Rewriting history through television

The only drama I have been able to watch this season has been “Impeachment: An American Crime Story.” It takes a look at an event I was too young to understand in a scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

I was eight-years-old at the time when it was major news. I found the show intriguing as it taught me something about life back in 1998.

It is an interesting show that tells the story in a suspenseful way. At the same time, “Impeachment” opens a can of worms of rewriting history. When a show or movie is about a moment in history it is hard to tell when something actually occurred or was it made for television.

People under the age of 35 know who Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky are. Most folks under 35, however, do not know who Linda Tripp, Kenneth Starr and Paula Jones are. Their stories and legacies from the 1990s are being rewritten via a television show in 2021 for younger generations. Paula Jones has blasted the show for inaccuracies herself. Linda Tripp is deceased and cannot add her input.

Another movie was in this situation was “Richard Jewell.” This movie about a bomb explosion in Atlanta in 1996 during the Olympics came out in 2019. The movie showed the events in a way folks who were too young in 1996 could understand but had the same problem of “Impeachment.” A key character in the movie had parts completely fabricated to spice up the script.

The question becomes, “Are we fine with this?” My answer is yes. How we learn history should never just be from one source, especially a source of entertainment. These shows and movies about historical events inspire me for further research.

Even if “Impeachment” is not accurate all the way, it did what it needed to do. In 1998, Lewinsky was not viewed as a real person. She was a caricature or a joke. “Impeachment” portrays Lewinsky, Tripp and Jones as real people with real flaws, hopes and dreams. That was not the case 23 years ago. Even I knew that much when I was eight.

Nathan Pace is the Sports Editor of the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at npacegcdw@gmail.com. His “Low Budget Sports Show” airs weekly on Facebook Live.