Parnian Esmaeilishayeh (12) | STAFF REPORTER
Your favourite historical movie might be lying to you — but how far does the fiction go?
Numerous media are presented based on real historical events. These pieces range from movies, books, and shows to many other forms. However, these pieces frequently include blends of fiction, sacrificing accuracy for entertainment. Factors that could cause these inaccuracies include government interference, cultural bias, or lack of information.
Governments, particularly those of more restrictive countries, wield significant power over the media and what is presented to the public. This display of authority in the media is frequently practiced by governments to “maintain order” and capture control over the public’s bias. In response to these restrictions, media creators, like authors and directors, have to shape their media output to what is deemed viewable by their governments to ensure its success.
An example of such restriction is seen in Iran. In Iran, if a source of media advocates against the government, it will either get heavily censored or it will never be released. As an article by Shohini Chaudhuri states, “Cinema is regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (MCIG) […] At each stage they can be asked to make changes or otherwise risk censorship” (Chaudhuri). Complying to the regulations, media producers restrict themselves to support government perspectives and, therefore, might “rewrite history.”
The restrictions from the Iranian government can be seen in movies about the revolution that took place in 1979. During this revolution, the king and monarchy of Iran were replaced with the current democratic government. Currently, movies cannot depict the king with high regard as it can damage the reputation of the current government in comparison. This media control can lead to many historical movies exaggerating or overlooking significant historical events, leading to misinformation.
Cultural biases can shape our perception of past events. These biases can prompt selective storytelling, where the creator highlights some events while downplaying others based on their or the audience’s cultural bias. Another form of influence cultural bias can have is rewriting historical characters to fit modern values to make them acceptable to society, thus reshaping history to conform to a bias.
An example of cultural bias is seen in Disney’s “Pocahontas.” “Pocahontas” downplays the struggles faced by the Native Americans amidst colonization while also romanticizing the relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith. Pocahontas’s real name was Matoaka, and she was only a little girl when she was introduced to the European colonizers. As stated in an article posted by Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits, “Matoaka’s story was not one of romance between a Native woman and a white man. It was a tragic story of a girl who played the role of peacekeeper and became caught in the economic and political webs of settlers and Natives in early colonial American history” (Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits). Disney glosses over the devastations of Pocahontas’s story and instead emphasizes a made-up romance. This, in turn, affirms Disney’s white culture as a company and appeals to the majority of its audience.
Historical movies are based on events from years ago about which we lack sufficient information. It is very rare for there to be historical evidence of how a historical figure spoke, their personality, or their personal relationships. This causes historical media producers to fill in the blanks. In addition to that, the historical evidence we do have is mostly biased. Oftentimes, letters and journals are used as evidence to evaluate a historical figure. However, a character cannot be judged fairly based on one letter where they were called hot-headed, making most of our evidence biased. Letters and journals, which are our primary historical evidence, are therefore frequently biased.
Pocahontas is also a great example of the lack of information for historical pieces. There is no evidence from Pocahontas’s perspective of what occurred to her. The story of Pocahontas is based on the writings of John Smith and other European men, and therefore, it is biased toward the Europeans. An article called “The True Story of Pocahontas” states, “Pocahontas left behind no known written text, and everything gathered about her story comes from the writings of John Smith and other Englishmen.” This means our limited information on these individuals is biased and likely overlooks essential details.
The point of this article is not to state that all historical media are false. Historical pieces are still a great information source while being entertaining and enjoyable. However, when consuming these forms of media, it is important to take everything with a grain of salt and consider who the publishers and producers are. One might argue that many historical pieces are very accurate, and that is true; however, it is rare for anything to be 100% accurate from all perspectives due to the factors affecting the media and its portrayal.
Works Cited
Chaudhuri, Shohini. “An exploration of some of the innovative strategies employed by Iran’s directors to circumvent censorship.” Iranian filmmakers pull it out of the bag, Index On Censorship, 18 Sept 2024, https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2024/09/iranian-filmmakers-pull-it-out-of-the-bag/#:~:text=Cinema%20is%20regulated%20by%20the,changes%20or%20otherwise%20risk%20censorship. Accessed 09 12 2024.
Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits. “The True Story of Pocahontas.” Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits, https://libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/exhibits/show/native-americans-then-and-now/introduction/how-is-indigenous-history-port/the-true-story-of-pocahontas.
