Splash Biography

History textbooks are great, but where in the world do they get their information? In this class, we'll take a look at the less thought of historical "documents" such as Civil Rights songs, World War II novels, mafia movies, and more in order to compare and contrast the historical perspective they provide with what we already know. Through this exploration, we'll discuss issues of the perspective, credibility, and accuracy of the various types of historical sources, analyze and critique that history that we have been taught, and consider what part of our 'present' may one day be considered historical documents.

Sometimes, Disney makes mistakes. So does Warner Brothers, and Dreamworks, and countless other movie production companies. We hate to break it to you, but Pocahontas and John Smith were not lovers, more than 300 Spartans fought the Persians in the Battle of Thermopylae, and John Nash never actually saw anything during his hallucinations. So why does Hollywood include inaccuracies like this when making movies? If you are a movie lover, a history buff, or deep thinker of any kind, join us in answering this question as we examine the types, motives, and consequences of historically inaccurate movies.