When moving images were first made technologically possibly at the end of the nineteenth century, a tremendous number of photographs (each slightly different than the one before) could be run together to tell a story. The result is what we call films, movies, or, more recently, videos. The best tool for interpreting films is to know something about the history they depict. By developing an understanding of the historical context and subject matter of a film, you can compare the story told in the film with the history as written by historians.

More than photographs, films tend to "move" us – that is, we have an emotional reaction to them. It is especially difficult to analyze something to which you respond emotionally, but it is important to separate yourself emotionally as much as possible from a film so that you can see why you feel the way you do about it. Once you develop an understanding of how and why a film has moved you, you can try to factor that out when crafting your historical interpretation.

Note: A film can be good art even if it is bad history – and vice versa.