HIST112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Bushranger, Frank Sanello, Silent Film
HIST112 Film and History Lecture 1 Wednesday 1st March
2016
What is History? 3 main answers.
- The past
o Things that happened prior to now
- An account of the past (in the present)
o A retelling in the form of a narrative
o Always mediated through books, films, music, documents, art, architecture,
languages, media
- A process e’re i the idst of
History is the end product of what historians do. They are constructing a narrative based on
facts.
Historical practices
- What stories do we tell ourselves, and how do we tell them?
- Who gets to decide what facts matter, and what context they need to be placed in?
- What is the relationship between the stories we tell of ourselves and our identities
(both individually and nationally)?
- What medium are the stories told through, and which ones are more valued?
What is the relationship of these questions to the questions of power?
History through film
- Fils appeal to a ider audiece. People ho ould’t ecessaril read a historical
book might go and see Gallipoli or “chidler’s List.
- Historical films democratise the past. Make it more accessible, whereas things
written by historical scholars are not.
- It is more sensual; you see things, hear things.
- Two kinds of historical films. Films that represent historical figures and films that
have fictional characters put into a historical context.
- Historians may argue that films are too personal, not historical enough. Too
influenced.
What is a historical film?
- A draati feature fil i hih the priary plot is ased on actual historical
events, or in which an imagined plot unfolds in such a way that actual historical
eets are etral ad itrisi to the story. Robert Burgoyne, The Hollywood
Historical Film, p. 2.
Historians vs Filmmakers
- There tends to be some hostility between filmmakers.
- Historians want to protect history and it truth status.
- Filmmakers are aware of this but they need to produce aesthetically pleasing films to
make money.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The past: things that happened prior to now. An account of the past (in the present: a retelling in the form of a narrative, always mediated through books, films, music, documents, art, architecture, languages, media. A process (cid:449)e"re i(cid:374) the (cid:373)idst of. History is the end product of what historians do. They are constructing a narrative based on facts. People (cid:449)ho (cid:449)ould(cid:374)"t (cid:374)ecessaril(cid:455) read a historical book might go and see gallipoli or chi(cid:374)dler"s list. Make it more accessible, whereas things written by historical scholars are not. It is more sensual; you see things, hear things. Films that represent historical figures and films that have fictional characters put into a historical context. Historians may argue that films are too personal, not historical enough. There tends to be some hostility between filmmakers. Historians want to protect history and it truth status. Filmmakers are aware of this but they need to produce aesthetically pleasing films to make money.
