tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post2162732838993014529..comments2024-03-28T08:43:04.825-04:00Comments on Seduced By History: When a History Teacher Goes to the MoviesSeduced by Historyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15196314920956478724noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-38408015663602122202009-04-14T11:21:00.000-04:002009-04-14T11:21:00.000-04:00I love historical movies and can usually suspend d...I love historical movies and can usually suspend disbelief and enjoy them. Maybe because I wasn't a history major. (I was a psychology major instead.) But inaccuracies do bother me and sort of yank me from the story at times.Nicole Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535088964454920083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-24199457370512082522009-04-14T10:18:00.000-04:002009-04-14T10:18:00.000-04:00Terry, great post. It is very irksome when Hollyw...Terry, great post. It is very irksome when Hollywood changes the way things were. History is rich in and of itself, so I don't know why things need to be changed. <br /><br />I do like Braveheart for its action, but I know it's historical accruacies are not there. I like Pearl Harbor, too, but it's got a lot of things that just scream 'wrong' at me, too. For one thing, in 1942, the military would have kicked out a pregnant, unmarried woman. They certainly would NOT have given her a medal with her fat belly sticking out.<br /><br />Anna KathrynAnna Kathryn Lanierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607469543348819190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-2626531938126264152009-04-14T09:52:00.000-04:002009-04-14T09:52:00.000-04:00I usually don't have a lot of trouble suspending d...I usually don't have a lot of trouble suspending disbelief when I watch historical movies. I'm willing to accept that the movie is never going to be like the book, whether it's modern or historical, so I always try to just see it for what it is...a means of entertainment/relaxation and possibly inspiration...but I rarely look to Hollywood movies/tv shows for research purposes or historical accuracy. <br /><br />That being said, I wanted to throw my soda at the screen during Becoming Jane...the costumes alone got me riled up! <br /><br />Great post! :)Jerricahttp://www.jerricasplace.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-66754123966861678092009-04-14T00:58:00.000-04:002009-04-14T00:58:00.000-04:00I love historical movies, but I too get annoyed wh...I love historical movies, but I too get annoyed when specific details are so obviously wrong. I was just as annoyed as you in <I>Elizabeth</I> when she was soo surprised that Robert Dudley was married, but the filmmakers were completely uninterested in accuracy in that case, so I tried to enjoy the movie for what it was. On the other hand, in some cases, absolute reality can be a bit much (I'm thinking of the HBO miniseries about Queen Elizabeth I with Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons--I SO could have done without the gory executions in that one). I do think it's nice when filmmakers/screenwriters try to stay as close to history as they can, and when they do, I'm happy to forgive them a few details for the sake of the dramatization. Because if they didn't dramatize just a little, odds are that we wouldn't have too many historically based films :-)<br /><br />JenniekeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-44396424056967823122009-04-13T14:18:00.000-04:002009-04-13T14:18:00.000-04:00Kingdom of Heaven? Is that the one where the hero...Kingdom of Heaven? Is that the one where the hero goes from blacksmith to knight without any training?<BR/><BR/>Since I don't have HBO I've avoided making myself miserable by not watching the Tudors --my Master's has a specialization in Tudor and Stuart England.Terry Blainhttp://www.terryblain.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-84027690559853539732009-04-13T13:40:00.000-04:002009-04-13T13:40:00.000-04:00Opps that should have read Margaret was Queen of S...Opps that should have read Margaret was Queen of Scotland not England.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983608069357021786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-82988203941752997582009-04-13T13:38:00.000-04:002009-04-13T13:38:00.000-04:00I agree with you so much about the movie BRAVEHEAR...I agree with you so much about the movie BRAVEHEART, that was criminal not even the history that was sooo wrong but even the production was fake There is a scene after Wallace's father/brother have been murdered and they show a piper playing the great Highland war pipes in the mist, but the sound is really a Irish Uilean pipe which make an entirely different sound. DUMB!!! Am taking a graduate class next fall on Scotland and the biggest attraction is we get to pick apart this movie. <BR/><BR/>The same goes with the small screen as well. A classic example is Showtime's THE TUDORS. They didnt think the public would understand all the Marys in Henry's life ( his lover his daughter, his sister) so they called Henry's younger sister Margaret which was soooo stupid because Margaret, Henry's older sister was married to James IV of Scotland and was Queen of England who was ruling for her son James V. But apparently they thought we couldn't keep all the Marys straight, But the really funny part was the pictures of Richard III on the wall behind Henry, maybe what they call an easter egg, but Richard was defeated by Henry's father at the Battle of Bosworth so why would they have his portrait on the wall. Probably someone's joke. <BR/>Much rather read history than watch it, unless it is a fictionalized account of a happening such as the movie KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, which might have had "real" personas but the protagonists were fictional. Though not perfectly accurate it was pretty good interpretation.Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983608069357021786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-11793690642932343422009-04-13T13:20:00.000-04:002009-04-13T13:20:00.000-04:00I imagine that those who are knowledgeable about t...I imagine that those who are knowledgeable about the Regency and/or Jane Austin are among my fellow 'but it wasn't that way' sufferers.Terry Blainhttp://www.terryblain.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353479285769121899.post-58824351372960861502009-04-13T13:00:00.000-04:002009-04-13T13:00:00.000-04:00I don't often go to the movies anymore but have s...I don't often go to the movies anymore but have seen most of the recent movies and TV programs based ( loosely) on Jane Austen's novels. Most adaptations use the title and character names and forget all else about the book.<BR/>I also sawe this beferoe I stopped going to movies.<BR/>The only other movie I have gone to in decades was Amazing Grace about Wilberforce and the passing of the abolition of Slave trade act. I really had to work to suspend disbelief . Among other historical errors the movie showed Royal Dukes sitting in the House of Commons, Also who influenced whom among the evangelicals and abolitionists was wrong.<BR/>Wilberforce was a man with a crippled twisted delicate body.The contrast of his delicate physique with his strong fight is worthy of honor. Some of that contrast is lost by having Wilberforce played by the virile and dishy Ioan Grufford<BR/>However,Regencyresearcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10828749339318882968noreply@blogger.com