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Movies as the Gateway to History: The History and Film Project
Paul B. Weinstein
Wayne College
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REMEMBER THE OLD SAW about teaching as you are taught. That worked
well enough for centuries, while innovations like the chalkboard
did not radically alter technique. Today's classroom is less than
ever insulated from the cultural environment, and we cannot ignore
the pervasiveness of electronic mass media. Think about which has
made a greater impression on the mass consciousness, myriad scholarly
studies of the Normandy invasion or Steven Spielberg's Saving
Private Ryan? In the May, 2000 Perspectives, the monthly
newsletter of the American Historical Association, a study of over
one thousand Americans representing a cross-section of the population
found that over forty percent of the participants cited movies and
TV programs among the most cited means of connecting with the past.
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We should acknowledge film and television
as the great history educators of our time. "A century after the
invention of motion pictures," in the assessment of Robert Rosenstone,
" the visual media have become arguably the chief carrier of historical
messages in our culture."
2
Our tendency as professionals may be to decry this further proof
of the decline of the American intellect, but with a small effort
we can see great positives in the flickering light. Historian R.
J. Raack believes that film is unmatched in its capacity to provide
an "emphatic reconstruction to convey how historical people witnessed,
understood, and lived their lives."
3
Recognizing the power of those larger-than-life images, we often
pepper our class lectures and discussions with references to film.
We've all seen students brimming with questions about the accuracy
of the newest historical blockbuster and eager to find out more
on the subject. We are constantly reminded that even a film that
only skirts the fringes of historicity can serve as an unmatched
illustration, providing insight, posing questions, and inviting
further inquiry. Obviously, there are limitations. Films made for
commercial release and popular consumption have no obligation to
present a true portrait of the past. Facts can be twisted, timelines
conflated, endings revised for perceived audience satisfaction.
The bottom line in the film business is not accuracy but profit.
These shortcomings, however, can actually be turned to advantages
when students and instructors utilize film as a gateway to history. |
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For several years I have sought ways
by which I can employ film in a creative and academically sound
manner as a teaching device. Fundamentally, I am attempting to share
my love of movies with my students, hoping that they will be inspired
by them as I have been. Historical films are one of the reasons
I am in the classroom today, pursuing fascinations awakened and
nurtured by days at libraries and nights at the movies. I'm not
alone with my popcorn, as Mark Carnes confirms in his introduction
to Past Imperfect, the fine collection that has serves as
a model for my approach: "Many of the authors of these essays acknowledge
that movies were what attracted them to history as youngsters."
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I began by compiling lists of films
that I felt supplemented the subject matter covered in my survey
courses and offering students the extra credit option of analyzing
a film and relating it to the course content. This proved so successful
that I have developed the idea further. At present, the Film &
History Project is the central resource for student research efforts
in my lower division American history and Western humanities classes.
The project incorporates my belief that, as one scholar has written,
"Studying artifacts such as popular film yields insights that other
historical methods cannot."
5
The results have been gratifying: engaged students, interesting
papers, and a whole lot of learning going on. |
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Resources
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First, a few words about the "Filmographies"
(see Appendix A). Excepting a very few made-for-TV productions that
are just too good to ignore, I limit my list to films made for theatrical
release. I concentrate on commercial fare and do not include documentaries
which are an entirely different study. I want the students to concentrate
on and analyze the kind of entertainment that most of them regularly
consume without much thought as to its veracity. The Filmographies
include those works that I feel depict historical figures, places,
and/or events with acceptable (or tolerable) accuracy, that convey
a portrait of the spirit and values of the societies we are studying,
or that provide insight into popularly held ideas and mythologies
about the past. I also seek those films that echo the themes presented
in the course. |
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Although I initially relied on commercial
outlets and public libraries to provide material, I've devoted some
of my supplies budget to building a collection in our college library.
I have been working toward having the titles on my Filmographies
list available on our own college shelves. |
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The Assignment
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At the beginning of the semester,
every student is assigned a film drawn at random from the pool.
