If I bought a dvd about an important name in history e.g. Hitler, Einstein, could I trust the information?

Question

to be true/accurate, are books usually fact checked as well?

Answer 1

depends i guess...

Answer 2

Someone who is seeking the truth about any given subject, would never just settle for the information on a DVD. You have to investigate and surround yourself with as much information as you can so you can eliminate the falshoods and decern fact from fiction. The truth seems to rise to the surface if you have lots of information to go through while the least important and usless information, true or not, finds its way to the bottom of the list. Most books are fact-checked for authenticity. Especially history books. A book like that is only as good as the investigation for the truth was. That is why a full well-rounded study of any subject is needed.  When it comes to DVDs, I am sure there was a certain amount of fact-checking, but in that regard; Sales may be the most important issue, i.e: how many units can be sold. So the thing about informative DVDs would be the respectability of the company producing it.

Answer 3

The first thing I was told at University studying History was that all published material, whether literature or television cannot be trusted entirely.

This is not to say that it is fake but that any published material is influenced by the person who wrote it. This means that you should always look at an article as biased to some extent.

The article may be factually true, such as Hitler's birthday for example but many of the portrayals of other aspects will be partly biased towards the authors point of view. It cannot be helped.

The best thing to do is watch a number of programs by different producers and then decide for yourself as to what you believe is the best interpretation.

Answer 4

It depends on who makes it. As far as DVDs go, National Geographic, History Channel, Hint, Bio Channel, and Discovery are all reliable. Whatever you do, don't use Wikipedia. While it sometimes has good info, it can be edited by any Joe Schmo...so it can't really be trusted.

Answer 5

No, I don't believe so.  Historians seem to have a tendency to slant data that will support their presentations.  So, to reduce your stress, just make your own decision about how you perceive the history of the person.

Answer 6

we cannot actually say that it's accurate, but you don't have any easier resource to come up with. ^_^

Answer 7

As movies, they are not truly accurate.

If you mean documentaries, these are usually fact checked.

Answer 8

It depends on whether it's a factual film/documentary or a drama based on the life of..... For the latter, directors are usually torn between fact and presenting a gripping storyline.  It is down to the director and scriptwriter how much artistic license they use.  

Books, if they are written about a certain person and their life, usually source their information from accounts of the time, quotes, other books, historical references etc.  A book that says "Adolf Hitler was a lovely man with red curly hair who was born in Australia, and spent his years farming sheep in the outback" is likely to have a hard time getting published!  If you wanted to publish a book about Hitler, you'd have to be able to support your evidence.  Books are based on the facts they have.

If the person is dead, then it's going to be hard for them to refute information about them.  And there are facts which are widely accepted as fact.

If you're after a film about Hitler, I'd really recommend 'Downfall' (it's in German with English subtitles) which is based on the first hand account of Frau Junge who was in the bunker with Hitler in the weeks running up to the end of WW2.    She got out alive, and was able to tell her story.