Do people actually know history or just hollywood?

Question

Lately I'm seeing a lot of answering history questions with answers based solely on the movies. Like if a question is asked about passengers aboard the Titanic the night she sank someone will say "Well, there was Jack and Rose..." And it's not just Titanic questions, I've seen other movies brought up in other questions and often fictional elements (or the whole movie itself if there's nothing real in it) will be brought up as if their real.

I do believe that people can learn something from the various historical movies or movies that contain various elements of history. But I also believe that a good historical movie makes you actually want to go out and learn the real history behind the movie (or for that matter a good movie with historical elements in it). Yet itseems like too many are studying Hollywood and expecting absolutely everything in the movies to be true.

Do people actually know real history or are they more apt to believe what's in movies and not even learn history?

Answer 1

hate to break it to you. Humans are dumb. They believe what they see. Even if it's a movie.

I read lots of history books and I must say Hollywood does mess with people. Take Disney's Pocahontas. That is so messed up. The story is completely wrong. What the heck were they thinking? IT would have been much much better to just say this is FICTION and give it a different name. Oh, well can't blame them for trying.

But you've seen the Bride over Kwai, and that movie is wrong wrong wrong. But people think that is how it was.

For laughs you should read history according to college students. It's so funny. IT's completely messed up ideas of history from freshman in college.

Answer 2

Seems to me that Hollywood history tells the truth no more than high school history does.  (Anyone else taught history in high school by a series of inept football coaches/part-time teachers?)  They both tell a narrative and historical narrative is only part of the study of history.  I don't think it is possible to "know" history unless you understand the debates within and around it.  Those, however, are not taught anywhere except high level history courses in university and a number of very excellent books, none of which are assigned in most classes.  In order for the keen student to have any hopes of knowing and understand history, he or she more or less has to strike out on his or her own, at least until they are in their final years of a BA or into an MA even.  So Hollywood might fool those who aren't truly interested, but that's their loss, not ours.  (By ours I mean the historical profession.)

Answer 3

You are right.  Most people have not studied history beyond social studies classes.  The media spoon feeds what it wants...and most people accept it.  Today there are "authoritative" websites (I'm being sarcastic) like wikipedia that often are incorrect

(history is being rewritten.)

Answer 4

History is like the roots of a tree. People only see the tree presently in front of them. They don't see the roots or the seed that created it.

People thruout history survive in the present. People thrive in the present when they know history.