Historical Accuracies and Inaccuracies
To earn extra credit, pick one of the movies from the following list. Write a 1-2 page essay giving me a summary of the movie and telling me how your chosen movie relates to the history we have studied and what you learned from watching it. A good summary including points of both historical accuracies and inaccuracies will earn you up to five points on top of your final grade. Any analysis over and above the basic may earn you extra points. Analysis over and above the basic would be, for example, most movies made about historical subjects tell us more about what is going on at the time they are made than it does about the historical subject theyre portraying. Pay attention to the dates these movies were made, points will be awarded for showing an understanding of the historical context in which they were created. For example, despite the fact that the first Indiana Jones movies ostensibly portray Harrison Ford battling the Nazis, they much more accurately portray Americans feelings about the Soviets and the Cold War in the 1980s, when the original movies were made. The new Indiana Jones, while the only one actually about the Cold War, really shows you a lot more about how Americans think of the War on Terror and the post-Cold War world. Points will be given for humor and entertainment value. Copying any portion of your essay from IMDB or any other website will not earn you points, so dont waste your time (and mine)!
