Blog #1 Ctc History 1301 Essay Example

The films that are discussed in “Re-viewing the Past” have historical inaccuracies. As much as film makers want to depict the actually story correctly, there is always something that they leave out or exaggerate. The inaccuracy described in Black Robe was due to the lack of knowledge coming from the missionaries' letters. The letters claimed that the Indians agreed to the 1,500 mile journey with Laforgue. However, the author is stating that part was inaccurate. In The Crucible the affair between Abigail Williams and John Proctor was exaggerated due to the lack of evidence. It does seem a little outlandish because the real Proctor was 60 years old and Abigail was only 11. The filmmaker just wanted to make a more dramatic effect to the movie. Also, the testimony of the Proctor's were altered to make the adulterous affair seem more legitimate. In the well known movie, The Patriot, the retelling of the war of the south was misrepresented. There was no such person as Benjamin Martin or the infamous burning of the church the movie reenacts. The author talks about the debate on whether or not the movie accurately describes warfare being civilized. There were two movies titled The Alamo in which both reenact the events surrounding the defense of the Alamo. The first movie made shows Crockett stealing cattle and destroying artillery. However, there is no evidence in history detailing his actions. Also, both movies wrongly tell Santa Anna's attack on the Alamo because he didn't truly have the heavy artillery as the movie shows. The last film, Cold Mountain, is not based on any historical events. It is solely for entertainment to describe the emotional turmoil the Civil War caused. Although each movie has inaccuracies overall they each describe the events that happened in each time period.

Most movies are made purely for entertainment although they try to incorporate historical events and places. In some cases these exaggerations may hinder our understanding of what really