In the sections of American and Western surveys covering the earlier
periods, the limited number of films that meet my criteria may necessitate
some duplication within the class, depending on enrollment (generally
thirty to sixty students). Students must analyze the assigned film
as history and compare its portrayal of the past to the academic
representation of history presented in class, in texts, and in other
sources. In their comparisons, students must utilize critical and
scholarly resources and present their conclusions in a four to six
page paper. The limited length encourages students to stick to the
point and holds my workload to a reasonable level. Every student
receives a pamphlet I have developed, "History Written With Lightning,"
outlining the rationale for using commercial film as a historical
tool and describing specific elements to be examined for accuracy,
such as costumes, sets, chronology, and behaviors (see Appendix
B). I also provide each student with a handout specific to each
film containing the title, year of distribution, information about
access, and the date the paper is due. Due dates are staggered throughout
the semester so that I am not buried under papers at the end of
the term. A warning about films that have explicit sexual material
and above average violence is included, and I offer to assign another
film to those who find such content unacceptable. |
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The individual assignment sheet also
furnishes some comments on the film, asks questions to guide student
thinking, and lists some of the avenues of inquiry opened by the
film. For example, Spartacus (1960) could lead to an investigation
of the institution and practice of slavery in ancient Rome, to an
examination of the roles of women in Roman society, or to a study
of Roman entertainment, customs, traditions, politics, or military
tactics. In American history, artifacts such as Heroes for Sale
(1933) and Our Daily Bread (1934) provide insight into
contemporary attitudes toward and reaction to the Depression, while
dramas such as The Long Walk Home (1990) encourage consideration
of the origins and context of the Civil Rights Movement at the ground
level of everyday white and black Americans (see Appendix C for
an examples). |
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A section "What to Look For in Historical
Films" in the pamphlet gives them specific guidance. While students
are not expected to cover everything, I expect that the film will
be used as a starting point which will lead them into areas that
interest them. There are a few basic questions all researchers must
address: How does the film's presentation of history compare with
the scholarly history you have researched? How does the film content
relate to course content? Are the ideas and values consistent with
those we are studying? Overall, does the film present an accurate
picture of history? Is the film effective? Does it capture the feel
of the period? Does it present a convincing portrait of times past?
Does it make you feel as though you are experiencing history? |
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What Do Students Gain?
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Let's start with the best. It sounds
like fun and it is, both for the students and for me. Generally
speaking, students like movies. Films have been entertaining and
delighting most of us since we sat transfixed at our first animated
matinee. We begin, then, with a medium that is comfortable and nonthreatening,
one with special appeal to today's visually oriented cadre of students.
To undergraduate students dutifully and often resentfully fulfilling
their history requirement, it is an alternative to yet another reading
assignment. Given the appeal of film, this assignment can serve
to involve students in history and increase their enjoyment of the
subject. |
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As they progress, students are confronted
with one of the most profound questions that face historians: how
do we determine the truth about the ever-changing past? Looking
at the past through the prism of a film poses a number of intriguing
questions to the student researcher. Does the film deviate from
"true" history—that picture of the past researched and presented
by scholars and meeting academic standards of evidence and accuracy—and
if it does, why? Why and how is history spun, adapted, and adjusted
to accommodate audiences and the times? What criteria does the researcher
apply to gauge the legitimacy of sources? How does the view and
substance of history change from one period to the next? Considering
these points, the student becomes more aware of the elusive search
for history, and the satisfaction that can be obtained through the
process of inquiry and analysis. |
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The assignment also presents the opportunity
to expand the cultural palette of the students. Although beneficiaries
of an effortless access to a selection of wonders that we ancient
cinephiles could not imagine, a distressing number of students (probably
a majority) stick with their favorite fare. For all too many, a
venture into subtitles, black and white classics, and/or serious
films that emphasize content above special effects is a new experience.
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Finally, students gain an increased
appreciation of the power of mass media to shape perception and
to affect interpretation of the past. This heightened awareness
should enable them to be more discriminating in processing the images
and information bombarding them daily. We historians have traditionally
cultivated textual analysis of written documents; this assignment
not only serves this purposes of historical instruction but also
develops the sense of critical visual literacy so vital in today's
emerging high tech society. Deconstructing a film can only help
in abstracting and analyzing the images that pepper their days.
In their papers, many of my students keenly point out anachronisms
and inaccuracies and some dig in to the muscular work of analyzing
the calculations, strategies, and mise en scene of the filmmakers.
A few reach taxonomic heights, evidencing in their work a sophisticated
understanding of the vocabulary of symbols and images. It would
be best if all could gain so much, but that, after all, is what
A's are for. |
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Variations
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This assignment I have outlined can
be adapted to suit the specific goals of any instructor at college
or secondary level. For example, students could be required to consult
one or more primary sources as part of their research, or the instructor
could assign one or more specific readings to be studied in conjunction
with a film. At one time, I matched films with chapters in the course's
anthology reader as the starting point for research. |
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There are also possible variations
on the theme. For example, last summer I had an unusually small
United States survey section. With less than ten students, I took
the opportunity to experiment with the film project. I assigned
each student two films that shared a theme. Students completed a
research project on the first film, then submitted a second essay
comparing the treatment and evolution of the theme in the two films.
