I’ve lost count of how many times a student has asked, “Can we just watch the movie?” I get it—films bring history to life in a way that textbooks can’t. But movies are tricky. They compress timelines, merge characters, and sometimes invent whole events.
Still, I don’t avoid them. Instead, I frame them. Before we watch, I ask students: Why do you think filmmakers might change details? Afterward, I have them track what’s accurate and what’s Hollywood. It transforms passive watching into active analysis. Suddenly, Gladiator isn’t just entertainment—it’s a conversation about how Rome is remembered and mythologized.
You don’t have to watch the entire movie. Just a clip or two can get the idea across. Here’s my rule of thumb: movies are not history, but they are historical evidence. Evidence of what? Of how people in a particular time wanted to tell the story. A 1960s Cold War epic reveals just as much about the fears of the 1960s as it does about the Spartans or Soviets it depicts.
So yes, movies can distort. But that’s the point. If we teach students to notice the distortions, we’re giving them a lifelong tool: how to consume media with a critical eye. And that matters way beyond our classrooms. Isn’t that the goal?
Happy teaching,
Ryan Wagoner
The Lyceum of History
“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” ~Alexander the Great
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