What Qualifies as Fiction?

[Cyclopean]

I believe I have an understanding of what qualifies as an unacceptable reference to real-world religion, but I'm still struggling to figure out where the line is with respect to politics. I know that discussion of fiction is (usually) acceptable, but what about cases where the fiction is based on historical events? I understand that discussing the root causes of WWI would not be allowed--what about discussion of movies set in that time period?

My sense is that the work that I would like to reference--a movie based on a book based on a true story--is too close to non-fiction to fly, even aside from the film's political implications. I would greatly appreciate general guidance on the subject, however.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: If you can keep the discussion entirely within the fiction, it's fine. If the discussion becomes implicitly or explicitly about the real world analogue, that's out of bounds. Historical fiction of a political or religious nature is an incredibly challenging thing to discuss here without running afoul of the rules.

If you want to talk about the acting, cinematography, or box office take of The Longest Day, for example, that'd probably be fine as long as it stays away from politics. If you want to talk about the historical accuracy of the depiction of Eisenhower in the film, that's going to violate the Forum Rules from the start. If you want to talk about the accuracy of the military tactics used, there's a chance that might stay within the rules, but it will probably drift into real world politics.

Err on the side of caution. Avoid starting discussions that are likely to cause you or others to violate the Forum Rules.