One pair of films, Matewan (1987) and Norma Rae (1979),
served as markers to study the evolution of the American labor movement,
with emphasis on the themes of organization and the effects of United
States government protection. Comparing and contrasting the experiences
of veterans as depicted in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
and Coming Home (1978) shed light on the differing attitudes
towards World War II and the Vietnam War. Each student also made
a presentation to the class on this theme, sharing a key scene of
no more than five minutes from one of their films. This stimulated
some very energetic and productive discussion and proved an extremely
effective way to review the course themes. In order to apply this
idea in a class with a large number of students, an instructor could
organize panels which could study a theme utilizing two or more
films. |
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Student Reactions
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To my own great satisfaction, I get
some very interesting and insightful papers which I find to be much
better reading than the products of any other project I've ever
supervised. Students also have generally positive reactions. While
there are always those who see it as just another burdensome requirement,
most find the assignment rewarding. Several comments on my latest
evaluations cited the film paper as a very effective means of learning
the difference between historical truth and myth, one of my primary
aims. Some honestly admitted that while they dislike making any
research effort, this project was better than most. Asked if the
film research paper helped them learn about the historical period
and events, over seventy-five percent responded positively, and
over two-thirds rated the project as "very productive" in helping
attain the goals of the course. Complaints often come from those
who simply do not like the film they were assigned. There are always
suggestions that students be allowed to select their own film from
the list. I've been there, done that, and have found that most students
choose a favorite they have already seen (perhaps several times).
Consequently, the student is not faced with anything new and unexpected,
and I find myself reading several essays about the same film, sometimes
the same essay more than once. Permitting choice means that the
greatest challenge is posed not to the students' thinking and creative
abilities, but to my attention span. This is a case where it is
best to lead the horses to water and to force them to drink. |
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It is especially gratifying when students
express appreciation for having been introduced to a new way of
teaching and learning history. Some continue to utilize this resource
in their own teaching, others e-mail me to express their ongoing
interest in the medium and its messages. We all endeavor to make
our history courses vital parts of the curriculum and of the educational
experience, contributing to the development of critical thinking
and analytical skills. We also hope that students will emerge with
an appreciation of the importance and relevance of history that
will stay with them in years to come. In my assessment, the History
and Film Project accomplishes all of these goals in a highly enjoyable
fashion, "making us," in the words of Daniel Boorstin, "walk more
confidently on the precarious ground of imagination"
6 —the landscape
of history. |
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Notes
1 Roy Rosenzweig,
"Popular Uses of History in the United States: Professional Historians
and Popular Historymakers," Perspectives (May, 2000), 20.
2 Robert A. Rosenstone,
Introduction to Revisioning History: Film and the Construction
of a New Past (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1995), 3.
3 Quoted in Ibid.,
26.
4 Mark Carnes, Introduction
to Past Imperfect (New York: Henry Holt, 1995), 9.
5 Andrea S. Walsh,
Women's Film and Female Experience 1940-1950 (New York:
Praeger, 1984), 3.
6 Daniel Boorstin,
The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination (New
York: Random House, 1993), 739.
Bibliography
Boorstin, Daniel. The Creators: A History of Heroes of the
Imagination. New York: Random House, 1993.
Carnes, Mark. Introduction to Past Imperfect. New York:
Henry Holt, 1995.
Rosenstone, Robert A. Introduction to Revisioning History:
Film and the Construction of a New Past. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1995.
Rosenzweig, Roy. "Popular Uses of History in the United States:
Professional Historians and Popular Historymakers." Perspectives
(May, 2000), 19-21.
Walsh, Andrea S. Women's Film and Female Experience 1940-1950.
New York: Praeger, 1984.
Appendix A
Humanities in the Western Tradition
FILMOGRAPHY
prepared by
Paul B. Weinstein
Associate Professor of History
The University of Akron—Wayne College
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Films have been chosen for the historical insight they offer to
the period and on the basis of overall quality. Dates indicate year
of release; the list includes recommended choice(s) for those films
that have been remade once or more.
~
= Subtitled.
