29 July, 2025 Siobhan Marie Day 0 Comments 2 categories
We’ve all seen it: the “Based on a True Story” title card slowly fades in as the music swells, inviting us to believe we’re about to witness a faithful recreation of real events. But by the time the credits roll, you're left wondering if the filmmakers were watching the same history book as the rest of us. When does cinematic license cross the line from artistic expression into historical deception? And how much “creative liberty” is too much? At MoviesToHistory.com, we love a good dramatization — when it respects the truth. But Hollywood has a long and troubled relationship with historical accuracy, often twisting facts, inventing characters, and rewriting events to suit a narrative arc. Today, we’re digging into the most egregious, eye-roll-inducing distortions in recent memory and asking: when does “based on a true story” become nothing more than a marketing gimmick?

I. THE FINE LINE BETWEEN DRAMA AND DISTORTION

We’ve all seen it: the “Based on a True Story” title card slowly fades in as the music swells, inviting us to believe we’re about to witness a faithful recreation of real events. But by the time the credits roll, you’re left wondering if the filmmakers were watching the same history book as the rest of us. When does cinematic license cross the line from artistic expression into historical deception? And how much “creative liberty” is too much?

The story of War Dogs isn’t just “inspired by true events” — it’s pulled almost directly from one of the most jaw-dropping military scandals of the 21st century. Efraim Diveroli was just 21 years old when his company, AEY Inc., landed a $300 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to supply weapons to the Afghan National Army.

At MoviestoHistory.com, we love a good dramatization — when it respects the truth. But Hollywood has a long and troubled relationship with historical accuracy, often twisting facts, inventing characters, and rewriting events to suit a narrative arc. Today, we’re digging into the most egregious, eye-roll-inducing distortions in recent memory and asking: when does “based on a true story” become nothing more than a marketing gimmick?

Representation in Hollywood

II. THE WORST OFFENDERS: WHEN FACT TAKES A BACKSEAT

Let’s start with some high-profile examples of historical “flexibility” — and not the good kind.

Screenplay Development and Production

1. Braveheart (1995) – Fiction in a Kilt

Directed by Mel Gibson, and Written by Randall Wallace, and Produced by Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr., and Bruce Davey, Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack, with Cinematography by John Toll, and Edited by Steven Rosenblum, with Music by James Horner, and Production companies: Icon Productions, and The Ladd Company, and Distributed by Paramount Pictures (United States and Canada), and 20th Century Fox (International)

Mel Gibson’s Braveheart won Oscars and made William Wallace a household name — but historians have spent decades cleaning up the mess. The real Wallace never wore a kilt (they weren’t even invented yet), Princess Isabelle was about three years old during Wallace’s lifetime, and the final battle scenes are, quite literally, medieval fan fiction. Dramatic? Yes. Accurate? Laughably not.

