“The Blind Side” And 5 Other Movies That Received Recognition As True Stories But Really Stretched The Truth

Matoaka, known as Pocahontas, is frequently portrayed as a romantic figure and love interest in movies. Nonetheless, when she encountered John Smith and the English colonists in Jamestown in 1607, she was just a child.

Following her abduction, Pocahontas was transported to England, underwent a conversion to Christianity, and eventually wed John Rolfe.

Hence, Matoaka's narrative wasn't a tale of romance between a Native woman and a white man. Instead, it unfolded as a poignant account of a girl who assumed the role of a peacemaker, ensnared in the intricate economic and political dynamics between settlers and Native populations during the early stages of colonial American history.

Written from a colonist's vantage point, there's a high chance that the story of her saving or falling in love with him was nothing but a sweet fabrication.

Besides kidnapping and manipulating Aboriginal people to keep his show afloat, Barnum is also known for his merciless treatment of animals. "After he chartered a vessel to capture elephants from their homes and families in Sri Lanka, nine elephants, including one calf, were confined to a cramped compartment on a ship — without any fresh air — for four months," writes The Wrap.

That and introducing the 'bullhook', a weighty baton with a sharp steel hook at its tip, which handlers employ to maintain elephants' obedience through fear to this very day.

"It's a feature Disney film, not much in it actually happened in real life," explained the real-life Dudley "Tal" Stokes in Reddit's AMA in 2014.

For starters, the Jamaican bobsled team that competed at the Winter Olympics was not composed of track sprinters, as the movie might lead you to believe. The team members were actually recruited from the Jamaican army! As for the coach Irving "Irv" Blitzer? Yup, also made up.

The Disney film also portrays the Jamaican bobsledders as societal outsiders. However, during the 1988 Olympics, they were actually received with warm hospitality, as highlighted by the report by ESPN.

'The Imitation Game', which received an Oscar for Best Adaptation in 2015, portrays Alan Turing as the exclusive originator of the code-breaking machine crucial to Britain's triumph in World War II (does that remind you of another scientific genius that dominated the screens this summer?).

 

Yet, in truth, segments of the machine were already in development before his involvement in the project. It also didn't pay proper respects to Gordon Welchman, Turing's co-inventor.

 

"I discovered that 'The Imitation Game' takes major liberties with its source material, injecting conflict where none existed, inventing entirely fictional characters, rearranging the chronology of events, and misrepresenting the very nature of Turing’s work at Bletchley Park. At the same time, the film might paint Turing as being more unlovable than he actually was," wrote Slate.

Like many historical dramas, 'The King’s Speech' took some artistic liberties for plot purposes. Among the significant historical inaccuracies, however, King George VI's interactions and rapport with Lionel Logue, his personal speech therapist, stand out the most.

The movie's portrayal draws from the screenwriter's personal experiences of treating stutter, rather than accurately reflecting Logue's authentic methods. The real-world approach employed by the expert remains undisclosed to the public. 

 

Furthermore, there's no concrete evidence supporting the notion that it was Elizabeth who initiated Logue's involvement to aid her husband.