Prehistory
Quest for Fire (1981)
Ancient
| The Egyptian (1954) |
Land of the Pharaohs (1955) |
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| The Ten Commandments (1956) |
The Bible...In the Beginning (1966) |
Greece
Alexander the Great (1956)
Rome
| Barabbas (1961) |
Ben Hur (1959) |
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| Cleopatra(1963) |
Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) |
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| Gladiator (2000) |
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) |
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| Masada (1984) |
Quo Vadis (1951) |
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| Spartacus (1960) |
Islam
The Message (1977)
Middle Ages
| The Advocate (1994) |
Alexander Nevsky (1938-Russian~) |
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| Beckett (1964) |
Braveheart (1995) |
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| Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973) |
El Cid (1961) |
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| Excalibur (1981) |
Ivanhoe (1952) |
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| Lion in Winter (1968) |
Name of the Rose (1986) |
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| Return of Martin Guerre (1982-French
~) |
Sorceress (1988-French ) |
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| Stealing Heaven (1988-Brit/Yugoslav) |
The Virgin Spring (1960-Swedish~) |
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| The Vikings (1958) |
The War Lord (1965) |
Late Middle Ages
| Beatrice (1988-French~) |
Hamlet (1991) |
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| Henry V (1989) |
Joan of Arc (1948) |
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| The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) |
Renaissance
| The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) |
Dangerous Beauty (1997) |
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| Romeo & Juliet (1968) |
Taming of the Shrew (1966) |
Northern Renaissance
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Reformation
| Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) |
Day of Wrath (1943-Danish~) |
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| The Devils (1971) |
Elizabeth (1998) |
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| Lady Jane (1985) |
The Last Valley (1970) |
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| Man for All Seasons (1966-British) |
Martin Luther (1953) |
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| Mary Queen of Scots (1971) |
Queen Margot (1994-French~) |
European Expansion: The Age of Sail
| Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969) |
The Mission (1986) ) |
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| Seven Cities of Gold (1956) |
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| Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 or 1962) |
The Bounty (1984) |
Baroque Era: Power & Politics
| Barry Lyndon (1975) |
Cromwell (1970-British) |
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| Peter the Great (1986) |
Ridicule (1996-French~) |
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| The Madness of King George (1994) |
The Scarlet Empress (1934) |
Enlightenment
| Amadeus (1984) |
Tom Jones (1963) |
French Revolution & Napoleon, and Romantic Period
| Dangerous Liaisons (1988) |
The Duelists (1977) |
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| Immortal Beloved (1995) |
La Marselliaise (1938-French~) |
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| Les Miserables (1935) |
Marie Antoinette (1938) |
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| Tale of Two Cities (1935) |
War and Peace (1968-Russian) |
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| Waterloo (1970-Italian-Russian) |
Imperialism
| Breaker Morant (1980-Australian) |
Burn! (1969) |
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| Juarez (1939) |
Mister Johnson (1990) |
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| Mountains of the Moon (1990) |
Out of Africa (1985) |
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| Passage to India (1984) |
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| Zulu Dawn (1979) |
Zulu (1964) |
Industrialization, Socialism & Marxism
Daens (1992-Belgian~)
Emigration
| The Emigrants (1972) |
America, America (1963) |
Late 19th-early 20th Century Art, Thought,
& Life in Europe & Victorian England
| Freud (1962) |
Howard's End (1992) |
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| I Accuse (1958) |
Life of Emile Zola (1937) |
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| Madame Bovary (1949) |
Maurice (1987) |
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| Mrs. Brown (1997) |
Room with a View (1985) |
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| Sense & Sensibility (1995) |
Young Winston (1972) |
Modern Artists
| Paul Gaugin: Moon & Sixpence (1942) |
Wolf at the Door (1987) |
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| Vincent Van Gogh: Lust for Life (1956) |
Vincent & Theo (1990) |
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| Henri Toulouse-Lautrec: Moulin Rouge (1952) |
World War I: Background, War, Effects
| All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) |
The Blue Max (1966) |
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| Gallipoli (1981-Australian) |
Le Grande Illusion (1937-French) |
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| King and Country (1964-British) |
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) |
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| Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) |
Paths of Glory (1957) |
Russian Revolution, Stalinism
| Dr. Zhivago (1965) |
Inner Circle (1991) |
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| Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) |
Stalin (1992-HBO) |
World War II: Fascism, Atomic Age
| The Assault (1986-Dutch~) |
The Boat (Das Boot) (1982-German) |
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| The Bridge (1960-German~) |
The Great Dictator (1940) |
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| Hitler's Children (1943) |
Hope and Glory (1987) |
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| Julia (1977) |
Massacre in Rome (1973) |
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| Mortal Storm (1940) ) |
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| Remains of the Day (1993) |
The Search (1948) |
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| Stalingrad (1993-German~) |
Swing Kids (1993) |
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| The Train (1965) |
Two Women (1961-Italian~) |
Holocaust
| Diary of Anne Frank (1959) |
Escape from Sorbibor (TV 1987) |
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| Enemies: A Love Story (1989) |
