , "ok, someone else has created this world, they are the ones calling the shots." I am much less likely to be critical of the work or world because what could I possibly know about this person's universe? I was just told a few minutes ago to accept an entirely new reality, i'm not about to make inferences about how every person (or creature) functions or thinks. When it is non-fiction, however, it is in my world..I know how these things work, and certain things impress me because of it.  

In a way, I think it shouldn't matter if it is fiction or non-fiction. It truly is the message you get out of it. With the story of Hachiko, we value it because, as I said earlier, it shows an impressive amount of loyalty, an intangible aspect of the story. I think the problem may actually lie with the reader him/herself. I know that for me personally, if I were perhaps more active and less passive, look for my own meaning (in addition to) in the story rather than just understanding what the author intended us to know, then maybe the difference between the two wouldn't be so stark.