Using Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” as an example, this article studies the historical consciousness of unprofessional historians such as film directors this article first focuses on the director’s concept of history and concept of human being, which together form the director’s historical cognition. This article also examines the ways that this director defines biography, in other words, the place where he situates himself in the fiction-reality spectrum. With the two approaches, this article intends to bring out the significance of visual historical text in historiography.