Movies Such as “Lincoln” and “Olympus Has Fallen” are Spotlighting Political and Historical Issues
History and politics seem to be finding their way onto the big screen of late in blockbusters such as Lincoln and Argo, but what does that mean for education in those fields?
Politics has often been a topic in multiple movies. Specialist professor of communication, Robert Scott, said while recently there has been multiple films with political or historical backgrounds, it is not a new concept. Scott said that stories with passion, fear, turmoil, drama, suspense and a wide range of emotions help make for effective storytelling.
He continued by saying that history and politics tends to be topics in the movies because it appeals to a mass audience. “Since film is an art form, and perhaps our most powerful storytelling medium to date, it generally reflects life experiences and relies upon universal themes that appeal to mass audiences.”
Scott believes that with movies being a median to the masses, it could lead to movie-goers to look further into the events depicted on the big screen. He mentioned that movies such as All The President’s Men, led him to read the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and other books by Woodward.
Scott said that the new medias being developed are offering many different ways to reach the masses. “User-generated content is finding new audiences, reality TV personalities are becoming stars, political leaders are making themselves more accessible via social and non-traditional media – and we, as consumers, are more actively involved in the process than at any point in history,” said Scott.
Scott does hope that students use multiple sources when indulging in political and historical films because sometimes the facts are twisted to make a good film. “While it is important for future students to be aware of how political issues were represented in media, it is arguably more important that they opt for resources that rely less on opinion and speculation,” said Scott.
Dr. Christopher DeRosa, associate professor of history, agrees with Scott in that it is not just recently that history and politics have been the topics of movies. He does say, however, that some historical movies may not be completely factual but may try to convey a message. He mentions In Mississippi Burning, which is about murdered civil rights workers who received “justice” from two white southern sheriffs. Historically, according to DeRosa, the cause of racial justice was advanced by grass roots activities, not the two sheriffs.
DeRosa mentioned that he saw Lincoln, which was historically accurate minus one major difference. “It did include one major historical whopper though: the Confederate commissioners who saw Lincoln in February 1865 did not offer to rejoin the union without the 13th amendment–they insisted on independence as a condition of peace. The offer to rejoin the union was just included to ratchet up the drama on what was more of a foregone conclusion than the film lets on.”
DeRosa said that this film could have been very dry and boring but was brought to life through the script, acting along with, “emotion, wit, and political insight.”
Students have been focused on the upcoming political thriller, Olympus Has Fallen, where the White House is taken over.
Dominick Mascitelli, sophomore political science major, said that while there is Olympus Has Fallen, there is also another film about the White House being taken over. “I think it’s interesting that they’ve never really made a movie like this and now in 2013 we get two of the White House being taken over,” said Mascitelli.
Brad Landau, senior political science major, isn’t very happy with using a situation such as the White House being taken over for entertainment.
Landau said, “I honestly can’t stand how Olympus Has Fallen is being turned into a huge Hollywood production. People happily giving away their dollars to see a tragedy, and leave the theater without a second thought of how if this was real it would be a disaster.”
Landau continues mentioning how the media should not use tragedies such as the White House being taken over or any other tragedies. Landau, who is from New York City, said no one should ever make films about the events of 9/11 and should not look so lightly on the White House or other historical landmarks.
Dr. Michael Phillips-Anderson, assistant communication professor, said that political movies are like sports movies.
“We have sides that we root for and against. We want to see the people we agree with triumph. I think this makes sense at a time of heightened partisanship. People say that they hate politics and that it’s all lies, but they spend a lot of time talking about it. In a period of economic uncertainty people are perhaps realizing that political decisions affect their lives,” said Phillips-Anderson.
Professor Donna Dolphin, associate professor of communication, said that people need to distinguish between entertainment and factual pieces.
Dolphin said, “I know that I am seeing a fiction film, not a documentary or news special. I understand that it is a story which is based upon true events, but that narrative license has been taken in order to tell an entertaining story. “
Dolphin continued, “I am willing to suspend my disbelief for 2 hours in order to be entertained.”
IMAGE TAKEN from fiz-x.com
