Hollywood's Limitations in Portraying American History
Hollywood has been very limited in the portrayal of American history. It has purposefully ignored presenting certain important events in our country's past. Hollywood seems to only produce films that are attractive and likable, especially those that will attract money and earnings. This is achieved, unfortunately, at the detriment of aesthetics, literature, and human values. In its depiction of war, Hollywood uses good and bad scenarios to glorify military heroism while denying the crimes committed against innocent people. The films are creatively selected to depict only the positive side of characters or war but never the portraying the truth which is laid bare in history. It's unfortunate that this purposeful selection of events in history has denied the public an objective presentation of past events.
Lack of Historical Context in War Films
Hollywood films based on wars fail to communicate the existing factors that led to the wars. The good versus evil scenario pegged by Hollywood is not objective since it avoids stating the causes of war. It is clear from history that wars have been about class divisions. It only represents the majority perspective without caring to air out the minority. Hollywood celebrates the victory of major wars in American history without clearly elaborating why the war started in the first place. Hollywood will celebrate the American victory over Mexico, but it will never show that the war was started on deception. It will always portray the US and Cuba aggression as the war against communism while concealing its face-saving act after an embarrassing defeat by the pro-Spanish general.
Ignoring War Victims and Selective Heroism
Hollywood films ignore the victims of war and uphold the victors without minding their moral standards in the war. The films selectively present only the heroic acts of some individuals while ignoring their wicked actions against humanity. Theodore Roosevelt is celebrated as one of the best presidents in American history, but nothing is said of calling for the annihilation of unarmed Moro villagers in the Philippines. There have been many films about the American Civil War and its major battles, but nothing has been created to show the atrocities meted against the Indians during the war.
The Misrepresentation of War by Hollywood
Hollywood has completely wrong in their presentation of war in history. The prevailing presentation of war by Hollywood serves to intensify and fuel more war among nations due to their good versus evil scenarios. Some leaders deceptively engage in war with the cover of propagating well while concealing their desire to utilize resources held by other countries. It's obvious that presentation of war in history should help in deterring wars, an objective that Hollywood has failed. The deliberate failure to develop films on anti-war protests.
The Importance of Documenting Historical Events in Films
In conclusion, Hollywood acts as both the medium and the message. It's clear that important historical events can be turned into films to have a great impact on the public. However, Hollywood as a medium is unwilling to get into films that will bring change into the world and only focused on earning profits. Some critics argue that those who are interested in learning about the past events should read them from books. In contrast, the impact of films in portraying history cannot be compared to reading a book. It is therefore important to have these essential past events documented in films for the current and future generations. This will ensure that past mistakes and errors made by the past generation are not repeated.
