History by Hollywood: THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE AMERICAN PAST [Paperback]

Robert Toplin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0252065360 | ISBN-13: 978-0252065361 | Edition: 1st PAPERBACK

Just what happens to history when Hollywood film-makers get their hands on it? The nation's film capital is one of our most influential interpreters of history, according to Robert Brent Toplin, so much so that popular movies dealing with historical themes often have a greater impact on the public's thinking than books or lectures. In "History by Hollywood", Toplin examines how film-makers have interpreted American history through their films. Focusing on movies that deal with real events and people, Toplin looks at how writers, producers, and directors became involved in making historical films, what influenced their interpretations of the past, and the responses they have made to the controversies their works have excited. Toplin recognizes the danger of excessive artistic license and understands the importance of creative imagination in designing memorable portrayals for the screen. Basing his analyses on a realistic appreciation of the challenges film-makers face, he effectively measures the strengths and weaknesses of Hollywood's presentation of history. Readers will find food for thought and discussion in Toplin's examinations of "Mississippi Burning", "JFK", "Sergeant York", "Missing", "Bonnie and Clyde", "Patton", "All the President's Men", and "Norma Rae". Robert Brent Toplin, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is the author of many books and articles on film and history and on United States and Latin American history. He has been principal creator of a number of PBS and Disney Channel films and is film review editor of the "Journal of American History".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This smart, instructive book on American history according to the movies announces in its preface that it favors depth over breadth. A history professor at the Univ. of North Carolina-Wilmington, Toplin discusses eight films in four sections: exercising artistic license (Mississippi Burning; JFK); drawing lessons from the past (Sergeant York, Missing); reflecting current controversy in the past (Bonnie and Clyde; Patton); and celebrating heroism (All the President's Men; Norma Rae). Each chapter surveys the inception and development of a film project, comments on the picture and assesses critical reactions. The book benefits from very real strengths--thorough research augmented by new interviews with some of the filmmakers, precise writing accompanied by an appreciation for complexity--but perhaps most refreshing is its sense of fairness. Toplin promotes a "both/and" rather than "either/or" approach in the debate between historical accuracy and artistic freedom, and this open-mindedness restrains him from rejecting entirely any film's treatment of history. Even JFK, Mississippi Burning and Missing, the films Toplin censures most, earn credit for, respectively, reexamining both Kennedy's Vietnam policy and the Warren report, recreating a grisly vision of the racist South and sounding a warning about U.S. misdeeds abroad. Readers who savored the insights of Past Imperfect, Mark C. Carnes's edited collection of commentary on 100 historical films, should now make room on their shelves for Toplin's exceptional study. Photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Opens a new window into the relationship between filmmakers and historians." -- Gregory Bush, editor of Film and History

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 1st PAPERBACK edition (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252065360
• ISBN-13: 978-0252065361
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #854,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent synthesis of history and film criticism., March 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: History by Hollywood: THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE AMERICAN PAST (Paperback)

How does Hollywood distort history?
Toplin, a history professor at the University of North Carolina, describes four of Hollywood's principal methods of treating (or mistreating) history: mixing fact with fiction, shaping evidence to deliver specific conclusions, suggesting messages for the present in stories about the past, and fabricating a documentary style to develop the "Great Man" perspective on the past.
The techniques are employed in works as varied as "Bonnie and Clyde", " Sergeant York", and Oliver (I-don't-have-to-tell-the-truth-I'm-an-artist) Stone's "JFK", but while Toplin (naturally) respects historical accuracy, he acknowledges the narrative and dramatic necessities which inevitably contaminate the historical reality. He also notes special interest pressures to have movies reflect particular interpretations, and the film-makers' responses to criticisms of their historical veracity. A worthwhile look at some of Hollywood's reconstructions of the past, and their connections to larger issues.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score' books).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful Case Studies of Individual Films and How They Depict American History, July 6, 2006

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: History by Hollywood: THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE AMERICAN PAST (Paperback)

Historians are uniformly condemnatory of most feature films that seeking to depict history events. Almost never are they accurate in any serious manner, even if they costume the cast appropriately for the time and place. "Gods and Generals," "Titanic," and "The Patriot" suggest that even when attention to detail prevails it often yields a false impression of the past. This is particularly unnerving to most historians because of the power of the medium to shape popular conceptions of historical events. In "History by Hollywood" Robert Brent Toplin offers a detailed analysis of how film makers "tell the story of real people and actual events from American history" (p. 1). While allowing that film makers should be allowed "dramatic license," Toplin insists that they do so in a responsible manner that seeks to understand rather than reinvent the past.

Toplin uses eight case studies to demonstrate how film makers have dealt with American history since the 1940s. In terms of release, the earliest film Toplin discusses is "Sergeant York," made in 1941 and it receives his plaudits for historical accuracy while also drawing important lessons for the present. Likewise, "Patton" (1970) draws powerful lessons from the World War II experience of the charismatic and eccentric Army officer applicable to the Vietnam experience of the 1960s and early 1970s. Toplin finds that "All the President's Men" (1976) and "Norma Rae" (1979) also exhibit a high commitment to historical accuracy, despite some liberties taken, and serve well as means of educating the present about threats to democratic institutions or worker rights.

The remaining four films raise other issues. "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Missing" (1982) both take important liberties with the historical record to make points about the present and to indict the U.S. government for crimes real and imagined. At the same time Toplin finds those films useful entrée points for those engaged in historical investigation of weighty issues. Finally, Toplin analyzes "Mississippi Burning" (1988) and "JFK" (1991) and finds both fatally flawed as history. Both raised important points about the events they depict but left a false impression of them in the minds of viewers.

Robert Brent Toplin is more magnanimous in assessing these films than I would be. With the exception of "Patton" and "Norma Rae" I am less kind in my assessments of these eight films. In some instances, such as "All the President's Men" and "JFK," the films create an utterly false impression of what took place. In the case of "All the President's Men" only the two Washington Post writers, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, are seen as battling the forces of the administration, although several others such as Tip O'Neill and Judge John Sirica played key roles. "JFK," of course, promulgated a massive conspiracy of the military-industrial complex in the assassination of the president in 1963 when evidence is lacking supporting such an assertion.

This is an interesting and useful book in understanding the nature of Hollywood's depictions of American history. Enjoy!

1 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars fun facts are only novel for the first few essays., June 15, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" (springfield, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History by Hollywood: THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE AMERICAN PAST (Paperback)

this book shows a great deal of attention to the flubbs in hollywood, but in some cases, the information is too much. for instance, it is great to know where Patton was shot and where all of the equipment came from, but the essay lacks a clear thesis. for an academic text, i am disappointed.