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In the opening of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, the director uses color, sound, music, lighting, and other visuals to perpetuate elements of the Lost Cause. Specifically, these production decisions reinforce the belief that Southern plantations were an evolution of European feudalism. Visually, this is communicated superbly to audiences by using on-screen text matched by epic orchestral music.

John Kennedy’s book Swallow Barn was an effective “antidote to the abolition mischief” and ultimately deceived the South. Kennedy portrays the plantation as an evolution of feudalism, depicts plantation life as mutually beneficial and positive for everyone, and diminishes the humanity of enslaved persons. By misinforming the South, Kennedy contributes to the continuation of the institution of American slavery and leads to the American Civil War.

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes are timeless because they can be modified to appeal to any audience. The British Broadcasting Company's (BBC) "The Hounds of Baskerville" modernizes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by updating elements of the story that mostly appealed to Victorian audiences. Specifically, Sherlock exploits modern superstitions and adapts its protagonist and antagonist to appeal to modern audiences. 

Sherlock Holmes’ deductions depend on the stereotypes of different groups of people and the peculiarities and patterns presented in previous cases. While this method has its merits, it falls short when these assumptions are challenged and proved wholly incorrect. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia, Sherlock Holmes makes this fatal mistake and ultimately loses in a battle of wits against Irene Adler.

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet,” detectives Gregson and Lestrade are portrayed as celebrities— heroes of sensational crime stories in the papers. Through Doyle’s exquisite use of amateur detective Sherlock Holmes as a foil to the Scotland Yarders, he exposes London’s detective force’s shortcomings in a hope to enact change. Doyle’s portrayal of Gregson and Lestrade demonstrates that Britons are misled by the papers regarding the exploits of London’s detectives. In reality, the adventures of detectives are a bit more complicated.