Research Literacies Critical Review Task: Film and History

Transcription

1 Research Literacies Critical Review Task: Film and History 1. Summary of chosen discipline or research area (including brief history of the field) The study of film and history is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the relationship between film and history and the questions of whether film can adequately represent and engage with history and if so, how? This is a field that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, has been growing ever since and is now a serious area of study, especially within historiographical studies and the wider history discipline. 1 This field emerged due to two factors. First, the post-structuralist discourse in history, particularly that of Hayden White who, in his book Metahistory: Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe (1973), argued that all historical works were, in a sense, narrative constructions, 2 thus questioning the idea of history as a rigid empirical endeavour. Secondly, around this time the abundance of historical films was noted by scholars, as well as the fact this is the most dominant way that historical knowledge is shared. 3 In 1970, John O Connor and Martin A. Jackson founded the Historians Film Committee and began publishing Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal which began serious research into this area. The 1980s saw many prestigious historical journals began to include film reviews sections 4 and in 1988 historian Robert Rosenstone published the article History in Images/ History in Words. Here, he suggested that if historical films were considered within the context of their medium 1 Toplin and Eudy, The Historian Encounters Film 2 White, Metahistory. 3 See O Connor, History in Images/Images in History, 1201; Rosenstone, History in Images/History in Words, ; Toplin and Eudy, The Historian Encounters Film, 7; Toplin, The Filmmaker as Historian, Toplin and Eudy, The Historian Encounters Film, 8. Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

2 rather than just compared to written history, we could see that it was providing a valid contribution to historical discourse. 5 This stimulated the debate and led many other scholars to respond and formulate their own position, including White who then coined the term historiophoty which he defined as the representation of historical thought in audio-visual media. 6 Scholarship on this topic has continued to grow in this vein and has become increasingly relevant, as we can see through its inclusion in university history curriculums. 2. Major journals in the field (with brief description) at least three (3) Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal was created by the Historians Film Committee and has been publishing biannually since It is now affiliated with the American Historical Association (AHA) but is one of the oldest established journals in the field. This journal is concerned specifically with the relationship of history and film and promotes the notion that an understanding of both mediums independently is necessary for understanding how they work together. It publishes reviews of both films and books and promotes the use of film and television as resources for history research and teaching. A number of key scholars in both history and film studies serve on its editorial board, for example, Robert Rosenstone and Laura Mulvey. Rethinking History: The Journal of Thinking and Practice publishes primarily on experimental theories and methods of history. Published by Routledge, the journal s Founding Editor is Robert Rosenstone and was first published in Frank Ankersmit and Hayden White, key post-structuralist historians, also serve on the editorial board. Rethinking History sees itself as providing an alternative platform to more traditional academic history journals, exploring new and different ways of thinking about history. 5 Rosenstone, History in Images/History in Words 6 White, Historiography and Historiophoty, Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

3 This often includes discussion of historical films and how they can be interpreted historically as well as their value to historical discourse. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes on the history of audio-visual media, its social, cultural and political impacts and its value to historians and sociologists. It was first published in 1981 by The International Association for Media and History and is naturally focused on the period from the turn of the twentieth century to now. Although this journal is focused more on the history of the audio-visual media itself rather than how it relates to history, articles on this topic are not an uncommon and it also provides a wealth of research into how audio-visual media impacts and reflects culture an important factor for properly understanding historical films. 3. Major professional organizations in the field (with description of activity) at least (1) One of the primary organisations in this field is Film & History. This was initially the Historians Film Committee and was founded in This committee hoped to encourage serious consideration of film and television in historical scholarship and teaching and began publishing Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal. According to Toplin and Eudy, this committee s efforts were pioneering in the study of film and television in history. 7 Although this committee was independent for a time, they soon became affiliated with the AHA, one of the oldest and most overarching organisations in the history discipline. In addition to Film & History s own annual conferences, the AHA sponsors sessions on film and history at their annual meetings. The International Association for Media and History (IAMHIST) is another important organisation involved in this field. This organisation was founded in 1977 and is 7 Toplin & Eudy, The Historian Encounters Film, 7. Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

4 responsible for the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. The members of this organisation come from many different disciplines, including filmmakers and film scholars, historians and archivists, promoting their interdisciplinary approach to relations between history and audio-visual media. Importantly, they are concerned with the use of audio-visual materials as sources for and about history. IAMHIST holds a biennial conference and provides support for postgraduate students in the field. 4. Literature in your field relevant to your research question/area. How film, through its unique techniques such as its capacity for visual metaphor, can engage with history in ways that are different to written history is an area of this field that a number of scholars have explored. Robert Rosenstone s work on this point is especially influential. The crux of Rosenstone s argument has always been that acknowledging film s unique rules of engagement with the past, the limitations and unique techniques it has to explore and represent history, is the starting point for thinking about the value of historical films to scholarship. 8 This is articulated best in his book History on Film/ Film on History, first published in 2006, where he illustrates this point through analysis of various different kinds of films. He suggests that film does not intend to represent literal truths but to present metaphorical truths that add to historical discourse in a different way to written history. Most scholars, it seems, tend to agree with this position. 9 However some thinkers feel that despite this capacity, the fact that films are incapable of identifying their sources or presenting multiple views and the basic fact that invention is involved is inescapable Rosenstone, History on Film/Film on History. 9 See O Connor, History in Images/ Images in History ; Raack, Historiography as Cinematography ; Weston, Introducing Theoretical Issues Through Popular Historical Truths ; White, Historiography and Historiophoty 10 See Bernstein, Can Movies Teach History? ; Current, Fiction as History ; Herlihy, Am I a Camera? Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

