Historians At The Movies (HATM)
HATM Watch Party
Every Sunday Night at 8pm EST
Historians At The Movies is a live, community-driven watch party series that brings together historians and audiences to watch films in real time—and then unpack them through a historical lens.
At its core, HATM is built on a simple idea: movies don’t just entertain us—they shape how we understand the past.
Jason began Historians At The Movies in July 2018, with a group showing of National Treasure. What began as a one-night-only gimmick emerged into the longest running watch party on the internet, and cemented Jason as one of the world's foremost experts on film history and how pop culture shapes the world around us. Historians At The Movies has been featured in The New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The American Historical Association's Perspectives on History, Digital Trends, Book & Film Globe, TC Palm, Fox 13 Tampa, We're History, the Society for U.S. Intellectual History, the Star Tribune, and Time.
Playing along is simple. On Sunday nights, follow Jason on Blue Sky or the hashtag #HATM. Jason will usually announce each week's film on Monday or Tuesday. Then at 8pm eastern, press play on whatever film the community is watching and then post along on Blue Sky with the hashtag #HATM so everyone can find you and join in.
How It Works
During a watch party, participants press play at the same time (usually from their own streaming platforms) and follow along together while engaging in live commentary—typically on social media or a shared discussion space.
Historians guide the conversation in real time, offering:
Historical context behind the film
Insights into what the movie gets right (and wrong)
Connections to broader themes, events, and ideas
Commentary on how the film reflects the time in which it was made
It’s part film screening, part seminar, part conversation.
What Makes It Different
Unlike a traditional lecture or film discussion, HATM is interactive and immediate. Viewers aren’t just passive—they’re part of the experience.
You’re watching the film with historians, not just hearing from them afterward.
It turns movie night into a live historical conversation.
Why It Matters
Films play a powerful role in shaping public memory. For many people, movies are their first—and sometimes only—encounter with historical events.
HATM creates space to:
Question those portrayals
Add nuance and complexity
Connect cinematic storytelling to real historical scholarship
It’s about understanding not just the past, but how we remember the past.
The Experience
A typical watch party blends:
Sharp analysis
Humor and pop culture references
Real-time reactions
A sense of shared experience
Whether it’s a classic like Ghostbusters, a historical drama, or something unexpected, each film becomes a starting point for a deeper conversation.