History versus Hollywood
World Cultures Project
Mr. Cordonnier
Objective
How often do we watch movies and wonder how much of what we saw was fact
or what was added for theatrical effects? Hollywood is not obligated to make movies that
are historically correct. By changing the story they give people inaccurate views of
world events and people. This project is aimed at finding the truth in these motion
pictures.
Procedure
Each student will chose a teacher-approved movie about a historical event of
some form or another and research that event looking for the historical accuracy of the
movie. They will need to write a research paper between three and five pages of text in
length using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one inch margins.
The paper must be properly cited in MLA or Chicago format. All research information
used must be referenced in parenthetical documentation or end notes. Six sources must
be used. Possible sources include books, magazine articles, History Channel programs,
Internet articles (NOT Wikipedia), interviews, and other reputable sources.
Evaluation
This project will be graded according to student interpretation and analysis,
historical accuracy and grammatical correctness. The paper should be interesting and
educational. Your primary goal is to uncover the truth as history has shown us. It is not
so important that you question every last detail but rather if the movie portrays history
accurately.
Tips
There are several things you will want to watch for including any of the
following: names, places, outcomes of conflicts, language, technology, customs, houses,
architecture, religion, and any of the details. Study the event and the time period then
compare them to the movie.
Suggestions for Movies to research:
NOTE: When choosing your movie, it is important to find a film that you will
enjoy and be able to research. Many of the films below are rated R, as it is impossible to
show the horrors of war in a G film. All students researching a rated R movie must bring
back a signed permission slip from a parent granting consent to watch the specific movie.
US Colonial
The Patriot
Last of the Mohicans
Amistad
Pocahontas
The Swamp Fox
US Old West
US Civil War
Chisum
Glory
Young Guns
Gone with the Wind
Tombstone
Roots
Wyatt Earp
Gettysburg
Dances with Wolves
Gods and Generals
Alamo
WWI
World History
WWII
Sergeant York
Charge of the Light Brigade Pearl Harbor
Lawrence of Arabia
Shaka Zulu
Tora Tora Tora
Das Boot
Zulu Dawn
Sands of Iwo Jima
All Quiet …Western Front Gandhi
Saving Private Ryan
The African Queen
Braveheart
Enemy at the Gates
US Cold War
Anastasia
Life is Beautiful
Thirteen Days
Messenger
To Hell and Back
JFK
Gladiator
Schindler’s List
Forrest Gump
Spartacus
Snow falling on Cedars
MASH
Rob Roy
Patton
All the President’s Men
The Last Emperor
Flying Tigers
The Manchurian Candidate Amadeus
Bridge over the River Kwai
Apollo 13
Mutiny on the Bounty
Judgment at Nuremberg
Other
Dr. Zhivago
The Grapes of Wrath
Bonnie and Clyde
Cleopatra
Fat Man and Little Boy
Titanic
Mulan
Manhattan Project
A League of their Own
The Ghost and the Darkness Casablanca
Three Kings
Troy
Indiana Jones (I, II, III)
Butch Cassidy,Sundance Kid Civil Rights
The Shop on Main Street
The Birth of a Nation
Malcolm X
Tuskegee Airmen
Vietnam
Roots
U-571
We Were Soldiers
Remember the Titans
The Great Escape
The Deer Hunter
To Kill a Mockingbird
Diary of Anne Frank
th
Born on the 4 of July
Escape from Sobibor
Platoon
The Thin Red Line
Hamburger Hill
Casablanca
Casualties of War
Apocalypse Now
This list is not the end all be all. No two students may research the same movie. There
are hundreds of other possibilities but Mr. Cordonnier must approve them prior to work.
This project must have a topic selected and approved by Feb. 20
This project is due March 15, 2013 NO EXCEPTIONS
Each student will chose a teacher-approved movie about a historical event of
some form or another and research that event looking for the historical accuracy of the
movie. They will need to write a research paper between three and five pages of text in
length using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one inch margins.
The paper must be properly cited in MLA or Chicago format. All research information
used must be referenced in parenthetical documentation or end notes. Six sources must
be used. Possible sources include books, magazine articles, History Channel programs,
Internet articles (NOT Wikipedia), interviews, and other reputable sources.
Rubric: Please turn in this Rubric in paper format in class.
category
20-18
17-15
14-12
11-9
8-0
Historical
Accuracy
All parts of
the project are
completely
correct
according to
history
2-3 parts of the
paper are
inaccurate
4-5 parts are
inaccurate
6-7 parts are
inaccurate
More than 8
errors in
history
Sources
6-8 well cited,
high quality
sources used
throughout
the paper
6-8 sources of
average quality
not necessarily
used to their best
effort
5-6 sources not
well cited or used
in the paper or
poor quality
sources
4-5 low quality
sources
Less than 3
sources
Format
All aspects of
the format are
followed
perfectly
One or two parts
of the format are
incorrect
3-4 parts of the
format are
incorrect or
missing
5-6 parts of the
format are
incorrect or
missing
More than 6
parts of the
format are
incorrect or
missing
Purpose
The paper
excellently
describes the
historical
accuracy of
the movie
shown
The paper
adequately
shows the
historical
accuracy of the
movie shown
The paper poorly
shows the
historical
accuracy of the
movie
The paper focuses
on nit picking
details and misses
the main point
Mechanics
Usage
Grammar
Spelling
0 errors
2-4 errors
4-6 errors
6-8 errors
The paper is
baseless in this
subject and
merely an
opinion
unsupported by
facts or
reserach
More than 8
errors
Movie Title: ____________________________________________________________
Date of Release: ___________________________________
MPAA rating :______
Submitted by : Email or Wiki mail time _______________
date__________
Parent Signature for verification: _________________________________________