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The number of people who think they're learning history by watching (or reading) historical fiction is disturbing. I don't blame filmmakers (or authors). They're entertaining, and those who can't understand that a dramatization is not the same as a documentary has no one but themselves to blame.
But they should know better.
I love The Lion in Winter. And I'm smart enough to know it's entertainment, not history.
The number of people who think they're learning history by watching (or reading) historical fiction is disturbing. I don't blame filmmakers (or authors). They're entertaining, and those who can't understand that a dramatization is not the same as a documentary has no one but themselves to blame.
But they should know better.
I love The Lion in Winter. And I'm smart enough to know it's entertainment, not history.
There have been some films which strove for historical accuracy and achieved it to one degree or another. "Tora Tora Tora" springs to mind as a movie as close to a documentary as there is. "Nicholas and Alexandria", and "A Bridge Too Far" , though containing some imagined dialogues and composite characters, also stuck to the facts.
The 1970 "Charge of the Light Brigade" also was like the previous two mentioned, but the Errol Flynn "Charge of the Light Brigade" is utter hooey. Flynn also starred in "They Died With Their Boots On" which mangles the story of George Custer and tries to make the blunder at Little Bighorn into a deliberate sacrifice by Custer to save others. "Far Horizons" which was supposed to be the Lewis and Clark story was stupidly filled with non existent romance and battles.
The Billy Bob Thornton "Alamo" had fictionalized elements, but was mostly accurate, while the John Wayne version was an assault on the facts.
And of course there was "Pearl Harbor" where the Japanese plan of attack was to send 350 planes, 150 of which were assigned to bomb the ships, and the other 200 were assigned to follow Ben Affleck and Hartnett wherever they went and try to kill them.
And of course there was "Pearl Harbor" where the Japanese plan of attack was to send 350 planes, 150 of which were assigned to bomb the ships, and the other 200 were assigned to follow Ben Affleck and Hartnett wherever they went and try to kill them.
Next you're going to tell me their characters weren't on the Doolittle Raid.
OP, the schools I attended didn't teach medieval history or ancient history. I'm not alone in that, I know. Where did you acquire your knowledge of that material: in school, or through reading on your own? My high school offered a European history course, but it was an elective. We did get a lot of Greek and Roman mythology in 5th and 6th grade, but no history.
I'm curious; why do you consider that material to be important?
OP, the schools I attended didn't teach medieval history or ancient history. I'm not alone in that, I know. Where did you acquire your knowledge of that material: in school, or through reading on your own? My high school offered a European history course, but it was an elective. We did get a lot of Greek and Roman mythology in 5th and 6th grade, but no history.
I'm curious; why do you consider that material to be important?
I think mostly from history magazines and the like.
If you don't mind me asking--what High school was this? I went to one in the area as well.
Cherry Hill High East, the new high school. My cohort was the second class to enter. When I was in ninth grade there, there were only ninth and tenth graders in the school- no older kids than that. I do think it added to a very accomplished group of graduates, since the "young" kids were always in charge and there were no older kids around. CHHE, class of 1971 here.
I think mostly from history magazines and the like.
I have some ancestry from the UK and such.
OK, so you read about these topics out of your own personal interest. Is there a reason why you expect others to share your interests? Your thread title sounds as though you're disappointed or puzzled that most people aren't knowledgeable in what are relatively esoteric interests, so it sounds like you had an expectation, that people would educate themselves on those topics.
That's an odd expectation to have. Sure, there are history buffs out there, but they don't typically expect most people to be interested in the same corners of history they're interested in (or in any history).
People interested in history should read "Sarum", which is the story of England from 10,000 years ago.
Or read "Pillars of The Earth"l, set in Europe, in the 12th century.
They are bother well researched fiction revolving around events that are well documented. It's a wonderful way to learn history from a layman's point of view.
Pillars of the Earth was one of my favorite books!
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