Let's say my story takes place in the 1850s. It's not a historical epic or a biography, it's a totally made up story with fictional characters, but it takes place during a known European revolution. How important is historical accuracy in a case like this? For example, would it be unacceptable, if there were cargo ships going between countries which DEFINITELY weren't trading with each other?
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How important in historical accuracy?
- Thread starter Gabe-KC
- Start date
You'll get a range of answers/opinions on this, but I think it depends on how widely recognized the error would be. If it's something that only historians would pick up on, I don't think it matters.
Having said that, my suggestion is to avoid knowingly making that kind of mistake unless it's crucial to your story.
Having said that, my suggestion is to avoid knowingly making that kind of mistake unless it's crucial to your story.
Depends on what you are making.... Disney movies are full of errors. Even historical drama's like Elizabeth, Amadeus, Brave Hart are making things up...
The more familiar your audience is with an historical era, and the more well-documented the era, the more accurate you need to be. It is a question of audience credulity; if you stray too far you pull the audience out of the story, and that's what you want your audience to fe focused upon - the story and the characters.
That's not to say you cannot take liberties. For example, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) is wildly inaccurate in many ways, but it's a romantic, action/adventure, fantasy film based upon a mythical figure, so the inaccuracies are overlooked. However, you could not take those kinds of liberties with, say, the D-Day invasion. The Captain Miller character is an amalgam of several people, as is the mission he and his squad undertake, but everything else is very close to "what really happened."
As with everything else in the entertainment industry it's a balancing act.
That's not to say you cannot take liberties. For example, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) is wildly inaccurate in many ways, but it's a romantic, action/adventure, fantasy film based upon a mythical figure, so the inaccuracies are overlooked. However, you could not take those kinds of liberties with, say, the D-Day invasion. The Captain Miller character is an amalgam of several people, as is the mission he and his squad undertake, but everything else is very close to "what really happened."
As with everything else in the entertainment industry it's a balancing act.
Personally I think it depends on the specifics of the setting and how important the inaccuracy is to the story (which it sounds like it’s quite important).
As an example, if you set a movie in ‘the 60s’ you have a lot more historical liberty than if the story has to be set in 1964 specifically.
If your story is set ‘around the 1850s’ but the specific trade route didn’t open until 1862 you might get away with it. If it’s set in 1851 specifically you’ll be less likely to.
That being said, at the end of the day you’re writing a piece of fiction, and I’ve certainly seen plenty of movies with historical inaccuracies, especially those that don’t specify a specific time they’re set.
As an example, if you set a movie in ‘the 60s’ you have a lot more historical liberty than if the story has to be set in 1964 specifically.
If your story is set ‘around the 1850s’ but the specific trade route didn’t open until 1862 you might get away with it. If it’s set in 1851 specifically you’ll be less likely to.
That being said, at the end of the day you’re writing a piece of fiction, and I’ve certainly seen plenty of movies with historical inaccuracies, especially those that don’t specify a specific time they’re set.
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