The most frustrating thing about reenacting living history from the Viking Age is the questions people ask: "Why is your sword so light?" and of course, “where are your horns?” These questions need to be answered all the time, but why do people have these images of the past? Besides Wagner's Fat Lady singing opera with horns and a pointy bra, it is today's period films and television shows that make these inaccuracies seem false and ultimately provide a false history lesson. Additionally, many storylines aren't even true to the actual events, giving a skewed representation of what the story is really about. Over the past few years as a re-enactor, I haven't learned anything about filmmaking or anything else; I did, however, learn a lot about specific lifestyles and historical events. So, I find myself thinking that it would be easier for filmmakers to follow historical events rather than invent new ones from scratch, in turn using their medium to teach people rather than raise more questions that I should answer. People believe they are winning. knowledge about history by watching Hollywood films claiming to be based on historical events, sometimes even claiming to be historically "accurate." I too was a victim of this Hollywood conundrum until I realized a real interest in the story. Some of my favorite films, like Mel Gibson's Braveheart and Michael Crichton's The 13th Warrior, shaped my imagination about what the Vikings wore and how the ancient Scots fought battles, but those films depicted things that happened differently or never happened at all. Ultimately, my awareness of the errors contained in these films and my sheer disappointment led me to put aside my favorite films and search for a more authentic middle of paper......l. But if they did things accurately, it would reduce the risk of people forgetting the important things, like how the Battle of Sterling was won, a momentous period in Scottish history; as well as the precious pasts of other cultures, including our own. Works Cited Braveheart. Real. Mel Gibson. Perf. Mel Gibson. Entertainment International icon. 1995. DVD. Ewan, Elizabeth. "Brave heart." The American Historical Review. 100.4 (1995): 1219-21. Internet. March 13, 2014.Franklin, Cory. “History according to Hollywood.” New York Times. New York Times. February 22, 2013. The web. March 13, 2014. The 13th Warrior. Real. Michael Crichton. Perf. Antonio Banderas. Touchstone Images. 1999. DVD. Umanath, Sharda. “Historical inaccuracies in films can hinder learning.” Positive and negative effects of monitoring popular films for historical inaccuracies. Duke UP. January 12, 2012. The web. March 13 2014.