Braveheart
Gods and Generals
Pochahantas (the cartoon)
Amistad
JFk
Pearl Harbor
Those softcore porn films and series on Netflix- ten minutes is enough to see accurate history was not a priority- and ten minutes is all I can stand.
The Tudors
Gone With the Wind
Even Band of Brothers had inaccuracies.
Some of these provide entertainment, but are not fit for history lessons, Films or series with a poor interpretation of history
Love Braveheart and Band of Brothers-- and even though I think Mel Gibson is a bit of a nut, he’s made some fantastic films. Apocalypto is another.
I can’t speak to the historicity or veracity therein. I enjoyed them for the story-telling and didn’t pay my twelve bucks in want of a history lesson necessarily.
In the entertainment industry there is the well-used phrase “Based on a True Story” that gives wide license. In fairness, perhaps our Bibles should have that same disclaimer attached.
True confession… until I looked into it, I always thought that the Massacre at Mountain Meadows was a documented story where Mormons were massacred by Indians. I actually originally thought it was about the Dommer family wagon train story- where they all got caught in a snow storm and ended up eating one another to survive.
When I realized that it was a different story all together, the brief intro I saw of it stated it as follows:
Set in the 1857 American Frontier, the upcoming Netflix limited series- American Primeval, follows different groups and individuals fighting to survive and gain control of the lands out West. Chief among them are the members of the Mormon Church. Fleeing widespread persecution, violence and humiliation, they travel to Utah to build a safe space and stronghold. And their leader Brigham Young, will do whatever it takes to secure the survival of his flock.
Reading that snippet, I thought that it was going to be a circle the wagons, wagon-train, cowboys and Indians story---- as such, I never tuned in.
Little did I know that for Brigham Young - “whatever it takes” would include his militia dressing up as Indians and killing 120 members of a non-Mormon wagon train that they perceived as a threat to their way of life in Utah. The slain families were just passing through on their way to California.
Brigham Young was a nasty piece of work, trying to establish his own kingdom.