Yes I think that they do. I accept the view that films may inspire some to want to find out more but I think that the greater majority will simply accept the film at face value.
The misrepresentation didn't begin at Hollywood, that famous image of the US soldiers raising a flag at Iwo Jima, was a staged reconstruction.
yes!!! why should american's soilders be thee heros when it was british and commowealth soilders that was thee main people in this situation! i do admitt,americans soldiers should be in thee great escape but only minors in thee real situaion,so they should have only been minors parts in thee movie. have yuo ever seen an american event,which britain was protryed as the main counterparts???
All, I agree that it does matter. Even today movies claim to be based on facts, when it is usually one persons view of an incident. With the misinformation that now abounds on the intranet, there should at least be a disclaimer stating that this Movie/book/play etc, is a representation of the story. I would hope that this would encourage the younger generations to research the true stories for themselves.......and we could pick up some extra members. Ha! GW
I think it matters because so many people believe what they are seeing on screen is fact! As for the Great Escape? With the exception of the Steve McQueen character which is over the top I fail to understand though why a British audience would be upset? Objective Burma was wrong as was U571, both of which upset (and rightly so) British audiences. People must realise though that Hollywood is a business and has to make a profit. To make a profit it has to do well in the USA and that means putting US actors in prime roles. In a similar vein, both the 1954 and 2005 version (Tom Cruise) of War of the Worlds had the Martian invasion in modern day USA rather than Victorian England! because, US audiences would not be as willing to watch it.
Hollywood movies are meant for entertainment purposes. They aren't meant to be taken so seriously. It does mean that they should be as accurate as possible, but it does not mean that they can't put things in to evoke an emotion from their audience. I'm sure Rose and Jack weren't really on the Titanic, and that story never really happened, but it made for good cinema. That's all Hollywood cares about.
Hollywood films especially those about history and war are run by big studios and production companies who themselves have opposing politics most of them are white conservatives who want to re-write history. It's all political propaganda with big movie stars and tear-jerking storyline because successful propaganda has to be critical and commercial successes too-- that's how you make audiences watch. Just look up American Sniper and Forrest Gump, both have Republican agendas and ideas surrounding them not to say there are Democratic films out there too, we're all being brainwashed by different powers.
Hollywood has always been a propaganda machine since the beginning. And I have learned to watch the films for nothing more than entertainment. If you want real information about history or other things, look elsewhere. Unfortunately the influence of this propaganda machine is strong. As more people simply do not read books or other more reliable information sources (not that books and other sources can't be manipulated, but films are way easier to be off from the truth with "good" excuses of "it is just a movie").
The problem lies not with the Stars... but with the very nature of the Muses -- with DRAMA itself. Or to suggest the problem is restricted to "Hollywood" is so short-sighted as to be laughable. I read someplace that one should not learn their History of the War of the Roses from the Plays of Shakespeare. Nor are Shakespeare's Histories (Death of Caesar) to be studied as historical FACT. As far as cinema is concerned: there is film footage which show the victorious American forces of the Spanish-American War (1898) which were staged in New Jersey for Tom Edison's studio. It is not "Hollywood" but the Drama.
