Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Historical Movies, Historical Disciplines, And Getting What We Want And Deserve: Tarantino’S Inglourious Basterds And The Satisfactions Of Historical Reflection, Mike Kugler

Northwestern Review

Movies claiming to represent historical events remain popular. Historical films, however, differ from a disciplined study of the past, which is constrained by evidence from the past. Looking for an evidence-based historical argument in historical movies misses what they do best. A case in point is Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. This film combines two genres--exploitation films and World War II films. With Hitler and Nazis, argues the author, we viewers want justice achieved through vengeance—and Tarantino’s film gives us that. Historical movies in general give us the simpler past we want. They seldom, however, help us consider the full …