Is movies enough for learning history?

Question

I'm talking about The 300 Spartans.

Answer 1

Heck no and especially this movie, it has no historical reality aside from there being a battle in which 300 Spartans fought a far bigger force - - - for eample despite the movie ads, the Spartans were not a bunch iof Democracy loving Republicans worshiping at the shrine of Geo W Bush - - - for all history it is best to read several sources only then can one sift through lies & misconceptions and arrive at some semblance of truth - - - movies will always reflect the views of their creator and those rarely cooincide with reality.

Peace.

Answer 2

That has some historical facts in it (the Spartans were brought up to be warriors, they did throw weak babies off of a certain mountain, 300 Spartans did hold back the Persians for 3 days), but it is mixed with a lot of fiction to make it more interesting as a movie.

Answer 3

Movies can be a great way to develop an interest in history, but not a very good way to learn history. Historical films, such as "300", "Braveheart", "The Patriot", "Amistad", dramatize real historical events, but in doing so they embellish, elaborate, and sometimes completely fictionalize certain elements of the historical story.

This is done because movies are inherently entertainment. The creators are trying to tell the best, most gripping story they can, and sometimes that means fudging the history to tell a better story. If you see a movie that interests you, it's best to learn more of the actual history from a reputable source. In the case of the film "300", pretty much everything we know about these events comes from the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus (484 B.C. - 425 B.C.).

If you are interested in the history of Sparta, try Herodotus. Barnes & Noble bookstores sell a nice hardcover edition of his writings for $7.95, and the new modern translation is very readable. You can also read it online at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h#a828

Answer 4

NO! It is a valuable source, but to get the entire history you have to read it, talk it, visit it, see it, and live it. I mean, read books by historians, and better, people who were accually there, they exist. Talk about the subject with other people who are interested, friends, family, co-workers, ect. If possible, go visit a museum or the accual site a major event took place. Put yourself there, imagine you are there. This will make history more real than just a bunch of random facts, this will give it meaning. Movie are valuable too, they allow you to see the conditions, but movies tend to be exagerated, especially big movies like 300 Spartans. The more sources you go to, the more accurate your understanding.

Answer 5

No because the movie industry can change facts and often do to sensationalize their stories. I don't know about The 300 Spartans. I found a link about the original movie in 1962 and the remake of 2007.

Answer 6

We live in a very visual society today and movies and I assume you also mean documentaries, are a tremendous help to teenagers learning history.

The problem comes in, however, in that period of time before films were made. Movies in and of themselves are never more than glorified fiction. Movies can never ever capture the full essence of what a time like King Arthur's was like. Sometime if you want to see what this means, rent four or five movies of King Arthur and compare them ... from Camelot to First Night to Excaliber ... oh my goodness, what differences! Movies tend to say as much about today as they do about the time period we are looking at.

In addition, there are only so many movies and there is so much history. Movies tend to be about those subjects we, today, care the most about. King Arthur and Robin Hood are really popular today, but who ever sees a movie on the Battle of Hastings and William the Conquerer? Hastings has A LOT more to do with changing history than did King Arthur (if he ever existed) but we don't see movies about it.

So ... we are left with the great dilemma ... movies and documentaries are terrific ... but sooner or later, wikipedia aside, we still have to sit down with books and we have to go to these places and see for ourselves and examine the records ourselves.

Answer 7

I've never seen a historically accurate film shown in theaters. The Patriot, Pearl Harbor and yes 300, based on events and somewhat real, but also with alot of fake stuff put in to make a better story.

Answer 8

I didn't watch the movie but I watched the documentary about it on the history channel. After speaking to a friend who saw the movie, I realized that the History channel gave lot more detail about the full story.

Answer 9

No, the director/producers admitted to making changes for a better movie, but on the other hand, it can be an entertaining way to start learning about something then do your own research.

Answer 10

no. movies can be nonfiction or fiction, and even if they are true, many producers of movies leave things out to make the movie better. It would be better to read a history book and then compare it to the movie to see if it was right then to just base history off the movie.