Don't Know Much About History

I don't read history much. Indeed, my fill of history is the same as it is for many Americans. That's right, movies. Recently, I watched David Fincher's Zodiac. I didn't know much about this Bay Area serial killer. Not exactly a topic that comes up much in history courses. So what I learned comes films like his, and of course, reading follow-up reviews.

Or 300. What sounds like a hitting average in baseball or the ultimate in bowling is really based on Spartans who helped defend Greece against invading Persians. Sure, a few liberties were taken. Make the enemy stand nine feet tall. Downplay the homoerotic aspects of Spartan life. Make Spartans seem like the ultimate warriors.

Even so, reading material surrounding 300 gave me insight into history I knew little about. Sure, I knew about the warrior state of Sparta, but not much more than that. I didn't know about the lifelong training or how a city-state like Sparta could evolve.

While I don't plan on seeing 300, reading about the history is indeed fascinating.

So I don't know that much about history, and any film is likely to take licenses to make it more dramatic, to delineate good from evil, or to give us a rooting interest. I can live with that, provided someone is willing to fill in the real details later. It may not be the best way to learn history, but it's the way that's working for me.