Before the 2024 Oscars ceremony, Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer had already garnered nearly a billion dollars in global box office sales. Along with financial success, the film received awards for Best Director, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor, and it earned Nolan his first Academy Award for Best Picture. In the history of the Academy Awards, this contributes to a total of 52 wins for historical films out of 96 competitions, as documented by film scholar Jonathan Stubbs and records from the Oscars website. Historical films, often referred to as “Oscar bait,” draw attention due to their grand spectacle.
However, as I discuss in my new book, Making History Move: Five Principles of the Historical Film, these movies have a significant impact on viewers’ perceptions of historical reality. It’s essential to consider how these films are crafted. With Oppenheimer achieving both commercial and critical success, it’s an opportunity to examine the criteria for judging historical films and what audiences should expect from filmmakers in this genre. Historical films are more than just attempts to secure prestigious awards; they aim to explore the past to offer narratives and arguments that reflect the present, helping audiences make informed decisions about the future. This genre combines educational content with emotional and thrilling storytelling, reaching wide and varied audiences. While not the most reliable source of historical information, a large survey by the American Historical Association revealed that historical documentaries and films are the top two sources for the public’s understanding of the past.
Unlike pure fiction, historical films, such as fellow 2024 Best Picture nominees The Zone of Interest and Killers of the Flower Moon, give viewers the impression of witnessing past events and people. These films resonate with collective experiences and legacies, often interpreted personally by audiences. In the internet age, social media has created echo chambers where individuals have distinct media environments, shaping unique perspectives. Researcher Renée DiResta from the Stanford Internet Observatory describes this as people living in “bespoke realities.” This fragmentation of information leads to diverse political views and interpretations of historical events, creating separate narratives that challenge a shared understanding of the past. As traditional sources like books and lectures struggle to bridge these divides, mass media, like feature films, play a vital role in shaping a common identity.
Despite any assumed critical distance, neuroscience research by Jeffrey Zacks emphasizes how our brains process movie experiences similarly to real-life events, making it difficult to separate fictional and real memories. When engaging with films considered historical and non-fictional, it’s important to approach them as more than just entertainment. Drawing from philosophy, literature, and film theory, I’ve identified five principles to understand historical films: narration, evidence, reflexivity, foreignness, and plurality. These principles provide a framework for considering the creation and impact of historical films.
The challenge and allure of historical films lie in their need to creatively depict real events and people. Filmmakers must interpret historical data and determine its significance for modern audiences, while also engaging and entertaining them. To stay true to this objective, these films should avoid pure fabrication, aiming instead for accuracy and balanced storytelling that both captivates and informs.