I'd like to think that I have a working knowledge of history. The history of my own culture and country, which is that of the United Kingdom. A long history that is famously tortuous for children introduced to it kicking and screaming, and perhaps therefore it is not surprising that history is often absorbed as much through the media of feature films and television programmes, whether they are presented as truthful documentary or not.
I have long been struck by the way in which history can so easily be fictionalised. A single successful example of this is the Quentin Tarantino film indomitable bastards, in which in the story of the second world war is given a shocking new twist by way of a plot to assassinate the entire upper echelon of the Nazi party.
By so doing, the more is concluded much earlier than was actually the case.
But this is constructed as part of a believable plot is something that the director can only be admired for.
Many films take for their starting point is historical fact, and then proceed to create interesting but substantially fictional interpretations of those facts, such as for example through the national treasure franchise.
Most recently, I recorded and watched the film about Abraham Lincoln, American president.
Imagine my surprise when I realised for the first time that the formal title of this film was Abraham Lincoln vampire Hunter.
What is equally perplexing is the fact that so much of what I can remember to be historical fact has been reinterpreted as straightway kind of allegory that in some strange way it manages to fit the facts.
To the extent that for example speeches in fact given by Abraham Lincoln in the context of the American Civil War retain their meaningfulness in spite of the substantial reinterpretation of story to that point in the film.
Perhaps I should simply relax and appreciate that this is simply a clever use of fact as a backdrop to the subject, and at least retain confidence in the capacity for people as a whole to appreciate that what they are in fact viewing is nothing more than a clever fantasy.
Nevertheless, it feels somewhat strange to see the way in which modern culture can so cleverly use true history for what is ultimately simply an entertainment.
