On the one hand, history is pretty straight forward. It’s “facts”:
The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
The US Civil War began in 1861.
etc.
But, really, history is all about interpretation:
What to leave in.
What to leave out.
What to declare Good.
What to declare Bad.
And the “facts” are actually pretty fuzzy:
When did WWII start? The US has one answer, China has a different answer, Poland has an answer, France has an answer.
I have a BA in History and I will say that History books, in general, are all trying to persuade you to think in various directions. But most people read “history” with an uncritical eye.
Yes, my 1950s history books were biased in what they put in and what they left out, and in the interpretation.
But Hollywood has pushed the envelope. Consider Robin Hood. The facts are clear. The king was away fighting a war in the middle east. The war was sucking all the tax money.
The Sheriff of Nottingham was without his normal tax money. So he stole the grain, chickens, livestock and silverware of the middle class. He would have stolen it from the poor ... except the poor did not have anything worth taking.
Robin Hood and his Merry Men returned to their rightful owners the property that the Sheriff had stolen.
Robin Hood did not steal from the rich to give to the poor. Robin Hood did not steal. The Sheriff was big government. Robin Hood was against big government.