Mel Gibson filming "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox
68TH FILM OSCARS CEREMONY IN LOS ANGELES - In 1995, Gibson produced, directed, and starred in "Braveheart", a historical epic, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, the Academy Award for Best Director, and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Photo by Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images
William Wallace (born c. 1270, probably near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland—died August 23, 1305, London, England) was one of Scotland’s greatest national heroes and the chief inspiration for Scottish resistance to the English king Edward I. He served as guardian of the kingdom of Scotland during the first years of the long and ultimately successful struggle to free his country from English rule. Early life, initial campaigns against the English, and the Battle of Stirling Bridge Battle of Stirling Bridge 1 of 2 Battle of Stirling BridgeLithograph depicting the Battle of Stirling Bridge, September 11, 1297. Stirling Bridge 2 of 2 Stirling BridgeStirling Bridge, Stirling, Scotland. Wallace was the second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie in Renfrewshire. The elder Wallace was a minor landowner and a vassal of James, 5th steward of Scotland. In 1296 King Edward I of England deposed and imprisoned the Scottish king John de Balliol and declared himself ruler of Scotland. Sporadic resistance had already occurred when, in May 1297, Wallace and a band of some 30 men burned Lanark and killed its English sheriff. Joined by Sir William Douglas (“the Hardy”), Wallace next marched on Scone, drove out the English justiciar, and attacked the English garrisons between the Rivers Forth and Tay. The Scottish steward, Robert the Bruce (later King Robert I), and others now gathered an army, but it was forced to surrender at Irvine by Sir Henry de Percy and Sir Robert de Clifford (July 1297). Wallace, however, remained in action “with a large company in the Forest of Selkirk,” according to a contemporary report made to Edward. Wallace laid siege to Dundee but abandoned it to oppose, with Andrew de Moray, an English army that was advancing toward Stirling under John de Warenne, earl of Surrey. Surrey failed to bring Wallace to terms outside Stirling, and, on the morning of September 11, 1297, the English began to file across the narrow bridge over the Forth. Wallace and Moray, in a position northwest of the Abbey Craig, held back their troops until about half the English had crossed. They then attacked with such sudden fury that almost all who had crossed were killed or driven into the river and drowned. Surrey, with the rest of his army, retreated hastily, having first destroyed the bridge, but the Scots crossed by a ford and pursued them. With only a small following, Surrey escaped to Berwick and York. For the moment Scotland was almost free of occupation. A letter long survived in which Moray and Wallace, writing from Haddington on October 11, urged the Hanseatic towns of Hamburg and Lübeck to resume trade with Scotland, now “recovered by war from the power of the English.” Moray, who had been wounded at Stirling Bridge, died soon afterward. Wallace now ravaged Northumberland and Cumberland, burning Alnwick and besieging Carlisle. To the monks of Hexham, however, he granted special protection. Guardian of Scotland and the Battle of Falkirk Upon returning to Scotland early in December 1297, Wallace was knighted (it is not known by whom) and was elected or assumed the title of guardian of the kingdom. In the name of King John de Balliol, then a prisoner in London, Wallace set himself to reorganize the army and regulate the affairs of the country. He seems to have acted wisely and vigorously and to have been supported by Bishop Robert Wishart of Glasgow, the steward’s brother Sir John Stewart, Sir John Graham of Dundaff, Sir John Comyn (“the Red”), Robert the Bruce, and others. Some nobles, many of whom had English estates and hostages in Edward’s hands, were only lukewarm to Wallace’s leadership, and his position depended entirely upon his success on the battlefield. Early in 1298 Surrey returned and relieved the English-held castles of Roxburgh and Berwick but by Edward’s orders advanced no farther. Edward himself crossed the Tweed on July 3 and moved toward Stirling with a strong force of heavy cavalry, a body of archers, and Irish and Welsh auxiliaries. Wallace retreated slowly, wasting the country behind him so Edward’s force could not resupply itself on the march. Edward, with his army half-starved and mutinous, was on the point of retreat when, early on July 21 near Kirkliston, he learned that Wallace was awaiting him near Falkirk. Edward advanced and on the following day found Wallace on a carefully chosen sloping ground, his front protected by a small river. The English cavalry, having with some difficulty crossed the river and the adjacent marshy ground, launched repeated charges on the four schiltrons (circular battle formations) of Wallace’s spearmen. They drove off the field the small body of Scottish horse under Comyn but made no impression on the schiltrons and suffered considerable losses. The archers, however, now advanced, and their deadly volleys soon broke up the spearmen’s ranks, and further cavalry charges turned them to flight. Thousands of the Scots were slain in the pursuit, and among the dead were Sir John Stewart and Sir John de Graham. Wallace retired northward with the survivors, burning Stirling and Perth as he went. Edward, unable to maintain his forces in Scotland, returned south, reaching Carlisle on September 8. His military reputation ruined, Wallace resigned the guardianship in December 1298 and was succeeded by Bruce and Comyn. Capture and execution There is some evidence that Wallace went to France in 1299 and thereafter returned to Scotland to act as a solitary guerrilla leader, but from the autumn of 1299 nothing is known of his activities for more than four years. The rebellion he had led nevertheless continued until 1304, at which point most Scottish nobles submitted to Edward. How much this continued resistance was due to Wallace’s influence is uncertain, but Wallace was the one leader to whom Edward would never offer any terms of capitulation and whom he most persistently tried to capture. On August 5, 1305, Wallace was arrested near Glasgow by Sir John Menteith, and, according to two early chroniclers, by treachery. He was carried to Dumbarton Castle and then to London, having possibly been brought before King Edward along the way. Are you a student? Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium. Subscribe On August 23, 1305, Wallace was conveyed to Westminster Hall, where he was indicted and condemned to death. There was no trial because he was declared a traitor to the king; Wallace emphatically denied this charge, as he had never sworn allegiance to Edward. That same day he was hanged, disemboweled, and finally beheaded and quartered at Smithfield. His head was set on London Bridge and his limbs exposed at Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth. In 1306 Bruce raised the rebellion that eventually won independence for Scotland. Legacy and influence William Wallace 1 of 2 William WallaceStatue of William Wallace in Dryburgh, Scottish Borders, Scotland. Braveheart 2 of 2 BraveheartA scene from the film Braveheart (1995), starring Mel Gibson. Wallace was unmarried and is not known to have fathered any children. There is no portrait of him and no contemporary description of his appearance. Many of the stories surrounding Wallace have been traced to a late 15th-century romance ascribed to Harry the Minstrel, or “Blind Harry.” The most popular tales are not supported by documentary evidence, but they show Wallace’s firm hold on the imagination of his people. A huge monument (1861–69) to Wallace stands atop the rock of Abbey Craig near Stirling. Mel Gibson portrayed Wallace in Braveheart (1995), an Academy Award-winning film that was loosely based on Wallace’s life. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Mel Gibson as William Wallace in "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox
Mel Gibson as William Wallace in "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox
William Wallace's sword in "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox
Mel Gibson as William Wallace in "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox
Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabelle in "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox
Sophie Marceau and Mel Gibson in "Braveheart" (1995) Photo Credit: Paramount/20th Century Fox

2. The Imitation Game (2014) – Tragedy Diluted

Directed by Morten Tyldum, Written by Graham Moore, Based on "Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges, Produced by Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman, Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, with Cinematography by Óscar Faura, and Edited by William Goldenberg, with Music by Alexandre Desplat, Production companies: Black Bear Pictures, Bristol Automotive, and Orange Corp, Distributed by The Weinstein Company (2014)

Alan Turing’s contributions to breaking the Nazi Enigma code are undisputed — but The Imitation Game invented emotional arcs and personal betrayals that never happened. The film suggests Turing was blackmailed, kept secrets from colleagues, and was socially ostracized to a degree historians dispute. The truth is already powerful; the embellishments, in this case, felt insulting.

