Over the past few days, two think-pieces have urged filmmakers to recognise the responsibility they have to the truth when creating historical drama. The first, written by Peggy Noonan for the Wall Street Journal, warned producers that it “is wrong in an age of lies to add to their sum total”. She argued that The Crown’s “cheap historical mindlessness” had led to a number of characters being misrepresented.
The second piece, written by Sonia Sodha for The Guardian, also focused on The Crown and argued much the same. Of particular concern to Sodha was the fact that the interaction between the Queen and Jackie Kennedy had been overplayed. Both writers asked that film producers take more care because, as Sodha put it, “…in this era of fake news, creators of dramas such as The Crown have more of a responsibility to the truth than they seem to realise.”
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