Europa, Europa (1990-French~) |
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| Forbidden (1985) |
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| Garden of the Finzi Continis (1971-Italian~) |
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) |
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| The Only Way (1970) |
Playing for Time (TV 1980) |
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| Schindler's List (1993) |
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| The Shop on Main Street (Hungarian 1965~) |
Sophie's Choice (1982) |
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| Voyage of the Damned (1976) |
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| The Wannsee Conferece (1985-German~) |
End of the Imperial Age
| Battle of Algiers (1965 Italian-Algerian~) |
Exodus (1960) |
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| Gandhi (1982) |
Michael Collins (1996) |
Cold War
| Eleni (1985) |
Russia House (1990) |
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| Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) |
Z (1969-French) |
Life in the 20th Century: Art, Science, Thought
| Clockwork Orange (1971) |
Modern Times (1936) |
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| Room at the Top (1959-British) |
The Trial (1963) |
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FILMOGRAPHY
Feature Films for American History
Colonization
| Plymouth Adventure (1952) |
The Crucible (1996) |
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| Black Robes (1991) |
Great War for Empire (French & Indian)
| Northwest Passage (1940) |
Last of the Mohicans (1992) |
Revolutionary War
| Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) |
The Howards of Virginia (1940) |
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| The Devil's Disciple (1959) |
Revolution (1985) |
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| John Paul Jones (1959) |
Early National Period
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
Antebellum America
| Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) |
Amistad (1997) |
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| The Buccaneer (1959) |
Moby Dick (1956) |
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| Jeremiah Johnson (1972) |
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) |
Civil War & Reconstruction
| Andersonville (1995) |
Band of Angels (1957) |
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| Birth of a Nation (1915) |
Friendly Persuasion (1956) |
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| Gettysburg (1994) |
Glory (1989) |
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| Gone with the Wind (1939) |
The Horse Soldiers (1959) |
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| Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) |
Red Badge of Courage (1951) |
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| Ride with the Devil (1999) |
Shenendoah (1965) |
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| Tennessee Johnson (1942) |
Great American West
| Cheyenne Autumn (1964) |
Heartland (1979) |
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| Little Big Man (1970) |
Lonely Are the Brave (1962) |
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| The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) |
Monte Walsh (1970) |
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| The Searchers (1956) |
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| Sergeant Rutledge (1960) |
Shane (1953) |
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| Ulzana's Raid (1972) |
Windwalker (1980) |
1890s & Empire
| Age of Innocence (1993) |
The Real Glory (1939) |
The Immigrant Experience
| An American Romance (1944) |
Avalon (1990) |
|
| The Emigrants (Swedish, 1972) |
Hester Street (1975) |
|
| The New Land (Swedish, 1973) |
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| A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1946) |
Early 1900s: Progressive Era
| Days of Heaven (1978) |
Great White Hope (1970) |
|
| Magnificent Yankee (1950) |
Northern Lights (1979) |
|
| Ragtime (1981) |
Wilson (1944) |
Great War Home & Away
| The Big Parade (1925) |
1918 (1984) |
|
| Pretty Baby (1978) |
Reds (1981) |
1920s
| Inherit the Wind (1960) |
Elmer Gantry (1960) |
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| Magnificent Ambersons (1942) |
Matewan (1987) |
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| Splendor in the Grass (1961) |
1930s: Great Depression
| All the King's Men (1949) |
American Madness (1932) |
|
| Bonnie & Clyde (1967) |
Bound for Glory (1976) |
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| Citizen Kane (1941) |
Cradle Will Rock (1999) |
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| Dance Fools Dance (1931) |
Grapes of Wrath (1939) |
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| Heroes for Sale (1933) |
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| I Was a Fugitive from the Chain Gang (1932) |
Ironweed (1987) |
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| King of the Hill (1993) |
Meet John Doe (1941) |
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| One Third of a Nation (1939) |
Our Daily Bread (1934) |
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| Sullivan's Travels (1941) |
Sunrise at Campobello (1960) |
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| They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) |
Wild Boys of the Road (1933) |
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| Wild River (1960) |
World War II: Combat
| The Americanization of Emily (1964) |
Attack! (1956) |
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| From Here to Eternity (1953) |
Home of the Brave (1949) |
|
| Saving Private Ryan (1998) |
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) |
|
| A Walk in the Sun (1946) |
World War II: Home Front
| Come See the Paradise (1990) |
Since You Went Away (1943) |
|
| Swing Shift (1984) |
World War II: Atom Bomb
| Fat Man & Little Boy (1989) |
Hiroshima (1995) |
Postwar
| The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) |
Gentleman's Agreement (1948) |
|
| Tucker: The Man & His Dream (1988) |
The Men (1950) |
1950s: Korea
| Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) |
Pork Chop Hill (1959) |
1950s: Culture
| A Face in the Crowd (1957) |
The Front (1976) |
|
| Heart Beat (1980) |
Last Hurrah (1958) |
|
| The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit (1956) |
On the Waterfront (1954) |
|
| The Pawnbroker (1965) |
Quiz Show (1994) |
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| Rebel without a Cause (1955) |
Salt of the Earth (1953) |
|
| Sweet Smell of Success (1957) |
The Wild One (1954) |
The African-American Experience: Before Civil Rights Movement
| Bingo Long Traveling All Star & Motor Kings (1976) |
Imitation of Life (1934 or 1959) |
|
