Movies and television shows are very often based on true stories. Sometimes they may be fairly accurate, but they understandably play fast and loose with facts in order to maximize entertainment. That said, biopics, contemporary takes on legends and myths, and untold stories do have nuggets of truth - little bits of information that make watching them pretty darn informative.
There were a lot of historical dramas and comedies released in 2024 that graced big and small screens alike. These shows and movies actually taught us a thing or two. What about you?
Directed by Guy Richie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare takes a lot of liberties in retelling the story of Operation Postmaster, but it does make it clear that Ian Fleming was involved in the planning of the top-secret operation.
Operation Postmaster was sanctioned by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and tasked “small groups of highly trained soldiers who operate behind enemy lines, sabotaging and disrupting Axis operations without the need for a head on assault.” These commandos were, in the words of writer Arash Amel,
the forerunners of James Bond, but it was a coming together of this multicultural coalition of the misfits.
Set in the early 17th century, Shōgun is a retelling of the personal and political contest for power in Japan in the time leading up to the Tokugawa Shogunate. Both Yoshi Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his prisoner, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) are based on real people, Tokugawa Ieyasu and William Adams, respectively.
Ieyasu was the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868. He's considered one of the great unifiers of Japan and is known for triumphing in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Shogun depicts the days leading up to this battle.
Adams was a Protestant English ship captain who arrived in Japan in 1600, was taken captive, and later helped Japanese sailors build ships based on Western designs. Adams was also a trade and diplomatic advisor to Ieyasu, essentially becoming essential to the man who later became shogun.
The use of the term anjin (also the name of the first episode) in Shōgun translates to “pilot” and adding, -san was a sign of respect. When Adams was made a samurai, he was given a new name, Miura Anjin. “Miura” was a reference to the land Adams acquired alongside the the title.
Masters of the Air aired on Apple TV+ as a miniseries based on the book of the same name. Focusing on the actions of the 100th Bombardment Group, the “Bloody Hundredth,” during World War Two, Masters of the Air highlights the danger associated with bombing campaigns. It also includes details about the confinement of thousands of airmen in camps.
The attrition rate of American (and British) bombers during WWII was made horrifyingly clear in Masters of the Air. The show had its share of critics about accuracy, but it did deliver an immersive experience that drove home just how vulnerable the planes and their crews were. As pilot Emma Quedzuweit put it in her review of the show,
Human details that are sometimes overlooked in war media have a lynchpin place here, the camera lingering on each wounded crewmember getting extracted and carried off, and others vomiting (often), inside the airplane and out.
Blitz opens up the plight of parents trying to save their children during the bombings of London during World War Two. When George (Elliott Heffernan), a young boy sent away by his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), runs away and goes back to be with her, he meets Ife (Benjamin Clementine), an air raid warden in a bomb shelter.
Ife was based on Ita Ekpenyon, a Nigerian-born man who really served as an air raid warden in London. Ekpenyon volunteered to serve in civilian defenses because he was too old for active military service. While overseeing one underground shelter, Ekpenyon was met by Londoners trying to force out non-British individuals. He stood up to the former and told them that no discrimination in the shelter would be tolerated.
Ekpenyon later described what happened:
Some of the shelters told others to go back to their own countries, and some tried to practice segregation. So I told the people that though I am an air raid warden in London I am still an African. I said I would like to see a spirit of friendliness, co-operation and comradeship prevail at this very trying time in the history of the Empire. I further warned my audience that if what I had said was not going to be practised, I would advise those who did not agree to seek shelter somewhere else
Conclave is set at the Vatican during the election of a new pope. As the College of Cardinals gathers to choose the new head of the Catholic Church under the leadership of Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), a mystery unravels about the deeds and death of the previous pontiff.
Conclave opens up the mysterious process by which popes are elected and, while it's not entirely accurate in some details, it does show the complicated process. The conclave meets within days of the death of the pope, it includes all cardinals under the age of 80, and all of the members are candidates.
Infighting, back-door deals, and extensive conversation are all very true to form just like Conclave depicts, as is the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel when successful ballots are burned (unsuccessful ballots are also burned but the smoke is black). The movie clarifies how and what goes into the collection and burning of those ballots. Conclave was accurate down to the language used on the ballots themselves: Eligo in Summum Pontificem - Latin for "I elect as supreme pontiff." That said, Conclave was wrong in that none of the Cardinals can not vote for themselves.
Netflix's The Six Triple Eight tells the story of the lone Women's Army Corps (WAC), an entirely black group during World War Two. Their existence is little known, as is their essential mission: to clear up an enormous of backlogged mail amid the destruction and despair of war. Mail was part of their task, but the influence this would have on troop morale was essential to the war's end.
The Six Triple Eight - the 6888th Central Postal Battalion - was the only all-black, all-female group to serve overseas during WWII. In the movie, Oprah Winfrey plays Mary McLeod Bethune, the woman who made it possible for black women to join the WAC at all.
The movie highlights that there were warehouses full of mail that needed to get to US troops even though the war had officially ended. They had six months to sort, package, and direct millions of parcels and accomplished their work in just three months.
