Hollywood vs History, Research Paper Example

The popular miniseries North and South, which aired on primetime in 1985, offers a stylistic glimpse into the American Civil War that is largely rooted in fiction rather than factual evidence. This 12-hour miniseries characterized the lives of the Main family from the South and the Hazard family from the North. This miniseries is highly formulaic in some respects yet somewhat accurate in others, and has attracted millions of viewers since its original debut in the mid-1980s. The Civil War represents many challenges for both families in the miniseries, as they develop strong friendships that are tested by the realities of the war and its impact on dividing a nation (O’Connor). On many levels, the miniseries represents a highly fictional tale of events that took place during the Civil War era by using real-life events and then simplifying them for the sake of cinema. In other words, the film takes much dramatic license in some of the key events that took place during the Civil War and represents them in such a way that they are resolved quickly, which is not the case with the actual events that took place. Therefore, the historical accounts that are portrayed in North and South are less significant than some of the drama and romance that ensues throughout the miniseries. These events serve as the focal point of the miniseries and provide much of the drama that is observed. The following discussion will address the facts versus fictional accounts that are conveyed in North and South, including the manner in which these stories are told and the development of the plotlines that are woven throughout the miniseries.

Analysis

The actions of the Civil War and the tragedies that ensued are woven throughout the film through the eyes of Orry Main from South Carolina and George Hazard from Pennsylvania, who meet at West Point Academy. These men are from very different families and represent the opposing sides of the war and the challenges that families from the North and the South faced during this era. These factors are instrumental in shaping the activities that take place throughout the film and in supporting the development of stories that lead to great conflicts in the film on many levels. In spite of the relationship between the two men and their families, this is not necessarily accurate on all levels, because although these conflicts were likely to be common, they nonetheless were fictionalized on many levels.

Although the originating author of the books upon which the miniseries is based, John Jakes, sought historical accuracy in these novels, some of the accounts from the film were not historically accurate in nature, thereby leading to creative license by the script writers and producers in order to make the film more dramatic, romantic, and interesting for viewers. Some of these inaccuracies will be addressed in the following paragraphs.

Although the miniseries addressed the visit of the Mains to Mont Royal during several summers, this was not factually accurate because this period was considered to be fever season, whereby the Mains would have stayed away from Mont Royal and other similar areas in favor of Newport Island (Ladylivinia).

In the miniseries, there is a reference to John Brown, who was referred to as insane by Orry Main in 1859; however, John Brown, a famous abolitionist, was never truly declared insane until much later, in the 1890s (Ladylivinia). Therefore, this account is historically inaccurate.

During this period, West Point graduates were not celebrated during a ball; rather, they tended to visit New York City’s Astor House to attend a celebratory graduation dinner with their classmates (Ladylivinia).

Finally, Frederick Douglass is seen in the film referencing God; however, this was not the case, as he did not reference God in any of the real speeches that were given, at least during the era of the Civil War (Ladylivinia). Frederick Douglass’ speeches provided further evidence of the significant problems related to slavery that are touched upon in the miniseries, but are not taken to the serious level that truly existed in society during this era. For example, Douglass addressed the right to vote in this context: “Shall we at this moment justify the deprivation of the Negro of the right to vote, because some one else is deprived of that privilege? I hold that women, as well as men, have the right to vote [applause], and my heart and voice go with the movement to extend suffrage to woman; but that question rests upon another basis than which our right rests. We may be asked, I say, why we want it. I will tell you why we want it. We want it because it is our right, first of all. No class of men can, without insulting their own nature, be content with any deprivation of their rights. We want it again, as a means for educating our race. Men are so constituted that they derive their conviction of their own possibilities largely by the estimate formed of them by others. If nothing is expected of a people, that people will find it difficult to contradict that expectation” (Douglass). This is an important reminder of the reality of slavery and the lack of rights that Blacks held during the slavery era, and how changes in the context of these events once the Civil War was over would at least provide Blacks with some rights and freedoms that they had not been given in the past. This is an essential component of Douglass’ era, but is not accurately depicted in the film and script that was written. Therefore, Douglass’ accounts of God were not accurate, at least for the time period that was depicted in the miniseries.

North and South also represents a period of time when challenges and opportunities were limited for many people, particularly slaves. The film conveys some of these limitations in dramatic fashion, yet sheds some light on what actual conditions might have looked like during this era. This is an important reminder that North and South is indeed a historical representation that does not tell the entire story of the issues that took place throughout the Civil War years. It is important to identify the creative license that North and South took with many of these representations because they convey the importance of different perspectives that limited the rights of individuals in an era when the United States was at war with itself. The film instead tends to focus on the plight of the families and the overdramatic experiences of some of the Southerners who owned plantations and held slaves on their lands. This is a significant distinction of the Civil War era and represents a challenge to the writers of the film in many ways because they appeared to sacrifice some of the historical accuracy in favor of buzz words and dramatic scenes to give the actors something to work with. These efforts are important because they convey the realities of filmmaking and how it has a tendency to distort the truth of historical events, perhaps because these events are too violent and too disturbing to address on camera for widespread audiences. From this perspective, North and South sacrificed some of its creativity and its potential ability to depict realistic scenes from the Civil War in favor of drama, romance, and intrigue in order to attract larger numbers of viewers and to achieve higher ratings and revenues for the network. This is a common phenomenon in many films because films in a sense are a means of escape rather than turmoil, and they capture the spirit of different events in a stylized manner rather than adopting a realistic approach that will represent the historical truth on a larger scale.

Conclusion

North and South remains one of the most popular miniseries of all time. Although it was released in 1985, it remains a classic in the minds and eyes of many new and original viewers. However, the film depicts the Civil War in a highly stylistic manner that amps up the drama, intrigue, romance, betrayal, and violence of the Civil War era. By depicting the story through the eyes of two friends from opposing sides of the war effort, the miniseries conveys less of the reality of actual history and instead provides a fictional account of the war and the challenges that occurred. The Mains and the Hazards indeed represent opposing sides of the war; however, they do not represent a realistic approach to the events that took place during the Civil War. Their actions demonstrate some of the activities that occurred, such as slavery on plantations and the war effort, but many of the scenes do not depict the true reality of the Civil War and the devastation that took place during this period of American history. Therefore, the miniseries is tall on style and short on facts. This is not a surprising outcome, given the challenges of creating a film based on a historical period, as this process is not typically realistic due to the harsh nature of actual events. Therefore, the film depicts a lighter side to the war in many ways and limits the ability of the viewer to obtain historical accuracy when watching the miniseries. For true historians, this film is not effective in providing a realistic representation of the Civil War and the true battles that took place between the North and the South; rather, its stylistic tendencies outweigh its desire to be historically accurate and truthful in its depictions. This is a definite challenge for the viewer who might be a history buff who is seeking a truthful story rather than fiction.

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. “What the black man wants.” 6 April 2014: http://www.frederickdouglass.org/speeches/#wants

Ladylivinia. “North and South Trilogy” – historical inaccuracies. 6 April 2014: http://ladylavinia1932.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/north-and-south-trilogy-historical-inaccuracies/

O’Connor, John J. “TV weekend; ‘North and South,’ a miniseries. 6 April 2014: http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/01/arts/tv-weekend-north-and-south-a-mini-series.html