| Intruder in the Dust (1949) |
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) |
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| The Learning Tree (1969) |
Lost Boundaries (1949) |
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| Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored (1995) |
Rosewood (1997) |
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| Sounder (1972) |
1950s-60s: Civil Rights Movement
| The Intruder (1961) |
Long Walk Home (1990) |
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| Malcolm X (1992) |
Mississippi Burning (1990) |
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| A Raisin in the Sun (1961) |
Separate But Equal (1991) |
1960s: Politics
| Advise & Consent (1962) |
The Best Man (1964) |
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| Dr. Strangelove (1964) |
JFK (1991) |
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| Medium Cool (1969) |
The Right Stuff (1983) |
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| Norma Rae (1979) |
1960s: Vietnam
| Apocalypse Now (1979) |
Born on the 4th of July (1989) |
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| Casualties of War (1989) |
Coming Home (1978) |
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| Deer Hunter (1978) |
Go Tell the Spartans (1978) |
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| Hamburger Hill (1987) |
Iron Triangle (1989) |
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| The Killing Fields (1984) |
Platoon (1986) |
1960s: Culture & Counterculture
| Alice's Restaurant (1969) |
Four Friends (1981) |
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| Easy Rider (1969) |
The Graduate (1967) |
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| I Love You Alice B. Toklas (1968) |
The Trip (1967) |
|
| Love with a Proper Stranger (1963) |
Strawberry Statement (1970) |
Cold War
| The Falcon & The Snowman (1985) |
Manchurian Candidate (1962) |
|
| Missing (1982) |
Salvador (1986) |
|
| Testament (1983) |
Nixon & Watergate
| All the President's Men (1976) |
Nixon (1996) |
1970s-Present: Life, Culture, Politics
| American Beauty (1999) |
The Big Chill (1983) |
|
| Broadcast News (1987) |
China Syndrome (1979) |
|
| Grand Canyon (1991) |
Network (1976) |
|
| The Onion Field (1979) |
Power (1986) |
|
| Primary Colors (1998) |
Save the Tiger (1973) |
|
| Silkwood (1983) |
An Unmarried Woman (1978) |
|
| Wall Street (1987) |
Appendix B
HISTORY WRITTEN WITH LIGHTNING
A Guide to Using Popular Film as a Tool for Historical and Cultural
Investigation
INTRODUCTION
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Film is one of our most accessible and familiar media. We attend
the movies for diversion and entertainment, as our parents and grandparents
have before us. Think of the many ways that movies have affected
us both as individuals and collectively, as a society. Richard Sklar,
a leading scholar in the field, points out that "throughout their
history the movies have served as a primary source of information
about society and human behavior for large masses of people."
7
We only have to look around to see evidence of a hit film's pervasive
popularity: the bed sheets and lunch boxes, the figurines of characters
packed into fast food meals, the story line repeated in comic books
and video games and perhaps continued in a sequel, a spin-off television
series, or a series of books. |
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Film also has a tremendous cultural
impact. People repeat catch phrases and quote movie dialogue. Movies
are so much part of the social fabric that people are frequently
unaware of the origin of some familiar expressions. Have you ever
watched an old picture and exclaimed, "So that's where that
phrase came from!"? Fashion may imitate a look introduced in a film.
The soundtrack may become popular, some themes frequently used to
evoke certain moods and memories. Film stars or the characters they
portray become powerful role models that influence the behavior
of millions. How much interest in the study and profession of archaeology
has Indiana Jones stimulated? The impact of film extends far beyond
theater walls. "The movies are such a powerful and compelling form
of popular communication," writes a scholar of cinema, "that even
those not directly part of the mass movie experience have been subtly
affected by them."
8
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19
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Film often has unpredictable or unintended
effects on audiences. "Whatever final rationale was on the producers'
minds," cultural historian Lawrence Levine observes, "these images,
once released, became the property of the viewers, who could do
with them what they willed, make of them what their lives and experiences
prepared them to make of them."
9
In 1954, a group of young men saw the film The Wild One.
"There were about fifty of us, " one later related. "We could all
see ourselves right there on the screen. We were all Marlon Brando."
Shortly after, the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club was born—surely
not the intention of the makers of the film.
10
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20
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We don't often think of movies as
literature, but they are exactly that. As Alexandre Astruc has observed,
"The filmmaker/author writes with his camera as a writer writes
with his pen."
11
The old conversation opener, "Read any good books lately?", has
been supplemented or replaced by discussion about that great movie
that everybody has seen. Far more people—tens of millions—see
the film version of a book than will ever read it. As we discuss
the profound affect that print has had on the history of civilization,
we must recognize that the visual literature of our modern age—the
film—has had perhaps an even greater impact on more people
around the world. One man upon seeing a film for the first time
in the early 1900s may have proclaimed a great modern truth when
he exclaimed, "The universal language has been found!" |
21
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On Films and History
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Because we are so accustomed to the
moving image, we sometimes become indifferent to the hidden messages,
social content, and meaning of what we watch. In other words, we
do not view from a critical perspective. To some degree this attitude
has been encouraged by movies. Critics may cry for quality films
that challenge the audience, but for the most part people prefer
light, entertaining fare. The largest part of film releases and
commercial television cater to that demand. However, as historian
Randy Roberts warns, "Only by critically thinking about what you
read and see will you be able to move beyond passive consumption
to active engagement with the subject and the issue it raises."
