Why are some people so stupid!?

Question

Seriously... Is it genetic or what?? It seems that every time a movie about a certain period or group of people comes out the majority take it as gospel and never look into the reality. It happened with Gladiator, with The Last Samurai, and now we see it with 300!!

Hate to be the one to break it to you but the Germanic people's fought nekkid with only wooden spears and in the battle the movie shows they won and left only 3 men alive to return to Rome with a message not to return. The samurai did use firearms, the white guy that fought with the samurai in the Satsuma rebellion was French, and the ideal of Bushido is a very far cry from what the samurai really were. As for "300" and the Spartans I've seen someone on here post that they didn't use the phalanx and that they didn't wear armour. Yes they DID wear armour and did use the phalanx.

Why can't people see movies and be inspired to investigate the reality? Why do so many blindly & stupidly take what Hollywood says as gospel?

For the record I am not against Hollywood historical movies... I don't even mind inaccuracies as I understand that they are just entertainment. What does annoy me is the individuals who watch these movies and take them as gospel truth, never bothering to look into the real history and then passing what they've learned from Hollywood on to others as if they knew what they were talking about.

BobSpain,

I do my research (tho I don't call it that) by going to the bookstore and library and reading all I can about the subjects I find intriging.

Randy L,

The Spartans were not exactly gay. You may possible be thinking of the Thebian "Sacred Band". Spartan warriors were supposed to take a young boy under his wing and instruct him in all things. This mentorship was common practice in ancient Greece and was not looked at as homosexual.

Answer 1

Sad but true answer... people do not see movies to actually learn. They just want to be entertained for a couple of hours. They have no interest in the facts, and neither does Hollywood. They just want to morph things into what "looks good" and will sell.

Answer 2

The reason for this is lazyness. Many people will take the word of an authority figure instead of doing their own research.

Just look at any given religion, most people will just go with the words of the priest (shamen, rabbi, etc.) rather than look it up themselves. Why do you think there are so many sects of any religion, because they seperate on dogma (man made gospel)

For many years Hollywood would make movies from books. Yes a lot of detail was left out, but it was the same story. Agreat example is "Old Yeller" a great book, and when the movie came out it was pretty accurate. Since those times, many people have assumed that Hollywood still base their movies on books. No-one thinks there can be original fiction movies bases on an era, rather most people continue to assume that the movie is from a book and it has been Hollywoodized.

Answer 3

These Hollywood movies are nothing buy hogwash. Take for example Tom Cruise in the last Samurai where he's fighting off all those Samurai warriors. This was just stupid, Samurai were expert swordsman and well schooled in the martial arts.

I not putting him down, he was of course an Indian fighter so he was a pretty tough cookie but I don't think he could hold his own against a Samurai warrior.

Answer 4

If we wanted to watch a documentary we'd watch the discovery channel. Truth is, the 300 were all gay but you'd never see that either. They were all paired up with a partner who 'pleasured' one another. There's things about the 300 which wasn't very big screen worthy, that being one of them. People aren't stupid for watching a movie and not doing research about it before hand. This is a thing we like to call 'not nerdy'. Some people actually just want to sit down and see people dice other people up with swords. This reminds me of the internet tech support person helping a doctor out with his internet and getting frustrated calling him a moron. In fact, the tech is not as smart as the doctor but each find different things important. My point is, be more understanding it is entertainment afterall not everyone is really worried about historical facts of a movie BASED on truths...

Answer 5

Hi Amadeus,

some people are stupid because they were born that way, others because they like to see themselves in print and can't say much that is sensible. (But enough about me...)

I haven't seen the films you mention, but I am aware that they are films. Most films are made to attract people for a couple of hours' entertainment. If the 'Germanic people's' (or, more correctly the Germanic people) really did fight 'nekkid' (naked?) using only wooden spears, would you suggest the film makers showed them naked?

That wouldn't reveal any more about true history, just rather more of the actors than is necessary.

You claim movie-goers fail to be inspired to investigate 'the reality'. Why should this be necessary? You state certain facts (disputed by you from the quoted films and/or quoted by other people) Where did YOU do your research, did you check its authenticity? A statement without evidential support used as a refutation against another unsupported statement is not evidence of a research-based argument, now, is it?

I agree that we should not accept Hollywood's interpretations as 'gospel', but accepting a film as entertainment does not make us stupid, nor blind.

After all if we argued against everything that couldn't be proven to be true there would be no 'Peter Pan' as children can't fly, there would be no religion, as it can't (or at least hasn't) been 'proved'. Point made there, I think?

And you, as one of the minority, who does not accept the depiction in film of historical events as accurate, what do you go to the cinema for? Just to argue? Or to be entertained?

Are you happier being the minority, or might you enjoy life more if you accepted that film makers are NOT responsible for total accuracy when they depict events in history? And whose version IS totally accurate, anyway?

Cheers,

phalanx for the memory,

BobSpain

Answer 6

Your preaching to the choir with me buddy. That being said. I think the reason for blindly accepting what Hollywood puts in movies as historical truth is because people don't read much anymore, and the public school systems don't teach much geography or history anymore.

Answer 7

the hard truth is that many samurai were "gay" if you look at a simple mentorship arrangement- which may have led to improper influence in the mentorship then you must also look at the samurai (which so many people overrate today because of movies and anime) who not only were notorious for having gay relationships, with men, a large portion of them had gay relationships with little boys.

Answer 8

Yes in some way people take some movies to serius and take like real, one example are always the problems that begins with each movie about religion , for example Davinci Code,

Answer 9

Yeah, and robin hood had an american accent just LIKE kevin costner. And car crashes happen just like that, all firey, and only escapable by good guys. Fights happen just like that too. Hollywood is tottally lame!

Answer 10

That's one reason I don't own a television. I got fed up of people try to use movies and television to explain reality and base their life and everythings around hollywood.

Life is much more beautiful without televiison! You should try kick your television out of second story.

btw please email me. I have a few historic questions.