MovieChat Forums > Inherit the Wind (1960) Discussion > Artistic license is one thing, but did t...

Artistic license is one thing, but did this movie go too far?

posted 13 years ago by vulnerable101-1
2 replies | jump to latest

I most definitely affirm the theory of evolution and would like to see much improvement in how it is taught in the public school classroom, but this movie has perpetuated many myths (deliberate lies?) about the Scopes Trial.

Lies and distortions have a tendency to provoke and perpetuate other lies and distortions (often from the other side of a debate). We expect artistic license from Hollywood but doesn't there come a point where the damage to public understanding of a topic is a problem and an educational impediment? (I've even known of high school science teachers who used the entire movie in the classroom without at least pointing out the countless distortions and errors.) Indeed, myths "absorbed" from this movie have misled many and I've even had to waste class time at the graduate student level dealing with them.

I don't advocate censorship. But I could wish that artistic license would be accompanied by careful consideration and due responsibility in telling about an important historical event. (Misleading the public about William Jennings Bryan, an important figure in American political history, is one thing. But mangling what actually happened at the Scopes Trial and how the evolution-vs-creationism debate impacted society and history is another matter.)

The Theory of Evolution stands solidly on the merits of the evidence and the scientific method. It doesn't "need" a propaganda hit-job.

[–] Edward_de_Vere 13 years ago

The authors of Inherit the Wind changed the names of the main characters. How much more could they do to make it obvious to people that they're watching a fictionalized account of events inspired by the Scopes trial, rather than a history lesson?

If people take works of fiction as history lessons, it's the fault of the audience, not the authors. Nobody in his right mind reads or watches performances of Shakespeare for historically accurate accounts of the life and career of Richard III, so why should this be any different? Or, closer to home, who reads All the King's Men to learn about Huey Long?

[–] Roquefort 12 years ago

As the original posting pointed out [I've even known of high school science teachers who used the entire movie in the classroom without at least pointing out the countless distortions and errors]
As you pointed out [The authors of Inherit the Wind changed the names of the main characters].
So the fault is partly the audience and partly the people who use it as indoctrination.