Questions tagged [historical-accuracy]
Questions about the precise conformity of events or characters portrayed in films or TV shows to real figures/events.
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What's the relation of FDR and Wilson to War on Terror/terrorism?
In House of Cards, Frank Underwood brings up FDR and Wilson when saying that he wants to declare war on ICO (fictional terrorist group possibly related to ISIS). What's the relation please? I mean, ...
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Did Sean Parker tell Mark Zuckerburg to drop the "The"?
As depicted at about the 1 hour 11 minute mark of The Social Network (2010), Sean Parker - co-founder of Napster, and an early investor in and later the first President of Facebook - tells Mark ...
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What culture is Xerxes' attire in 300 actually based on?
It's well known that 300 took a number of creative liberties in its visual depictions of characters, and especially that Xerxes looked pretty much nothing like the historical Xerxes. However, movie ...
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Why would U boats even try to torpedo a Fletcher-class destroyer?
Some US Navy veteran — I cannot remember the name — chided Greyhound 2020, because it's unrealistic that U boats would even attempt to torpedo a US Navy WWII destroyer.
But Retired US Navy Admiral ...
user94179
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How realistic were the events in "Conspiracy"?
The 2001 film "Conspiracy" is about the so-called "Final Solution" to the problem of getting rid of Jews as efficiently, cheap, and fast as possible in Nazi Germany. Many hotshots ...
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Japanese Americans serving during WW2
In the original "Karate Kid", during the scene when Mr. Miyagi is drunk and talking about his wife, he mentions that she was in an internment camp when she died. It seems strange that the ...
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Deliberate miscalibration of shells in Schindler's List -- did this happen in real life?
Schindler explicitly tells iirc Stern (Ben K's character) that he knows the shells won't work and that he in fact wants this. This strikes me as unlikely for two reasons: one, the immense risk of ...
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Why was Charlie Chan talking about the US in WWII 3 months before Pearl Harbor?
In the final scene in Charlie Chan in Rio, released in September, 1941, Jimmy Chan gets drafted into the US army. He moans about having a war on his hands but brags that with him in the army, "...
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Is the Entertainment Weekly article real?
The titular character in The Great Buck Howard (2008) is based on The Amazing Kreskin. In a pivotal moment in the story, Buck Howard passes out after discovering he had been mocked in the pages of ...
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What is Wakko wearing in the "about the 90s" part in the "Catch Up Song" in the 2020 Animaniacs reboot?
In the first episode of the 2020 Animaniacs reboot, the Warner siblings sing a song about what happened between 1996 (when the last episode took place) and 2017 (when the reboot was being written). At ...
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Does mutiny and ship ownership make any sense for pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean?
Jack Sparrow complains of the mutiny against him and the taking of his ship, but who enforces him being captain or ownership of the ship, if not the crew itself? So why would he talk in such terms?
I'...
user83507
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In 1917, would a British Army Colonel truly have told a Lance Corporal to "fuck off"?
At 2:07 of this clip from the 2019 movie 1917, Colonel MacKenzie (of the Second Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment), whose "decorations indicate he's a veteran of the Boer War as well", ...
user13434
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Why did King Henry V have Cambridge and Grey’s heads cut off?
In Netflix movie The King (2019), what mistakes have Cambridge and Grey made to have King Henry V have their heads cut off? Wikipedia article on this movie didn't give me clear explanation on this.
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Why was Shakuntala Devi's husband not gay in the film?
The film Shakuntala Devi is based on the real-life personality, and in real life it was all over the news that her husband was gay after she mentioned it during the release of her book The World of ...
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Which Inca deities are shown in "Dora and the Lost City of Gold"?
In the movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold, when the kids enter the temple a giant monkey-like deity (made of gold) is shown. Which Inca deity is it?
Here is an image of the poster:
Two deities are ...
user83056
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If Japan won WWII, why would they write from right to left and in kyujitai form?