The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the German military. The Enigma machine was considered so secure that it was used to encipher the most top-secret messages.[1] The Enigma has an electromechanical rotor mechanism that scrambles the 26 letters of the alphabet. In typical use, one person enters text on the Enigma's keyboard and another person writes down which of the 26 lights above the keyboard illuminated at each key press. If plaintext is entered, the illuminated letters are the ciphertext. Entering ciphertext transforms it back into readable plaintext. The rotor mechanism changes the electrical connections between the keys and the lights with each keypress. The security of the system depends on machine settings that were generally changed daily, based on secret key lists distributed in advance, and on other settings that were changed for each message. The receiving station would have to know and use the exact settings employed by the transmitting station to decrypt a message. Although Nazi Germany introduced a series of improvements to the Enigma over the years that hampered decryption efforts, cryptanalysis of the Enigma enabled Poland to first crack the machine as early as December 1932 and to read messages prior to and into the war. Poland's sharing of their achievements enabled the Allies to exploit Enigma-enciphered messages as a major source of intelligence.[2] Many commentators say the flow of Ultra communications intelligence from the decrypting of Enigma, Lorenz, and other ciphers shortened the war substantially and may even have altered its outcome.
Alan Turing (born June 23, 1912, London, England—died June 7, 1954, Wilmslow, Cheshire) was a British mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematics, cryptanalysis, logic, philosophy, and mathematical biology and also to the new areas later named computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and artificial life. Early life and career The son of a civil servant, Turing was educated at a top private school. He entered the University of Cambridge to study mathematics in 1931. After graduating in 1934, he was elected to a fellowship at King’s College (his college since 1931) in recognition of his research in probability theory. In 1936 Turing’s seminal paper “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem [Decision Problem]” was recommended for publication by the American mathematical logician Alonzo Church, who had himself just published a paper that reached the same conclusion as Turing’s, although by a different method. Turing’s method (but not so much Church’s) had profound significance for the emerging science of computing. Later that year Turing moved to Princeton University to study for a Ph.D. in mathematical logic under Church’s direction (completed in 1938). The Entscheidungsproblem What mathematicians called an “effective” method for solving a problem was simply one that could be carried by a human mathematical clerk working by rote. In Turing’s time, those rote-workers were in fact called “computers,” and human computers carried out some aspects of the work later done by electronic computers. The Entscheidungsproblem sought an effective method for solving the fundamental mathematical problem of determining exactly which mathematical statements are provable within a given formal mathematical system and which are not. A method for determining this is called a decision method. In 1936 Turing and Church independently showed that, in general, the Entscheidungsproblem problem has no resolution, proving that no consistent formal system of arithmetic has an effective decision method. In fact, Turing and Church showed that even some purely logical systems, considerably weaker than arithmetic, have no effective decision method. This result and others—notably mathematician-logician Kurt Gödel’s incompleteness results—dashed the hopes, held by some mathematicians, of discovering a formal system that would reduce the whole of mathematics to methods that (human) computers could carry out. It was in the course of his work on the Entscheidungsproblem that Turing invented the universal Turing machine, an abstract computing machine that encapsulates the fundamental logical principles of the digital computer. The Church-Turing thesis An important step in Turing’s argument about the Entscheidungsproblem was the claim, now called the Church-Turing thesis, that everything humanly computable can also be computed by the universal Turing machine. The claim is important because it marks out the limits of human computation. Church in his work used instead the thesis that all human-computable functions are identical to what he called lambda-definable functions (functions on the positive integers whose values can be calculated by a process of repeated substitution). Turing showed in 1936 that Church’s thesis was equivalent to his own, by proving that every lambda-definable function is computable by the universal Turing machine and vice versa. In a review of Turing’s work, Church acknowledged the superiority of Turing’s formulation of the thesis over his own (which made no reference to computing machinery), saying that the concept of computability by a Turing machine “has the advantage of making the identification with effectiveness…evident immediately.” Code breaker Enigma machine explained 1 of 3 Enigma machine explainedWorld War II saw wide use of codes and ciphers, from substitution ciphers to the work of Navajo code talkers. In this video from a World Science Festival program on June 4, 2011, Simon Singh demonstrates the German Enigma machine. (more) See all videos for this article Bombe machine 2 of 3 Bombe machineDetail of rotating (top) drums on a rebuilt Bombe machine, a code-breaking machine, originally developed by Alan Turing and others, used during World War II; in the National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. (more) Enigma 3 of 3 EnigmaThe Enigma machine was used by Germans to code their military communications during World War II. British mathematician Alan Turing helped break the Enigma code. (more) Having returned from the United States to his fellowship at King’s College in the summer of 1938, Turing went on to join the Government Code and Cypher School, and, at the outbreak of war with Germany in September 1939, he moved to the organization’s wartime headquarters at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. A few weeks previously, the Polish government had given Britain and France details of the Polish successes against Enigma, the principal cipher machine used by the German military to encrypt radio communications. As early as 1932, a small team of Polish mathematician-cryptanalysts, led by Marian Rejewski, had succeeded in deducing the internal wiring of Enigma, and by 1938 Rejewski’s team had devised a code-breaking machine they called the Bomba (the Polish word for a type of ice cream). The Bomba depended for its success on German operating procedures, and a change in those procedures in May 1940 rendered the Bomba useless. During the autumn of 1939 and the spring of 1940, Turing and others designed a related, but very different, code-breaking machine known as the Bombe. For the rest of the war, Bombes supplied the Allies with large quantities of military intelligence. By early 1942 the cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park were decoding about 39,000 intercepted messages each month, a figure that rose subsequently to more than 84,000 per month—two messages every minute, day and night. In 1942 Turing also devised the first systematic method for breaking messages encrypted by the sophisticated German cipher machine that the British called “Tunny.” At the end of the war, Turing was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his code-breaking work. Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29. Britannica Quiz Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II Computer designer In 1945, the war over, Turing was recruited to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in London to create an electronic computer. His design for the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) was the first complete specification of an electronic stored-program all-purpose digital computer. Had Turing’s ACE been built as he planned, it would have had vastly more memory than any of the other early computers, as well as being faster. However, his colleagues at NPL thought the engineering too difficult to attempt, and a much smaller machine was built, the Pilot Model ACE (1950). NPL lost the race to build the world’s first working electronic stored-program digital computer—an honour that went to the Royal Society Computing Machine Laboratory at the University of Manchester in June 1948. Discouraged by the delays at NPL, Turing took up the deputy directorship of the Computing Machine Laboratory in that year (there was no director). His earlier theoretical concept of a universal Turing machine had been a fundamental influence on the Manchester computer project from the beginning. After Turing’s arrival at Manchester, his main contributions to the computer’s development were to design an input-output system—using Bletchley Park technology—and to design its programming system. He also wrote the first-ever programming manual, and his programming system was used in the Ferranti Mark I, the first marketable electronic digital computer (1951). Artificial intelligence pioneer Turing was a founding father of artificial intelligence and of modern cognitive science, and he was a leading early exponent of the hypothesis that the human brain is in large part a digital computing machine. He theorized that the cortex at birth is an “unorganised machine” that through “training” becomes organized “into a universal machine or something like it.” Turing proposed what subsequently became known as the Turing test as a criterion for whether an artificial computer is thinking (1950). In late 2022, the advent of ChatGPT reignited conversation about the likelihood that the components of the Turing test had been met. Last years Turing was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in March 1951, a high honour, yet his life was about to become very hard. In March 1952 he was convicted of “gross indecency”—that is to say, homosexuality, a crime in Britain at that time—and he was sentenced to 12 months of hormone “therapy.” Now with a criminal record, he would never again be able to work for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British government’s postwar code-breaking centre. Turing spent the remainder of his short career at Manchester, where he was appointed to a specially created readership in the theory of computing in May 1953. From 1951 Turing had been working on what is now known as artificial life. He published “The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis” in 1952, describing aspects of his research on the development of form and pattern in living organisms. Turing used Manchester’s Ferranti Mark I computer to model his hypothesized chemical mechanism for the generation of anatomical structure in animals and plants. In the midst of this groundbreaking work, Turing was discovered dead in his bed, poisoned by cyanide. The official verdict was suicide, but no motive was established at the 1954 inquest. His death is often attributed to the hormone “treatment” he received at the hands of the authorities following his trial for being gay. Yet he died more than a year after the hormone doses had ended, and, in any case, the resilient Turing had borne that cruel treatment with what his close friend Peter Hilton called “amused fortitude.” Also, to judge by the records of the inquest, no evidence at all was presented to indicate that Turing intended to take his own life, nor that the balance of his mind was disturbed (as the coroner claimed). In fact, his mental state appears to have been unremarkable at the time. Although suicide cannot be ruled out, it is also possible that his death was simply an accident, the result of his inhaling cyanide fumes from an experiment in the tiny laboratory adjoining his bedroom. Nor can murder by the secret services be entirely ruled out, given that Turing knew so much about cryptanalysis at a time when homosexuals were regarded as threats to national security. By the early 21st century Turing’s prosecution for being gay had become infamous. In 2009 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking on behalf of the British government, publicly apologized for Turing’s “utterly unfair” treatment. Four years later Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a royal pardon. B.J. Copeland computer science Table of Contents Introduction & Top Questions Development of computer science Algorithms and complexity Architecture and organization Computational science Graphics and visual computing Human-computer interaction Information management Intelligent systems Networking and communication Operating systems Parallel and distributed computing Platform-based development Programming languages Security and information assurance Software engineering Social and professional issues References & Edit History Related Topics Images A laptop computer Alan Turing Graphical user interface USB flash drive inserted in a laptop Moore's law Brain cancer; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ASIMO Open systems interconnection (OSI) A trojan is a type of malware For Students default image computer science summary Quizzes computer chip. computer. Hand holding computer chip. Central processing unit (CPU). history and society, science and technology, microchip, microprocessor motherboard computer Circuit Board Computers and Technology Quiz Related Questions Who are the most well-known computer scientists? Is computer science used in video games? How do I learn computer science? Science Mathematics A laptop computer A laptop computer Programmers may use computer science to design portable computers such as laptops. computer science Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Written by Geneva G. Belford , Allen Tucker •All Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Jul 11, 2025 • Article History Key People: Ray Tomlinson Konrad Zuse Joseph Weizenbaum John von Neumann Vannevar Bush Related Topics: cryptology List of Influential Women and Nonbinary People in Computing Moore’s law software engineering life cycle development (Show more) On the Web: Maryville University - What Is Computer Science? An Introduction to a Limitless Industry (July 11, 2025) (Show more) See all related content Top Questions What is computer science? Who are the most well-known computer scientists? What can you do with computer science? News • TNEA Counselling 2025 Round 1: Computer Science and ECE most preferred branches • July 19, 2025, 2:06 AM ET (The Hindu) ...