Box Office Archaeology : Refining Hollywood’s Portrayals of the Past

“How true is it?” is a common refrain of patrons coming out of movie theatres after the latest film on pirates, Vikings, or mummies. While Hollywood usurps the past for its own entertainment purposes, archaeologists and historians know a lot about many of these subjects, digging up stories often more fascinating than the ones projected on screen. This distinguished group of archaeologists select key subjects and genres used by Hollywood and provide the historical and archaeological depth that a movie cannot—what really happened in history. Topics include Egypt, the Wild West, Civil War submarines, Vikings, the Titanic, and others. The book should be of interest to introductory archaeology and American history classes, courses on film and popular culture, and to a general audience. Alternate Selection, History Book Club. The Way Of The Archaeologist / Julie M. Schablitsky -- Unwrapping The Mummy : Hollywood Fantasies, Egyptian Realities / Stuart Tyson Smith -- Vikings, Vixens, And Valhalla : Hollywood Depictions Of The Norse / Mark Axel Tveskov And Jon M. Erlandson -- A Pirates [sic] Life For Me! But What Did That Really Mean? / Charles R. Ewen And Russell K. Skowronek -- Titanic / James P. Delgado -- Voyage From Myth : Return Of The Confederate Sumbarine H.l. Hunley / Robert S. Neyland -- Pocahontas Unanimated : The Life Of A Powhatan Princess / Randy Amici -- The Life And Times Of The Ever-changing Hollywood Indian / Charles M. Haecker -- Imagining Blackness : Archaeological And Cinematic Visions Of African American Life / Paul R. Mullins -- Five Points On Film : Myth, Urban Archaeology, And Gangs Of New York / Rebecca Yamin And Lauren J. Cook -- Western Boomtowns : The Lost Episodes / Julie M. Schablitsky -- Contesting Hollywood's Chinatowns / Bryn Williams And Stacey Camp -- When The Legend Becomes Fact : Reconciling Hollywood Realism And Archaeological Realities / Vergil E Noble. Julie M. Schablitsky, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.