Can someone please expound the following comment based on the screenshot below? I don't speak Japanese, so please forgive my benightedness. How does Japan's imaginary winning World War II affect ...
user13434
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How historically accurate is Outlander?
Caveat: OBVIOUSLY I'm NOT asking if the idea of a time-travelling 20th century Lady is accurate ;)
How historically accurate is the TV show Outlander?
I'm thinking specifically of its depiction of ...
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Is Jimmi Lee Jackson's Eulogy accurate as presented in Selma?
I'm trying to determine how historically accurate the speech from the movie Selma (2014) given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at Jimmi Lee Jackson's funeral is, but I can't find a transcript of the actual ...
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Where do Gregor and Konrad meet up with British soldiers in episode 4 of World on Fire? How could they have gotten there alone?
In episode 4 of World on Fire, Gregor and Konrad meet a British army unit in the scene that starts at 32m57s after the two had last been seen escaping (while there was still snow on the ground) a ...
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Sound-proof, anti-Soviet spies room
In the movie "The Coldest Game" (2019), taking place during the Cold War, a special room of the Polish embassy is shown. The room contains a sound-proof glass box, raised from the floor, inside which ...
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Scene in "12 Strong" on women's education in Afghanistan based on what?
In the movie "12 Strong" (2018) there is a scene in which a Taliban imam in Afghanistan publicly executes a woman for educating her children and after he does so, he raises up a book and says that it ...
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Why was the Hollywood sign destroyed?
Why was the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles destroyed in the movie "Argo"? Was the sign also destroyed in real life during 1980?
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Does isolation in Moana reflect a real island?
I know polynesians went through a period where they generally didn't discover new islands. I've heard the movie Moana was meant to reflect the period when they stopped exploring. But this is a lot ...
user75284
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Is the scene where Schindler discusses miscalibrating machines taken from true events?
I realize that the movie has many inaccuracies, but is this bit one of them? Is there any evidence that the Oskar Schindler wanted Germany to lose the war?
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How real is the ending of the movie Ford v Ferrari?
The movie Ford v Ferrari (2019) starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale shows how Ford Motors built a car that beat Ferrari in Le Mans 24 hour race.
In the end of the movie, the three Ford cars cross ...
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Was Prince Bertie actually known to do this?
I'm rewatching the British historical series, Victoria about the life of Queen Victoria.
During the third season we jump ahead in time to a point where Victoria already has sever children, including ...
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How true to reality is the film Queen of the Desert?
Queen of the Desert is a 2015 biographical film about Gertrude Bell, an Englishwoman who spent most of her life in the Middle East and played a part in the establishment of some Arab states in the ...
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Why do cars in movies set in earlier eras always look brand new?
Whenever I watch a movie or TV show set in an earlier era, all the cars look brand new. In fact, better than brand new; the paint is rich and deep, highly polished. They all look as though they ...
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Why does Brigitte Mohnhaupt deliberately destroy the execution myth and how accurate is her closing dialogue?
At the very end of The Baader Meinhof Complex, after the efforts for pressing the RAF leaders free have failed and they thus commited suicide in Stammheim prison, Brigitte Mohnhaupt speaks to the next ...
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Why is Havana covered in 5-digit numbers in Our Man in Havana?
In the 1959 film version of Our Man in Havana, the streets of Havana are littered in signs with 4- and 5-digit numbers on them.
Here's an example:
Notice the "00260", "19072", and "42857" left of ...
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Is HBO's Chernobyl accurate about the sequence of instructions causing reactor stall?
In the series finale of Chernobyl on HBO, Dyatlov orders Akimov and Toptenov to bring the reactor power down to 700 MW, as per the written test instructions, and then leaves the room without giving a ...
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Did the movie Trumbo change the director of Spartacus?
Shortly after Trumbo writes the script for Spartacus, he meets Otto Preminger, who says that he is "the director". It sounds like he is claiming to be the director of Spartacus, and this is why he has ...
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How accurate was the use of the slogan "Wer hat uns verraten? Sozialdemokraten!"?