(Show more) computer science, the study of computers and computing, including their theoretical and algorithmic foundations, hardware and software, and their uses for processing information. The discipline of computer science includes the study of algorithms and data structures, computer and network design, modeling data and information processes, and artificial intelligence. Computer science draws some of its foundations from mathematics and engineering and therefore incorporates techniques from areas such as queueing theory, probability and statistics, and electronic circuit design. Computer science also makes heavy use of hypothesis testing and experimentation during the conceptualization, design, measurement, and refinement of new algorithms, information structures, and computer architectures. What do you think? Is the Internet “Making Us Stupid?” Explore the ProCon debate Computer science is considered as part of a family of five separate yet interrelated disciplines: computer engineering, computer science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering. This family has come to be known collectively as the discipline of computing. These five disciplines are interrelated in the sense that computing is their object of study, but they are separate since each has its own research perspective and curricular focus. (Since 1991 the Association for Computing Machinery [ACM], the IEEE Computer Society [IEEE-CS], and the Association for Information Systems [AIS] have collaborated to develop and update the taxonomy of these five interrelated disciplines and the guidelines that educational institutions worldwide use for their undergraduate, graduate, and research programs.) The major subfields of computer science include the traditional study of computer architecture, programming languages, and software development. However, they also include computational science (the use of algorithmic techniques for modeling scientific data), graphics and visualization, human-computer interaction, databases and information systems, networks, and the social and professional issues that are unique to the practice of computer science. As may be evident, some of these subfields overlap in their activities with other modern fields, such as bioinformatics and computational chemistry. These overlaps are the consequence of a tendency among computer scientists to recognize and act upon their field’s many interdisciplinary connections. Development of computer science Computer science emerged as an independent discipline in the early 1960s, although the electronic digital computer that is the object of its study was invented some two decades earlier. The roots of computer science lie primarily in the related fields of mathematics, electrical engineering, physics, and management information systems. Mathematics is the source of two key concepts in the development of the computer—the idea that all information can be represented as sequences of zeros and ones and the abstract notion of a “stored program.” In the binary number system, numbers are represented by a sequence of the binary digits 0 and 1 in the same way that numbers in the familiar decimal system are represented using the digits 0 through 9. The relative ease with which two states (e.g., high and low voltage) can be realized in electrical and electronic devices led naturally to the binary digit, or bit, becoming the basic unit of data storage and transmission in a computer system. computer chip. computer. Hand holding computer chip. Central processing unit (CPU). history and society, science and technology, microchip, microprocessor motherboard computer Circuit Board Britannica Quiz Computers and Technology Quiz Electrical engineering provides the basics of circuit design—namely, the idea that electrical impulses input to a circuit can be combined using Boolean algebra to produce arbitrary outputs. (The Boolean algebra developed in the 19th century supplied a formalism for designing a circuit with binary input values of zeros and ones [false or true, respectively, in the terminology of logic] to yield any desired combination of zeros and ones as output.) The invention of the transistor and the miniaturization of circuits, along with the invention of electronic, magnetic, and optical media for the storage and transmission of information, resulted from advances in electrical engineering and physics. Management information systems, originally called data processing systems, provided early ideas from which various computer science concepts such as sorting, searching, databases, information retrieval, and graphical user interfaces evolved. Large corporations housed computers that stored information that was central to the activities of running a business—payroll, accounting, inventory management, production control, shipping, and receiving. Are you a student? Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium. Subscribe Alan Turing Alan TuringBritish mathematician Alan Turing conceptualized the Turing machine. Theoretical work on computability, which began in the 1930s, provided the needed extension of these advances to the design of whole machines; a milestone was the 1936 specification of the Turing machine (a theoretical computational model that carries out instructions represented as a series of zeros and ones) by the British mathematician Alan Turing and his proof of the model’s computational power. Another breakthrough was the concept of the stored-program computer, usually credited to Hungarian American mathematician John von Neumann. These are the origins of the computer science field that later became known as architecture and organization. In the 1950s, most computer users worked either in scientific research labs or in large corporations. The former group used computers to help them make complex mathematical calculations (e.g., missile trajectories), while the latter group used computers to manage large amounts of corporate data (e.g., payrolls and inventories). Both groups quickly learned that writing programs in the machine language of zeros and ones was not practical or reliable. This discovery led to the development of assembly language in the early 1950s, which allows programmers to use symbols for instructions (e.g., ADD for addition) and variables (e.g., X). Another program, known as an assembler, translated these symbolic programs into an equivalent binary program whose steps the computer could carry out, or “execute.” Other system software elements known as linking loaders were developed to combine pieces of assembled code and load them into the computer’s memory, where they could be executed. The concept of linking separate pieces of code was important, since it allowed “libraries” of programs for carrying out common tasks to be reused. This was a first step in the development of the computer science field called software engineering. Later in the 1950s, assembly language was found to be so cumbersome that the development of high-level languages (closer to natural languages) began to support easier, faster programming. FORTRAN emerged as the main high-level language for scientific programming, while COBOL became the main language for business programming. These languages carried with them the need for different software, called compilers, that translate high-level language programs into machine code. As programming languages became more powerful and abstract, building compilers that create high-quality machine code and that are efficient in terms of execution speed and storage consumption became a challenging computer science problem. The design and implementation of high-level languages is at the heart of the computer science field called programming languages. Increasing use of computers in the early 1960s provided the impetus for the development of the first operating systems, which consisted of system-resident software that automatically handled input and output and the execution of programs called “jobs.” The demand for better computational techniques led to a resurgence of interest in numerical methods and their analysis, an activity that expanded so widely that it became known as computational