Presentism – a tendency to impose present-day perspectives and preoccupationsupon the past – is a characteristic found in many historical films.
Could also be referred as a primary source for that particular times political or historical beliefs and occurrences.
The filmsromanticize the Old South, present Confederates as heroic figures, and reinforce amythology that dominated Americans’ views of race relations until the 1960s: thatslave life was “idyllic” and, unless manipulated by white fanatics, slaves were loyal,docile, ignorant, and childlike
Does the film industry still produce movies that promote atrocious acts as good as the they did with the history of the Confederacy?
film suggests that the roots of the conflict layin the provocations of fanatical abolitionists, especially John Brown, who is depictedas a religious zealot and homicidal psychopath rather than as a figure truly committedto the abolition of slavery and a biracial society
Movies on the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery are usually false and create an "idealized" sense of the inexcusable tragedies. As well as mocking those who fought for equality.
Walt Disney has been a corporation historians love to hate.
Disney movies have been implanted in generations for years. These films openly prompt false information, which typically stays with us.
Yet the film is historically misleading
Indeed but the truths not found in Disney should be taught when children are older and have a greater sense of comprehension and reality.
But great historical movies can do something more: They can illuminate a historicalfigure’s character, clarify moral or political issues, and expose a mass audience to animportant but forgotten incident from the past.
Movies welcome society to reflect on the past and change the future with some false information to add toward the drama and keep the audience on the edge of their seat. This may also inspire viewers to conduct their own historical research.
epitomizes the way that popular culture sentimentalizes and caricatures American his-tory, stripping it of its complexity, conflict, drama, and meaning.
Disney productions simplify the complex and often gruesome historical pasts to allow some of children's innocence to remain intact while also learning a little of history.
Whether filmwill continue to serve as the nation’s preeminent instrument of cultural expression –reflecting and also shaping values and cultural ideals – remains to be seen.Mintz, Steven. Hollywood's America : Understanding History Through Film, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central,http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/whitworth/detail.action?docID=7104312.Created from whitworth on 2024-01-02 13:04:22.Copyright © 2016. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
This will most likely continue because movies connect us and allow us to relate to the characters, which reminds us we are not alone, therefore it is easy to retain the information in the film as truth most of the time.
During the postwar period Hollywood produced a growing number of picturesaddressing such problems as ethnic and racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, the sufferingsof maltreated mental patients, and alcohol and drug addiction.
Film producers and historians are similar in this way, many times they focus on the negatives of society so we can learn from them and/or grow our emotional intelligence toward others.
Also in 1907, and again in 1908, New York’s mayor,under pressure from various religious and reform groups, temporarily closed all ofthe city’s nickelodeons and movie theaters
How or why did this occur when the church and state are supposed to be separated?
The theaters patronized by the middle class were quite different
Do producers still create films depending on class today, or even for particular groups of people?
During the Great Depression, Hollywoodplayed a valuable psychological and ideological role, providing reassurance and hopeto a demoralized nation.
Movies have always helped audiences fall into escapism to find joy during periods when the realities were far too strong to bear.
A renewed sense of optimism generated by the New Deal also contributed to theproduction of new kinds of films in the second half of the Depression decade
The government should not control the film industry, which could lead to biases from audiences being given one perspective.
The films assured Americans that communists were thoroughlybad people who didn’t have children, exhaled cigarette smoke too slowly, murderedtheir “friends,” and went berserk when arrested.
American culture tends to mock anything we disagree with and don't attempt to educate ourselves on the topic, the example here is communism. We find looking through the perspective of those unlike us difficult.
The HUAC hearings also convinced Hollywood producers to make 50 stronglyanticommunist films between 1947 and 1954
These films were the primary sources of their day, television tends to depend on the politics of the period.
As outsiders, the creators of mass culture betrayed an almost voyeuristic interestin what they called the “romance of real life”: with high life, low life, power, and status
The "romance of real-life" idea was to create a fantasy where no harm was done to ignore the reality of the issue faced during this period.
The end of the nineteenth century also marked a critical turning point in thehistory of book publishing, as marketing wizards like Frank Doubleday organizedthe first national book promotional campaigns, created the modern best-seller, andtransformed popular writers like Jack London into celebrities
What changed during the late 1800s to appreciate literature more?
it gives Americans a chance to recognize the movies that entertained them,engaged their emotions, expressed their deepest hopes and aspirations, and respondedmost successfully to their anxieties and fears
Films gave Americans the ability to connect to people on a deeper level through the shared emotional experience with those watching in the theater and allowed for visualization of the metaphor "walk in someone else's shoes."
The kinds of movies that Hollywood produced during the Depression underwentsharp changes as the public mood shifted.
Why did Hollywood begin to produce movies about the inescapable realities instead of continuing to promote creativity and freedom? Similar to 19th century change in French art from Rococo (fantasy) to Romanticism (focused on the depressive side of humanity).
Yet movies were more than mere escapism.
When and why did Hollywood choose to generate more movies surrounding escapism?
The movies have often made me dissatisfied withmy neighborhood because when I see a movie, the beautiful castle, palace ... andbeautiful house, I wish my home was something like these.”
Although movies have created more connections and allowed freedom of expression in society, they generate more self-consciousness within us, which is seen in a testament in the 1920's. Contributing to the idea that modern-day America is not completely different from one hundred years ago and can prove history is not irrelevant.
felt a craving for intensephysical experienc
As society stepped away from Victorian limitations the population gained interest and the ability to express creativities through movement. Movement is a key component for well-being, did this cause a rise in the overall mood of America? Do we still have similar Victorian constraints today?
“New women” began working outside the home in rapidly increasing numbers,attending high school and college, and pressing for the vote.
The increase in self-fulfillment and creativity caused a spark in the women's suffrage movement and other civil rights organizations.
The last years of the nineteenth century witnessed a profound shift in Americanvalues away from the Victorian emphasis on self-denial and self-restraint towarda new culture based on personal self-fulfillment, leisure, and sensual satisfaction.
Why have American's become more individualized? Does this relate to an increase in selfish ambition?