In Babylon Berlin S01E07 Gereon Rath attends a party at Bruno's appartment which includes many veterans from the Great War, including Major General Seegers. It seems to be a commemoration of the war ...
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Was the character of Nicol based on a real person?
In Welcome to Marwen, Mark Hogancamp meets Nicol. Eventually, he chooses to rename the fictional town of "Marwen" to "Marwencol", named after himself, his rescuer Wendy, and now Nicol.
According to ...
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Did Queen's performance really cause Live Aid to clear $1,000,000 in donations?
In Bohemian Rhapsody, Bob Geldof is shown pleading with viewers to donate money. The phone bank operators are waiting for their phones to ring. Then, Queen gets on stage, the phone banks are busy, and ...
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Is Mirzapur based on a real story?
Is the TV-series Mirzapur based on a real story?
Mirzapur is an actual city in Uttar Pradesh. Also, Wikipedia says this place is famous for carpet business and this was aptly shown in the series with ...
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Impact of Wonder Woman's action on the end of World War I?
In the 2017 film Wonder Woman, Diana finally kills Ares and we learn that World War I is over, but how does the killing of Ares impact World War I? Is there any parallel to this with the real events ...
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What is the historic origin of these Indian burial grounds?
I've recently watched two movies that feature the Indian burial ground as a plot point, however in these two films they both actually show a physical burial ground, which appears to be made up of ...
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Did Neil Armstrong really do this on the Moon?
The film First Man (2018) is about Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. In the movie, one scene shows
Did he actually do this in real life or was this a fictional plot device added ...
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Is the bird killing in The Prestige based on historical reality?
In The Prestige (2006), there is a magic trick in which a bird is made to disappear and it is revealed that the bird is secretly killed by crushing it flat to make it "disappear". Is this trick from ...
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When is Shane (1953) set?
The movie Shane (1953) is based on the novel Shane (1949) by Jack Shaefer.
It is obvious that the novel Shane (1949) could have a precise setting date or a vague possible date range, and the movie ...
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Does Captain Tracey (Star Trek "The Omega Glory") resemble a figure from American history?
In the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy" (1969), I consider the character Garth a George Washington figure (whether consciously intended or not). He was a great military leader; also, his "...
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Why do the Vikings warriors train with real weapons?
In the Vikings TV show we often see warriors training with each others using real weapons. This can be seen both for vikings' and other kingdoms' warriors.
As far I know warriors used to train with ...
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Did people in Elizabethan London really speak like they do in "Upstart Crow"?
Did people in Elizabethan London really speak like they do in "Upstart Crow"?
I'm specifically thinking of the way Greene says Sirra instead of Sir.
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Is Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk historically inaccurate in portraying absence of the Indian army?
Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk has been accused of ignoring Indian soldiers' presence in Dunkirk. But is there any proof that there were Indian soldiers stuck there too in the first place? The British ...
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Did Churchill really talk to people on the London Underground?
In the pivotal scene of "Darkest Hour" Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman), on his way to Parliament, ditches his car and takes the Tube. On the train he talks with some regular Londoners and this ...
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In what time period the series Arang and the Magistrate set?
Based on the costumes and the setting, which dynasty or time period served as an inspiration for the historical drama series Arang?
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Was there already birthday cake in Roman empire?
In the TV show, Rome, during the battle of Philippi, there is a conversation between two rebel Roman commanders. It goes something like, is today your birthday? Oh yes, I want a birthday cake.
Please ...
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Did Oskar Schindler really lament not having saved more Jews?
At the end of Schindler's List, there is a scene where Oskar Schindler realises, almost breaking down in tears in front of all of his workers, that each of the extravagances/luxuries he still has ...
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In The Color Purple how is it a black person can have so much wealth in the south?
The film The Color Purple takes place between 1910 and 1940. So how can an African American (Mr. or Albert Johnson) have a huge house, a plantation, a farm/ranch (animals as well), prosperity, and a ...
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