12
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22
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Our subject is history, and we are
interested in how film has portrayed it. Film is an invaluable resource
in the study of history, but one that must be used carefully. We
should remain alert to the simple but important fact that film is
a popular enterprise. "No earlier art," writes Daniel Boorstin,
"was so widely and so complexly collaborative, so dependent on the
marriage of art and technology, or on the pleasure of the community....The
art of film would be vastly public, and have the public as its patron."
13
Filmmakers must juggle their artistic sensibilities and desire for
historical accuracy with the requirements of the marketplace, the
expectations and values of the audience, and legal and social realities.
In the 1950s, when the best-selling novel From Here to Eternity
was translated to the screen, the hero's love interest was changed
from a prostitute to a dance-hall hostess. Today such a move would
invite ridicule, but was necessary then for the film to be made
and exhibited. |
23
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Even as a film and its characters
reflect the time when it was made, we are reinterpreting the film
from our own perspective. So, the film artifact presents us with
history as filtered through the prism of a filmmaker producing a
product for the mass audience of his or her own time. "Every movie
is a cultural artifact," writes Andrew Bergman, "and as such reflects
the fears, values, myths, and assumptions of the culture that produces
it."
14
Given these complexities we might very well ask, why use films to
gain insight to history? Why not just stick to the material made
for the classroom, the history books and scholastic and documentary
films? |
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First, history is an exercise of the
imagination. In most other disciplines, we can observe our subjects
in the here and now, but history can only be summoned through surviving
documents and images. We often enliven our study with speculation
and reconstruction. Movies have the power of "making us walk more
confidently on the precarious ground of imagination."
15
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25
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Second, film captures the sweep and
movement of history, by definition the story of people, their (and
our) failures and accomplishments. Film gives us insight to the
lives that have built the present on the rock of the past. Historian
R. J. Raack believes that only film can provide an adequate "emphatic
reconstruction to convey how historical people witnessed, understood,
and lived their lives."
16
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26
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Third, history is movement through
time, and no other medium can manipulate time in as kinetic a fashion
as film. We are all familiar, for example, with the device known
as flashback, which shifts the narrative back and forth through
time. Flitting across the screen, films give us the dramatic highlights
of a life or an era. |
27
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Finally, the very popularity of film
is itself of interest. We are looking at an interpretation of history
that has gained widespread acceptance. "It is precisely because
such films are made for entertainment that they have value for the
historian. They tell us what made people of other decades laugh
or cry, what made them forget their troubles, and what they believed
about their past."
17
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28
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Many people get what they consider
to be accurate pictures of history from such popular cultural sources
as movies, which are the most accessible and require the least effort.
Filmmakers often feel that despite some factual deviations they
have effectively and honestly captured the spirit of history. In
the early days of the new art form, filmmaking pioneer D. W. Griffith
asserted that the new medium would present history with complete
fidelity: "You will actually see what happened. There will be no
opinions expressed. You will merely be present at the making of
history."
18
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29
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One wide-eyed reviewer consequently
greeted Griffith's Civil War epic, The Birth of a Nation
(1915), with these words: "History repeats itself upon the screen
with a realism that is maddening."
19
The film certainly is maddening to today's scholars and general
audiences, who see a product riddled with inaccuracies and pervaded
by archaic attitudes—a work that illustrates the power the
medium to convey historical information in very convincing fashion. |
30
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Griffith confidently predicted that
"in less than ten years...the children in the public schools will
be taught practically everything by moving pictures. Certainly they
will never be obliged to read history again."
20
History remains an integral part of the curriculum, but the majority
of people probably obtain most of their historical information and
impressions through popular culture. "Today the chief source of
historical knowledge for the bulk of the population," writes historian
Robert Rosenstone, "must surely be the visual media."
21
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31
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Film is an artificially created model
of reality. It is our task to train the eye and mind to translate
these entertaining images into data for comparative and critical
analysis. The purpose of History Written with Lightning is
to provide you with the tools to examine films from a critical perspective.
As college students, you are learning the analytical skills that
enable you to view what is being communicated, to whom, in what
fashion, and why the subject was selected. You should not simply
watch a film, but "read" it as a text. As you do when reviewing
books and articles, you should actively make connections. |
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In the pages that follow, there are
a series of questions you can ask the material as you dig behind
the scenes in hopes of arriving at an enhanced vision of historical
truth. The results can only benefit the participant in today's society,
in which "visual literacy is an important craft of survival and
intellectual growth."
22
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What to Look for in Historical Films
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The film is a text. What does this
mean? How does one 'read' it? This pamphlet outlines a model for
the content analysis of film texts. In this section are questions
you should ask and points you should observe as you are examine
a film text.
