9. Distorting historic events were not limited to the United States
In England and in Europe, novels, short stories and other forms of entertainment emerged which altered the historical record, particularly during the Napoleonic era and the growth of the great European empires. Napoleon, who had twice left France in exile, had his body returned to France in 1840. It was received with public enthusiasm, the stories of the sufferings his reign had imposed in France (and Europe) replaced with those recalling the glories of his era. Paintings of the battles and celebrities of his time predominated in the drawing rooms of the gentry throughout Europe. Operas presented a revised look at European history, and were popular throughout the continent.
Rudyard Kipling’s works presented a sanitized and excused version of British Imperialism, in poems, short stories, newspaper articles, and novels. Nearly all forms of popular entertainment in Great Britain followed suit. As both Great Britain and the United States entered the Industrial age, their forms of entertainment reflected their beliefs in their national and international destinies. And a new form of entertainment was about to emerge, at first little more than flickering images which were seen with amusement. Shortly the power of film to tell the stories of history was revealed, and it changed the way the history was absorbed by the audience.