Todd is correct, as long as the producers of historical films and books have some integirty. It would be nice if historical motion pictures could get some sort of "Historians Seal of Approval" if their production is authentic and has made an effort of portray a reasonable version of the actual events, characters and ways of life.
The problem is, like Todd also said, when this is not done, the public comes away with some skewed understanding of historical events and "professionals," like historians, librarians, social scientists, etc. then try to correct.
Unfortunately, as in the case of the movie, "that dare not speak its name," they are having one heck of a time doing so. Readers of the book and those foaming at the mouth to see the upcoming movie are flooding places like Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland because it's been implicated in the plot, even thought scholars and historians all disagree on this. But don't confuse the public with the facts!
I guess "honesty (historical and otherwise) is the best policy," but it may not sell as well.
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