World War II Movies Are Not Always Accurate–That’s Okay
I am pausing my research into USS Franklin to discuss movies and TV series. I’m in numerous Facebook groups related to history. In one, someone griped that the CGI in the Apple TV series, Masters of the Air, was terrible. Others complained about how the series was historically inaccurate because it incorrectly portrayed certain details. Masters of the Air is not the only movie or series with inaccuracies. Pearl Harbor (well, that was a hot mess), The 2019 version of Midway, and every other World War II movie.
Why Movies Are Inaccurate
This not only happens every time there is a movie that takes place in the past, but it also happens with movies centered on certain professions such as medicine and law. A co-worker and I were at a banquet one time back in the 90’s discussing which TV medical show we liked better, E.R. or Chicago Hope. A pediatric oncologist walked up to us and, wanting his opinion, we asked him if he had watched either. He laughed and said he never watched any medical shows. He didn’t need to explain why. Law enforcement officers and attorneys feel the same way about the way their professions are portrayed. (Exception being the courtroom scenes in My Cousin Vinny.)
Long before I became interested in World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO), I watched TV series and movies set in the American West. I’ve studied that era ever since I was in high school, and I can tell you that TV shows like Gunsmoke and Bonanza (and my favorite, The Wild Wild West) were wildly inaccurate. The hats, the clothes, the speech, frequently the guns, and hairstyles are just some of the things they got wrong. Hell, the holsters you see them wear weren’t even invented until the 1920s!
Did you know that as many as one-fourth of cowboys were African American? Did you know that as many as one-third of the cowboys, more in Texas and the American Southwest, were Mexican vaqueros? How many African Americans and vaqueros did you see on any Western? Do I let those historical inaccuracies keep me from enjoying those stories? I do not.
One of the reasons movies are frequently inaccurate is that it would cost too much to create historically accurate scenes. I listened to a naval officer on a podcast who had been a movie advisor. When he told the director that the light coming through the porthole should be changing as the ship rose and fell in the ocean, the director laughed and explained that it would cost millions of dollars to create that effect.
Second, it’s called the Academy of Motion Picture ARTS and Sciences for a reason. Directors and actors are artists and sometimes they interpret their characters or actions in ways that serve their vision, not historical accuracy. More than likely, they never served in the military (Quentin Tarantino being a notable exception. EDIT: I meant Oliver Stone. ) Of course, a director can go too far. Military veterans have complained about the movie The Hurt Locker, winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture. I started out enjoying Jeremy Renner’s performance, but even I couldn’t get past some of the scenes in the movie and I am not a veteran.
The Willing Suspension of Disbelief
I survive these movies because one of my high school English teachers introduced me to the concept of “The willing suspension of disbelief.” In other words, don’t let small errors or the director’s vision prevent you from enjoying the movie. Masters of the Air is about some of the men who flew in the Eighth Air Force in Europe. Some of those missions saw more than a hundred bombers head toward the same target. You cannot find that many B-17s to use in filming the series; there are less than ten in the world today that are airworthy. CGI is the only way to show them. (Well, okay, models, but CGI is much better.)
John Wayne and Me
I grew up watching TV and movie westerns. The Roy Rogers Show, The Swamp Fox on Disney, Zorro, Rin Tin Tin, and others. When I was in first or second grade, John Wayne released his vision of The Alamo. I was enraptured. That movie did more to ignite my love of history than anything else. I love that movie to this day, and especially its Academy Award-nominated soundtrack. But that movie has long been ridiculed, and rightly so, for its inaccuracies. I am also a big John Wayne fan. I love his movies, but all suffer in terms of historical accuracy.
Here’s the thing, his movie, The Alamo, changed my life. I am sure other movies, accurate or not, set children and adults on different paths. Multiple sources credit the movie, All The President’s Men, with inspiring many in several generations of young people to become journalists. I’m sure the same can be said of movies about doctors and lawyers. (“Yutes? Yutes? What’s a Yute?”—sorry, could not resist.)
Best Movies About World War II
My favorite history-related podcast (watch it on YouTube for a better experience) is The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War, co-hosted by historian Seth Paridon and Captain Bill Toti, USN (Ret.). In Episode 318, they discuss their favorite and not-so-favorite movies about World War II in the Pacific. They too, are willing to overlook minor inaccuracies up to a point. I agree, there is only so far you can suspend your disbelief. (Seth also mentions movies he saw as a child that were gateways to learning more about those events.)
Several days after I listened to their podcast, I ran across this article, The 22 Best World War II Movies. There are many good movies on these two lists. If you enjoy watching movies about World War II, take a look.
If you are an Iraqi war veteran and you have a major problem with the movie, The Hurt Locker, I understand. But if other movies are right on the big stuff, then suspend your disbelief over the small stuff. In my 70 years on this planet, I’ve learned to be tolerant of little errors. Forgive the fact that it’s a B-17 F and not a B-17G. Overlook the fact that you have never seen a cow pony in a movie and have seldom seen a Westerner ride a mule (yet some did). Suspend your disbelief.
Enjoy the show.
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book, Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will be writing about the lessons we can learn in leadership and decision-making. I’ll also write about the changes the US Navy made as a result of those lessons learned.
Feel free to follow me on Facebook. There, I am M. Glenn Ross, Author. I also send out a monthly newsletter, Glenn’s After-Action Report, writing about subjects I find interesting in my research. You can sign up for it below. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thanks for reading.-Glenn