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1. The History
- Is it accurate?
- Are events presented realistically?
- Is the chronology correct?
Review of history texts will provide
you with basic information about the period for comparison. Check
to see if the events are ordered properly and if they unfolded
in the manner presented in the film. When the film version deviates
from historical accounts, consider why, especially since the film's
creators had access to source material just as you do. Why and
how has history been altered to meet the needs of studios, governments,
and audiences?
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2. Setting, Details, and Design
- Are locations, costumes, and sets accurate?
- Do buildings look realistic?
- Does the overall look of the film reflect the period?
- Has the filmmaker included details that enhance the historical
atmosphere and viewing experience?
Compare the film's visual look
with period art and historical drawings that you can find in texts
covering the period. See if the period's architecture and costumes
are rendered faithfully. Studies such as social histories provide
a means to check the details depicted by the film.
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3. Behavior
- Do the characters speak and act as people in their time, situation
and class did?
- Are gender relationships accurately rendered?
Beware of one of film's greatest—at
least to the historian—sins: presentism. That means having
characters act and speak in the manner of people at the time the
film was made, rather than of the time in which the film is set.
This is common in comedy, where such a device might be a large
part of what makes the film funny. Presentism is a serious flaw
in any film that seriously aspires to present a believable picture
of the past.
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It's extremely difficult to echo the
speech of the past without subtitles, but the formalities can be
observed. Similarly, the differences among classes should be honestly
presented. Hence, peasants would not have the niceties of speech
that the nobility would possess, and servants would be properly
respectful. |
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Of particular interest are relationships
between the sexes. Modern notions of romantic love and equality
were beyond the imagination of most societies throughout history.
While people have usually observed rigid codes of behavior, women
in particular have often been relegated to subservient and secondary
positions in society. To portray medieval women, for example,
as having a high level of independence and being forthright and
assertive pleases our present-day sensibilities but does a disservice
to history and belittles the hard-won accomplishments of women
in our own time.
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4. Agenda, Values, Effects
- What values underlie the film?
- What does the filmmaker do to influence feelings and emotions?
- What sort of heroic and villainous icons are presented and
supported in the film?
- What messages did the filmmakers wish to convey?
- Does the film succeed in producing the desired effect?
Those most heavily involved in
shaping a film—producer, screenwriter, director, actors—often
have an agenda beyond commercial considerations. They may use
a battlefield tale to make an antiwar statement, or a historical
drama to comment on contemporary politics. Films often comment
on social and cultural values.
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The vocabulary of film is so rich
that there are numerous means to communicate messages in subtle
ways. Characters are frequently played by stars with established
personas (see Glossary): "their roles are sometimes tailored
to showcase their personal charm."
23
Filmmakers achieve quick connection with an audience that is familiar
with the personalities and public images of the actors. "The audience
is encouraged to identify with their values and goals."
24
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41
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Camera angles, lighting, music, and
editing all are utilized to support the mood and message of the
film. Even while the definitive element of film is movement (recognized
around 1912 when "movies" entered the language for moving pictures),
the arrangement of people and objects from scene to scene is no
less important than it is in painting. For example, imagine a scene
in which a young American soldier dies heroically under a majestically
flying flag. The visual package of how elements are arranged and
photographed, called mise-en-scene in film terminology, are
carefully assembled to influence the viewer's sympathies. The strains
of a familiar patriotic melody sounding mournfully in the background
underscores the moment and evokes emotions. |
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Types are an ancient shorthand in
theater and film has helped establish them more widely than ever.
"B" Western movies that filled the matinee cards and the back end
of double features in the pre-television era simply put black hats
on the bad guys and white on the good, a convention that is established
in the American imagination. A certain look, a laugh, a few actions,
and we can quickly identify who the heroes and villains are in many
films. |
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But who is good and bad? Police men
and women, for example, could be the heroic defenders of order in
one film, and soulless uniformed thugs in another. Elizabeth
(1998) presents Queen Elizabeth I as a young monarch struggling
to do right, while Mary Queen of Scots (1971) portrays the
same person as a scheming tyrant. The viewer cheers the heroic British
of the imperial era in Zulu (1964) but is despises them in
Breaker Morant (1980). How does the filmmaker position good
vs. bad, and what are the reasons for the portrayal? |
44
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Films are often used to treat in metaphorical
or symbolic ways subjects too hot to be tackled directly. The controversies
surrounding the search for domestic Communist spies and saboteurs
in 1950s America were the subtext in the Western film High Noon
(1952) and the urban drama On the Waterfront (1954). The
war in Vietnam was too hot to handle, but commentary about it can
be detected the Korean War comedy M*A*S*H (1970) and in several
Westerns such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Ulzana's Raid
(1972). It's always fascinating and worthwhile to try to discern
the subtle messages filmmakers bury in the subtext of their work.
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Some releases stri | |