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Hollywood movies about historical topics often present a dilemma for history instructors. On one hand, movies are a powerful medium and, certainly, no student is immune to their effects. As such, they have the potential to be an extremely effective teaching tool. On the other hand, movies have many flaws that can make them particularly challenging as instructional material. For the most part movies rarely, indeed if ever, depict history correctly. Thus, many instructors argue that movies usually do more damage than good and cannot possibly be used in any serious history class. To use film, one must balance the interest that students often have in the movies against the challenges associated with their use. Achieving that balance is not · impossible. Based on my own experience, I would argue that instructors ignore film at their own peril. Moreover, when used correctly, movies can be effective in helping increase students' understanding of history and especially historiography. Hollywood movie producers have long been fascinated with history. And who can blame them? Some of the most lucrative films ever made deal with historical themes. For example, the 1995 movie Braveheart chronicling the exploits of the legendary Scottish patriot, William Wallace, grossed over 210 million dollars. 1 Even this staggering figure pales in comparison to the returns seen by the movie Titanic based on the doomed voyage of the Royal Mail Ship Titanic, which to date has grossed, incredibly, over two billion dollars.2 These two mega-blockbusters are just a small sample of countless other profitable historical movies. Yet this success for Hollywood presents a problem for instructors of history in the classroom. History teachers know that many movies rarely if ever "get it right." There can be no better example of this than Braveheart, which aside from its five Oscars, including Best Picture, should have also received an award for a historical movie that gets almost all of its history wrong. Examples of the movie's historical inaccuracies are too numerous to list, but one of the most glaring infractions is the depiction of one of Wallace's greatest military victories, the Battle of Stirling Bridge. In the movie, there is no bridge to be found. Instead, the battle is staged in a wide, open field. The end result is a visually awesome battle scene, but one that is not at all accurate. Another glaring error in the film is the fanciful love affair between William Wallace and Isabella, the French wife of the future Edward II. Aside from the total improbability of such a scenario, Isabella was a little girl in France at the time of the

History and the Movies: Some Thoughts on Using Film in Class