science. The 1970s and ’80s saw the emergence of powerful computer graphics devices, both for scientific modeling and other visual activities. (Computerized graphical devices were introduced in the early 1950s with the display of crude images on paper plots and cathode-ray tube [CRT] screens.) Expensive hardware and the limited availability of software kept the field from growing until the early 1980s, when the computer memory required for bitmap graphics (in which an image is made up of small rectangular pixels) became more affordable. Bitmap technology, together with high-resolution display screens and the development of graphics standards that make software less machine-dependent, has led to the explosive growth of the field. Support for all these activities evolved into the field of computer science known as graphics and visual computing. Graphical user interface Graphical user interfaceThe Xerox Alto was the first computer to use graphical icons and a mouse to control the system—the first graphical user interface (GUI). (more) Closely related to this field is the design and analysis of systems that interact directly with users who are carrying out various computational tasks. These systems came into wide use during the 1980s and ’90s, when line-edited interactions with users were replaced by graphical user interfaces (GUIs). GUI design, which was pioneered by Xerox and was later picked up by Apple (Macintosh) and finally by Microsoft (Windows), is important because it constitutes what people see and do when they interact with a computing device. The design of appropriate user interfaces for all types of users has evolved into the computer science field known as human-computer interaction (HCI). The field of computer architecture and organization has also evolved dramatically since the first stored-program computers were developed in the 1950s. So called time-sharing systems emerged in the 1960s to allow several users to run programs at the same time from different terminals that were hard-wired to the computer. The 1970s saw the development of the first wide-area computer networks (WANs) and protocols for transferring information at high speeds between computers separated by large distances. As these activities evolved, they coalesced into the computer science field called networking and communications. A major accomplishment of this field was the development of the Internet. The idea that instructions, as well as data, could be stored in a computer’s memory was critical to fundamental discoveries about the theoretical behavior of algorithms. That is, questions such as, “What can/cannot be computed?” have been formally addressed using these abstract ideas. These discoveries were the origin of the computer science field known as algorithms and complexity. A key part of this field is the study and application of data structures that are appropriate to different applications. Data structures, along with the development of optimal algorithms for inserting, deleting, and locating data in such structures, are a major concern of computer scientists because they are so heavily used in computer software, most notably in compilers, operating systems, file systems, and search engines. In the 1960s the invention of magnetic disk storage provided rapid access to data located at an arbitrary place on the disk. This invention led not only to more cleverly designed file systems but also to the development of database and information retrieval systems, which later became essential for storing, retrieving, and transmitting large amounts and wide varieties of data across the Internet. This field of computer science is known as information management. Another long-term goal of computer science research is the creation of computing machines and robotic devices that can carry out tasks that are typically thought of as requiring human intelligence. Such tasks include moving, seeing, hearing, speaking, understanding natural language, thinking, and even exhibiting human emotions. The computer science field of intelligent systems, originally known as artificial intelligence (AI), actually predates the first electronic computers in the 1940s, although the term artificial intelligence was not coined until 1956. Three developments in computing in the early part of the 21st century—mobile computing, client-server computing, and computer hacking—contributed to the emergence of three new fields in computer science: platform-based development, parallel and distributed computing, and security and information assurance. Platform-based development is the study of the special needs of mobile devices, their operating systems, and their applications. Parallel and distributed computing concerns the development of architectures and programming languages that support the development of algorithms whose components can run simultaneously and asynchronously (rather than sequentially), in order to make better use of time and space. Security and information assurance deals with the design of computing systems and software that protects the integrity and security of data, as well as the privacy of individuals who are characterized by that data. Finally, a particular concern of computer science throughout its history is the unique societal impact that accompanies computer science research and technological advancements. With the emergence of the Internet in the 1980s, for example, software developers needed to address important issues related to information security, personal privacy, and system reliability. In addition, the question of whether computer software constitutes intellectual property and the related question “Who owns it?” gave rise to a whole new legal area of licensing and licensing standards that applied to software and related artifacts. These concerns and others form the basis of social and professional issues of computer science, and they appear in almost all the other fields identified above. So, to summarize, the discipline of computer science has evolved into the following 15 distinct fields: Algorithms and complexity Architecture and organization Computational science Graphics and visual computing Human-computer interaction Information management Intelligent systems Networking and communication Operating systems Parallel and distributed computing Platform-based development Programming languages Security and information assurance Software engineering Social and professional issues Computer science continues to have strong mathematical and engineering roots. Computer science bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs are routinely offered by postsecondary academic institutions, and these programs require students to complete appropriate mathematics and engineering courses, depending on their area of focus. For example, all undergraduate computer science majors must study discrete mathematics (logic, combinatorics, and elementary graph theory). Many programs also require students to complete courses in calculus, statistics, numerical analysis, physics, and principles of engineering early in their studies. Load Next Page
Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game" (2014) Photo Credit: the Weinstein Company
Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game" (2014) Photo Credit: the Weinstein Company
Kiera Knightly, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game" (2014) Photo Credit: the Weinstein Company
Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game" (2014) Photo Credit: the Weinstein Company
Matthew Beard, Matthew Goode, Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Allen Leech in "The Imitation Game" (2014) Photo Credit: the Weinstein Company

