Final Exam Blog

Elise Adcock
Final Exam Blog
6/12/15



    In society today, media and Hollywood make a huge impact on us mentally and emotionally. We learn what we "think" is true from what we see in movies, TV shows, online, etc. What we hear effects our thoughts and possibly changes our mind about topics we used to see in a different light or maybe even change our complete thought. When we watch a movie and the words, "Based on a True Story," pop up along the screen, our minds change. We believe everything in the movie mainly because it's BASED off of a true story. What we don't know is the changes made, or how different the two stories could actually be. Hollywood makes movies to entertain, and are not always accurate.
   
     For example, in the movie, "Glory," we are introduced to a lot of truth, but also a lot of exaggeration and false statements. In this particular movie, Red Coats or the British army are shown attacking a normal, civilian home and shooting at a white family and killing a young boy. In those times, something like would have never happened. Because of this movie, people who are not informed of the actual truths of the Revolutionary War would believe the harshness and cruelty of the Red Coats from this movie. They were bad people, but the way they were portrayed in this movie was exaggerated and not believable.


     On the other hand, "Zero Dark Thirty," was a more realistic movie. It was based off of the facts about the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden over a 11-year span. Some of the acting was not as dramatic as it was in real life I'm sure, but overall they portrayed the actions leading up to the capture as they are known in history. I would watch this movie if I had no intelligence on the topic of Osama Bin Laden. This movie doesn't cover all the details and such, but it covers good amount of common sense of Al Qaeda.


     In modern day, a lot of movies over exaggerate the emotions or cruelty in movies to intrigue the audience. Hollywood has to take on a hard task of taking a story or history and turning it into an award-winning, big-time movie. It's not an easy task and it does confuse with audience if they are not aware of the correct facts of the particular time period or war, etc. Media, technology, TV shows, they all impact the way our minds interpret certain actions. In conclusion, there is a strict line between history and Hollywood, and we need to become more aware of that line so we don't trick ourselves into believing everything that happens in the movies.