5 Tessa Morris-Suzuki s book The Past Within Us: Media, Memory, History, published in 2005 is another important text as it is here that she articulates an idea of historical truthfulness which focuses on the processes by which people in the present try to make sense of the past. 11 Part of this is the recognition that ideas about the past are shaped by the media that they are being seen through. This is important as it is suggesting that history is made sense of in a multitude of ways and that each of these ways adds to the knowledge and memory we have of the past, rather than there being one authority on the past. 5. Discussion of methodologies used in field. The methodology used in this field has itself been the source of much contention and the subject of much research. The subject of film and history had long been studied by either historians or film scholars individually, both bringing their own methodologies, strict comparison of film to written academic histories and film analysis respectively, and both thinking this was the most effective means of assessing historical films. 12 However, scholars began to realise that combining methods might be the better option. John O Connor in particular, has been a strong proponent of this approach. He suggests that there should be two stages to analysing historical films and television series. The first should be the questioning of the content, context and reception of the piece, something he suggests the historian may not be used to. 13 Especially in the analysis of content, this requires an understanding of how film works - its specific techniques and demands. This requires the historian to be familiar with the methods of film studies and film analysis. 14 The second stage of analysis is then more specifically about the 11 Morris-Suzuki, The Past Within Us, Engelen, Back to the Future, Ahead to the Past. 13 O Connor, History in Images/ Images in History, A good beginner s guide to this can be found in Barsam and Monahan, Looking at Movies; Gocsik, Barsam and Monahan, Writing about Movies. Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

6 historical inquiry. 15 This approach has been taken up by a number of scholars, including Rosenstone to an extent, and seems like the most effective Statement about possible research directions. Although a lot of the ground in this field has been covered there are some areas that could possibly be explored or explored further. There is more room in this field for analysis of films from non-western countries, particularly in the Middle-East and how they present their histories, especially in situations where censorship is an imposing factor. Also, with the traditional distribution model in Hollywood coming under scrutiny through the rise of online distributers like Netflix (which is now funding and making its own films) there is perhaps some room to investigate if this will have any impact on how historical films are produced and received and if they differ at all from those produced in the traditional studio system. 15 O Connor, History in Images/ Images in History, See Rosenstone, Historical Film/ Historical Thought & History on Film/ Film on History; Weston, Introducing Theoretical Issues. Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

7 Reference List Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. 4th ed. New York and London: W. W Norton and Company Inc., Berstein, Richard. "Can Movies Teach History?" The New York Times 26 November Current, Richard N. "Fiction as History: A Review Essay." Journal of Southern History 52, no. 1 (1986): Engelen, Leen. "Back to the Future, Ahead to the Past. Film and History: A Status Quaestionis." Rethinking History 11, no. 4 (2007): Gocsik, Karen, Richard Barsam, and Dave Monahan. Writing About Movies. 3rd ed. New York and London: W.W Norton and Company Inc., Herlihy, David. "Am I a Camera? Other Reflections on Films and History (Book Review)." American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (1988): 7. Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. The Past within Us: Media, Memory, History [in English]. 1st ed. London, UK: Verso, O'Connor, John E. "History in Images/Images in History: Reflections on the Importance of Film and Television Study for an Understanding of the Past." The American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (1988): Raack, R. C. "Historiography as Cinematography: A Prolegomenon to Film Work for Historians." Journal of Contemporary History 18, no. 1 (1983): Rosenstone, Robert A. "Historical Film / Historical Thought." South African Historical Journal 48, no. 1 (2003): "History in Images/History in Words: Reflections on the Possibility of Really Putting History onto Film." The American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (1988): Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones

8 . History on Film/ Film on History. History: Concepts, Theories, and Practice. Edited by Alun Munslow. 2nd ed. London and New York Routledge, Toplin, Robert Brent. "The Filmmaker as Historian." American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (1988): Toplin, Robert Brent, and Jason Eudy. "The Historian Encounters Film: A Historiography." OAH Magazine of History 16, no. 4 (2002): Weston, Rowland. "Introducing Theoretical Issues through Popular Historical Films." Teaching History: A Journal of Methods 35, no. 2 (2010 Fall 2010): 92+. White, Hayden. "Historiography and Historiophoty ". American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (1988): Metahistory: Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe. Baltimore, Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, Word Count: 1, Elizabeth Jones