History that is represented in film has the ability to form how we consider historical events. This is particularly true as many audience members become more and more illiterate. Unless you're a modern day Methuselah the average person has little if no idea what history really looked like other than what has been seen in film, paintings or television.

Filmmakers can manipulate how we see the past much in the same way they can color how we view the future. The treatment of Native Americans is an example. Hollywood has always had problems deciding how to represent them. For decades they were shown as bellowing barbarians hungry to kill white settlers. Today, they're almost uniformly shown as peaceful folk more concerned with being attuned with nature than being hindered by normal human urges. The truth is somewhere in between these two extreme views. Films have the ability to not only inform audiences on Native Americans but other groups and other times. When most people are asked about Scots they'll dredge up images of Braveheart, talk about the Old West, Clint Eastwood will likely pop into mind, even more recent events like the McCarthy Era, the Holocaust or Vietnam are often seen through the filter of how they have been presented in film.

Filmmakers have a great deal of control how we see our past and therefore define ourselves today. When viewing a film you should always remember that this is someone's opinion on how things went down, not necessarily what happened. Showing historical events or peoples is rich ground for a filmmaker to insert agendas to change how you think of your world.

Labels: miscellaneous, movie watching tip