3. The Greatest Showman (2017) – Sanitizing the Circus

Directed by Michael Gracey Screenplay by Jenny Bicks Bill Condon Story by Jenny Bicks Produced by Laurence Mark Peter Chernin Jenno Topping Starring Hugh Jackman Zac Efron Michelle Williams Rebecca Ferguson Zendaya Cinematography Seamus McGarvey Edited by Tom Cross Robert Duffy Joe Hutshing Michael McCusker Jon Poll Spencer Susser Music by John Debney and Joseph Trapanese (score) Pasek and Paul (songs) Production companies Chernin Entertainment Laurence Mark Productions Distributed by 20th Century Fox

This toe-tapping musical turns P.T. Barnum into a woke, progressive dreamer. The real Barnum exploited disabled people, trafficked in human curiosity, and was no stranger to cruel publicity stunts. Turning him into a song-and-dance symbol of tolerance felt less like rewriting history and more like erasing it entirely.

P.T. Barnum (born July 5, 1810, Bethel, Connecticut, U.S.—died April 7, 1891, Bridgeport, Connecticut) was an American showman who employed sensational forms of presentation and publicity to popularize such amusements as the public museum, the musical concert, and the three-ring circus. In partnership with James A. Bailey, he made the American circus a popular and gigantic spectacle, the so-called Greatest Show on Earth. Barnum was 15 years old when his father died, and the support of his mother and his five sisters and brothers fell largely upon his shoulders. After holding a variety of jobs, he became publisher of a ...
Hugh Jackman, Michael Gracey, Zac Efron, Christina Glur, Alex Wong, Julius Rubio, Yusaku Komori, Danial Son Photo by Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise - © TM & © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.
Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) Photo Credit: © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.
Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) Photo Credit: © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.
Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) Photo Credit: © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.
Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) Photo Credit: © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

4. U-571 (2000) – A Rewrite That Offended a Nation

Directed by Jonathan Mostow Screenplay by Jonathan Mostow Sam Montgomery David Ayer Story by Jonathan Mostow Produced by Dino De Laurentiis Martha De Laurentiis Starring Matthew McConaughey Bill Paxton Harvey Keitel Jon Bon Jovi Jake Weber Erik Palladino Matthew Settle David Keith Thomas Kretschmann Cinematography Oliver Wood Edited by Wayne Wahrman Music by Richard Marvin Production companies Dino De Laurentiis Company Canal+ Image Distributed by Universal Pictures (Select territories) BAC Films (France)

This World War II submarine thriller gave American forces credit for capturing an Enigma machine — a feat that was actually accomplished by the British. Even President Bill Clinton acknowledged the offense it caused. Historical revisionism is one thing; national insult is another.

Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jack Noseworthy, Erik Palladino in "U-571" (2000) Photo by Canal Plus Image International - © 2000
Director Jonathan Mostow gives direction to Matthew McConaughey and Jake Weber. © Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved
Matthew McConaughey, and Bill Paxton in "U-571" (2000) © Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved
Matthew McConaughey as Lieutenant Andrew Tyler in "U-571" (2000) © Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved
Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jack Noseworthy, Erik Palladino in "U-571" (2000) Photo by Canal Plus Image International - © 2000
William Jefferson Clinton, known as Bill Clinton, served as the 42nd President of the United States from Jan. 20, 1993 to Jan. 19, 2001. His proponents contend that under his presidency the US enjoyed the lowest unemployment and inflation rates in recent history, high home ownership, low crime rates, and a budget surplus. They give him credit for eliminating the federal deficit and reforming welfare, despite being forced to deal with a Republican-controlled Congress. His opponents say that Clinton cannot take credit for the economic prosperity experienced during his scandal-plagued presidency because it was the result of other factors. In fact, they blame his policies for the financial crisis that began in 2007. They point to his impeachment by Congress and his failure to pass universal health care coverage as further evidence that he was not a good president. Bill Clinton was born on Aug. 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. He graduated with a BS from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1968, then attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, then earned his JD from Yale Law School in 1973. He married Hillary Rodham in 1975, and was first elected Governor of Arkansas in 1978. After serving five terms (12 years) as Governor, Clinton announced his candidacy for US president on Oct. 3, 1991. Despite scandals involving accusations of draft dodging and cheating on his wife, Clinton and his running mate, then-Senator Al Gore (D-TN), won the Nov. 3, 1992 election with 370 electoral votes and 43 percent of the popular vote. [47] By defeating incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush and independent Ross Perot, Clinton became the first Democratic president in 12 years. [48].

III. WHY HOLLYWOOD DOES IT: DRAMA SELLS

To be fair, filmmakers aren’t historians — they’re storytellers. And history, unlike fiction, doesn’t always follow a neat three-act structure. Real events often lack clean climaxes, obvious villains, or cathartic endings. So writers and directors trim, tweak, and — let’s be honest — fabricate to keep audiences engaged.

But when those changes significantly alter the meaning of real people’s lives or distort public understanding of important events, the line between storytelling and misinformation starts to blur.

Storytelling

IV. THE CONSEQUENCES: ENTERTAINING, BUT MISLEADING

Why does it matter? Because film is one of the most powerful forms of modern storytelling — and for many viewers, it becomes their only source of historical knowledge.

