From Julius Caesar to Titanic — Dr. Larry Burriss on Truth, Time, and Tinseltown

Movie Reality
02/16/2026

I remember back in high school I had to do a paper about Julius Caesar. As for the assassination scene, I quoted Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar.”
Unfortunately, Miss Sampson, my favorite teacher, asked where Shakespeare had gotten the details of this scene? What was the primary source?
Then there is the description of a clock, where Cassius says the clock has rung three times. But mechanical clocks wouldn’t be invented for more than a thousand years.

Many movies and television programs have this kind of problem, called an “anachronism,” meaning “out of time.”
Some of these mistakes are just incidental and accidental, like when in “Gladiator,” Russell Crowe is seen wearing Lycra gym shorts. But other mistakes show a lack of research on the part of the production or research teams.

Like in the movie “Titanic,” set in 1912, when Jack refers to fishing in Lake Wissota, which was not created until 1917.
Or take the recent release of “Wuthering Heights,” sometimes described as the most divisive film of the year. The white wedding dress, for example, is said to be more 1980s than early 1800s.

Now, I’ve seen lots of movies that have these sorts of problems, and there are several Internet sites that list them as well.
But here’s the problem: ask yourself how many Hollywood movies, or television programs are supposed to be totally historically accurate? After all, these are not documentaries heavily researched and vetted for accuracy.
Apparently, however, a lot of people expect entertainment programs to be completely faithful to reality, and I rather wonder if it’s even possible, and does it really make a difference?
When I go to a movie I don’t sit there and analyze every scene for inaccuracies. Sure, some errors are more blatant than others, and can detract from the story. But others are almost invisible except, perhaps, to experts in particular areas.
For example, there once was a highly-rated television program named “Bones” that supposedly took place in Washington, D.C. I think I’m pretty sure several of the program locations do not exist in real life.
A philosopher friend the other day told me you just have to play the cards you’re dealt. And I guess we just have to take our movies and television reality the same way.
I’m Larry Burriss.