Historical accuracy in movies has always been a controversial topic. Some think fashion matters, while others think setting or dialogue matters more, but these questions are mostly posed by historians or academics who know niche things about history. This conversation actually all boils down to one question: Do the majority of viewers actually care about historical accuracy?
One of the biggest complaints about historically inaccurate movies is the immersion factor, and if the movie is generally enjoyable, for most viewers, immersion and good stories go hand in hand.
Conner Talbett, a Horizon High School junior, said, “I think a good story can improve the immersion.”
There are multiple factors within a movie that can add to immersion within a historical setting. One is fashion.
Since most people have a vague idea of what each era of fashion looks like, they can understand if things are wildly out of place.
Take a recent example of Sinners and Wuthering Heights. Not many have spoken out against the outfits in Sinners because it realistically fits within the assumptions of the time period, keeping people immersed, while the plastic and latex that show up in Wuthering Heights took most viewers out of the film, which some speculate as a reason for its poor rating of 3 stars on IMDb. Again, this seems to be a problem with immersion more than anything. Horizon High School junior Maxwell Harvey said, “I feel if historical inaccuracy is noticeable to a plebeian such as I, then I feel like it does such an injustice to the characters and world in the movie.”
More reasons for a break in immersion can include architecture and speech. These small background details, like the surrounding areas and the words actors use, continue to immerse people even if we don’t consciously take note of those things. Talbett said, “Something that ruins the immersion is getting the name wrong, like if it’s set in ancient Rome and someone is named like Julius Caesar, that just makes it weird,” showing just how subtle conflicts with people’s general perception of a historical time period mess with the immersion and therefore the value of the movie.
Overall, it seems historical accuracy doesn’t matter all too much with general audiences, preferring plot, characters, and immersion compared to getting niche historical facts straight, but be on the lookout for big historical inaccuracies in your writing, or you might have more than just an angry classics major on your tail.
