Historical Pop Culture

Anyone dying to see some history on the big screen this summer? Here are some of the top contenders.

1. An American Haunting - based on a true story of John Bell, an early 19th Century man from Tennessee, whose physician determined he was poisoned by a ghost. Read more about the Bell Witch here.

2. The Da Vinci Code - Fictional story about the hunt for the descendants of Jesus. Story is built around a number of historical documents. Read the first chapter of historian Paul Maier's book, Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?

3. The Lost City - Fictional story set in pre-Revolutionary Cuba. The film includes portrayals of figures from Cuban history - especially Fulgencio Batista and Che Guevarra. Read Humberto Fontova's comments on the film and its critics here. Fontova was born in Cuba, came to the U.S. when he was six years old, and has a M.A. in history from Tulane.