J Edgar Hoover

The other night, I went with my family and a friend to see Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar. As a history lover, I enjoy going to see historical films. Now that I'm in my public history degree, I've started to look at those movies in a different way. A few things you need to know about the movie: it is over two hours and is very slow. The movie is well acted but there is not very much action. For general information on the movie, visit IMDb. If you are a movie fan, IMDb is the website for you.
Before seeing the movie, I did not know very much about J. Edgar Hoover. For instance, I have always heard the rumor that he was a gay/cross dresser but that was about it. As a side note, the movie discusses his homosexuality but this can neither be confirmed or denied because he was a very private man and he lived in a time where an open gay man would have had his career ruined. This is something that will be speculated for years to come and we will never know the true answer.
The movie focuses on Hoover's relationship with his mother, his second hand man Clyde Tolson, the presidents and his personal secretary Helen Gandy. Hoover had a very close relationship with all of these people. Helen Gandy was his personal secretary for his entire career and one of the only people she ever trusted. Throughout the movie, Hoover has his personal file. At the end of the movie, after he has passed, they showed Gandy shredding his personal files. I couldn't help but want to go through the screen to stop her. Those files would be so valuable to look at and to get an understanding of Hoover as a person. Also at the end of the film, there is a note about Hoover and Tolson but no note about what happened to Gandy after Hoover's death. As a viewer, I was intrigued by her story and was disappointed to not see anything about her.
As public historians, what is our role in these movies? Should we take them for what they are, entertainment? Or should we be there helping make the movie as accurate as possible? Or one last possibility, should we help make it somewhere in between? As a history lover and a movie lover, I continue to ponder these questions. I am willing to accept inaccuracies as long as the movie gets the theme correct. Also, I hope that people will be interested in the topic or person and pick up a book to learn more.
To learn more about J Edgar Hoover, visit the Wikipedia site or the Official FBI site. Remember, the more you read, the more you learn!
And to all of you out there, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!