Audience reactions to Black Hawk Down were generally positive, with many viewers praising its intense action sequences and immersive realism. However, the film also sparked debates about its historical accuracy and cultural representation, with some audiences expressing discomfort over its portrayal of Somalis and its narrow focus on the American perspective.

When Argo (2012) minimizes the Canadian role in the Iran hostage crisis, or Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) reshuffles Freddie Mercury’s HIV diagnosis for dramatic tension, it doesn’t just bend the truth — it teaches the wrong lesson.

Directed by Ben Affleck, Screenplay by Chris Terrio Based on "The Master of Disguise" by Antonio J. Mendez, and "The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman, Produced by Ben Affleck, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov, Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, with Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, and Edited by William Goldenberg, with Music by Alexandre Desplat, Production companies: GK Films, and Smokehouse Pictures, and Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. (2012)
Ben Affleck directing Alan Arkin in "Argo" (2012) Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
(L to R) Victor Garber as Ken Taylor, and director/star Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in "Argo" (2012) Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
(L to R) Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Scoot McNairy, Ben Affleck, and Rory Cochrane in "Argo" (2012) Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, and Mike Myers; directed by Bryan Singer; Screenplay written by Anthony McCarten for 20th Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, and GK Films and distributed by 20th Century Fox. (2018)
Joseph Mazzello, Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, and Ben Hardy in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
The rock band Queen at LIVE AID in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Freddie Mercury in end credit scene of "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

In some cases, the stakes are even higher. Films about war, politics, or civil rights shape public memory. Misrepresentations risk undermining the very people and movements they purport to honor.

Movie-Explosion-Action-Hollywood-Blockbuster-General-Generic-Far-Out-Magazine-750x563

V. FINDING A BALANCE: DRAMA WITHOUT DECEPTION

So what is the solution? We’re not saying every historical film should be a dry documentary. But transparency matters.

Representation in Hollywood

Filmmakers can:

  • Include disclaimers explaining what was fictionalized.
  • Release companion featurettes or interviews with historians.
  • Consult experts during development — not just after backlash.
  • Acknowledge their narrative lens rather than pretending at total authenticity.
Screenplay Development and Production

Some recent films (Selma, 12 Years a Slave, The Post) strike a better balance, staying emotionally resonant while respecting historical context. They show that you can dramatize without distorting.

directed by Ava DuVernay, Written by Paul Webb, Produced by Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner, Starring: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Giovanni Ribisi, Alessandro Nivola, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tim Roth, and Oprah Winfrey, with Cinematography by Bradford Young, and Edited by Spencer Averick, with Music by Jason Moran, Production companies: Pathé, Cloud Eight Films, Plan B Entertainment, Harpo Films, Ingenious Media, and Redgill Selma Productions, and Distributed by Paramount Pictures (North America), 20th Century Fox (United Kingdom), Pathé Distribution (France) (2014)
Directed by Steve McQueen Screenplay by John Ridley Based on Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup Produced by Brad Pitt Dede Gardner Jeremy Kleiner Bill Pohlad Steve McQueen Arnon Milchan Anthony Katagas Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor Michael Fassbender Benedict Cumberbatch Paul Dano Paul Giamatti Lupita Nyong'o Sarah Paulson Brad Pitt Alfre Woodard Cinematography Sean Bobbitt Edited by Joe Walker Music by Hans Zimmer Production companies Regency Enterprises[1] River Road Entertainment[1] Plan B Entertainment[1] Film4[1] Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures (United States and Canada)[1] Entertainment One (United Kingdom)[2] Summit Entertainment (International)[3][2]
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Written by Josh Singer, and Liz Hannah, Produced by Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, and Amy Pascal, Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, with Cinematography by Janusz Kamiński, Edited by Michael Kahn, and Sarah Broshar, with Music by John Williams, Production companies: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks Pictures, Participant Media, Amblin Partners, Amblin Entertainment, Pascal Pictures, and Star Thrower Entertainment, Distributed by 20th Century Fox (United States and Canada), Mister Smith Entertainment (EMEA) (2017)

VI. WHEN “BASED ON A TRUE STORY” LOSES ITS MEANING

“Based on a true story” shouldn’t be a free pass to rewrite the past. It should be a challenge to tell real stories with care, creativity, and conscience.

The story of War Dogs isn’t just “inspired by true events” — it’s pulled almost directly from one of the most jaw-dropping military scandals of the 21st century. Efraim Diveroli was just 21 years old when his company, AEY Inc., landed a $300 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to supply weapons to the Afghan National Army.

As audiences, we have the right — and the responsibility — to ask questions. To fact-check. To recognize that powerful stories can also be problematic ones.

Audience reactions to Black Hawk Down were generally positive, with many viewers praising its intense action sequences and immersive realism. However, the film also sparked debates about its historical accuracy and cultural representation, with some audiences expressing discomfort over its portrayal of Somalis and its narrow focus on the American perspective.

Because if we don’t demand better from Hollywood, we may continue to learn more fiction than fact — and that’s a story we can’t afford to keep telling.

The Hollywood sign on Mount Lee in the Hollywood Hills, overlooking Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, 7th December 1972. Photo Credit: Davis/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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💬 Let’s Hear From You!


What’s your least favorite historical distortion in film? Did a movie ever totally change your perception of real events — only for you to find out it was all wrong? Drop your thoughts in the comments or tag us on social @Movies_to_History!

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