Recently, streaming networks have taken to producing and making available biopics like WuTang: An American Saga on Hulu which follows the story of the rap group, Wu-Tang, Clan’s rise to fame and Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil and Vile on Netflix which depicts, serial Killer, Ted Bundy’s trails and execution. Whether the topics of these series or movies is music, court trails, or any other historical events, they are still based on events that really happened. This raises the question of how well they are represented and if they are even relevant to what actually happened.

When these movies are in pre-production, “unless they are making a biopic based on a published autobiography or a biography, production studios or writers don’t have to get permission to make a movie about history” as Professor Mason, who is a professor of film studies, points out, and since these production studios and writers aren’t experts on historical events, they should consult historians to get the big picture. Despite the consultations that go on with experts, inaccuracies in movies still arise. This is due to the restricting nature of movie length, dramatization created by the writers and producers, and even blatant disregard to facts.

You don’t pay $12 to see watch a history lesson, so these are necessary evils that go along with creating a movie which make the movie sellable. A movie is around 2 hours, so you can only include so many scenes and events. Movies need to have excitement, so they must be dramatized to a point, but disregard to facts is on a different level. Like in the movie “Braveheart” with Mel Gibson, certain event’s order was rearranged, and Robert the Bruce never betrayed William Wallace. Whether rearranged to create a particular narrative or not, these are disregards to the facts. Should we try and hold the movie industry to a standard of truth? No.

To create such a standard may it be by law or not, would be an abridgment of the first amendment. Dr. Neil Vaz, professor of American history, points out that the process of making a movie is quite like writing a textbook. “They do their research and make their deductions based off the research they come up with, and then they write it and produce it”, Is how Dr, Vaz puts it. It is not like these movies go unchecked either. Professor Mason says that movie audiences and critics will point out inaccuracies and that it could hurt returns.

If this rise in the popularity of biopics continues, it is imperative to continue to inform ourselves about history really occurred. Dr.Vaz brings up the book “Propaganda” by Edward Berne and the idea of “controlling entire populations by controlling public opinion.” If some influence of public opinion were to come it would be from the media. To keep the media in check, we must stay informed. The media has no obligation to check the truth but we have obligation to check the media.

Note: The Seminole Scribe has since ceased publication.