Just how factual is “Lincoln”?

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:45:00 +0000

The debate over the facts in "Zero Dark Thirty" rages on, as the sources behind Kathryn Bigelow's self-proclaimed work of cinematic journalism remain obscure. Fortunately for Steven Spielberg, his film has not been the target of media scrutiny. But while "Lincoln" arguably leads the field for the best picture Academy Award and is a huge financial hit, there are historians who believe the film paints a simplistic view of the Great Emancipator and the process of passing the 13th Amendment.

"It coheres, in some ways, very well, and, in some ways, not so well," says Bruce Levine, a historian from the University of Illinois who just published the well-received Civil War history "The Fall of the House of Dixie." "I give them a mixed review."

The film's focus on a narrow period of history — from after the 1864 election to Abraham Lincoln's assassination — necessarily overemphasizes Lincoln's role in ending an institution that was nearing its death, said Levine. "There are fundamental gaps in 'Lincoln.' Watching the film, you don't know that by the time of the events described, slavery is already badly undermined — slaves have been running away from their masters in border states and Confederate states even before fighting began."

Salon.com > historians

Just how factual is “Lincoln”?