Historical Film

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Trafton
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Film Studies ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Film ◽  
Historical Films ◽  
Successive Generations ◽  
Hayden White

From the advent of cinema to the present day, history has been brought to life on screen in many striking ways that have advanced motion picture technology and forged new relationships between viewers and the historical past. Historical films offer a privileged site for scholars of cinema, media, history, and many other disciplines to interrogate a nation’s relationship with the past. How cinema engages with the past, whether recent or distant, provides interesting case studies for how successive generations renegotiate cultural memory and understandings of how the past shapes the present. Historical films can bring into relief hidden or competing histories that either challenge or compliment prevailing narratives and authoritative accounts of the past, asking the viewer to consider the present as being shaped by multiple histories, rather than by one history. Historical films also suggest new ways of understanding the past, and, as a consequence, they also present new ways of understanding the present. Lastly, historical films can perform thought experiments about the past, deliberately departing from the historical print record in order to pose a different set of questions about a nation’s relationship with history. As such, historical films have garnered a tremendous level of scholarly interest, covering a broad range of research foci and subjects that are very useful in expanding discourses on national identity and historical memory. This article seeks to provide academics with ample resources and theoretical frameworks for conducting research on historical films or incorporating aspects of historical film studies into other disciplines. Starting with a general overview and scholarly approaches to historical films, the seminal works of Hayden White, Robert Rosenstone, and Vivian Sobchack are considered alongside newer approaches and scholarly journals, offering the scholar with an array of methodologies for bridging film studies to other fields. The article then examines in greater detail texts and studies concerned with a variety of questions and subissues pertaining to historical film studies—first with how film engages with memory (historical, cultural, personal, and national), then how historical films either interrogate or compound notions of national identity, and then how these ideas are explored in a variety of national and regional contexts. Next, the article turns toward the issues that stem from the scholarly approaches: how historical films can be used as a teaching tool, issues of genre and subgenre taxonomy, and how films themselves act as moments in history. Lastly, the article considers notions of authorship in historical cinema. Since many historical films are helmed by world-renowned filmmakers, the article ends with a section that explores repeated directorial engagements with history as a strong component of auteur cinema.

scholarly journals MENERAWANG MASA LALU DI ERA DIGITAL: FILM SEJARAH VIS A VIS HISTORIOGRAFI

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Luqman Abdul Hakim
Keyword(s):  
Film Studies ◽  
Film Production ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Reform Era ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Film ◽  
Historical Films ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
The Times ◽  
Digital Film

In recent years historical film production or historical films — Historical Film, Historical Movie, Historical Cinema—have become increasingly massive in Indonesia. In its development, historical films in Indonesia are a massive medium to present a past that deserves to be remembered as a collective memory of society. Since the reform era, dozens of historical film titles have been produced and colouring the Indonesian film industry. As a result, many historical films have become references and reference sources for the community to find information about the past. It becomes reasonable to see the development of multimedia-based information technology (audiovisual) which has encouraged the emergence of post-literacy phenomena. In historical studies, historical films can be studied as a thematic study as well as in a methodological realm. As a thematic study, historical films are mental products (mentifact) and social products (sociofact) of society in a certain space of time. Whereas in the methodological realm, historical films can be explored through debates about historical sources or as narratives and representations of the past presented through film media. The study of historical films as a study of history is still a rare and less desirable subject for historians in Indonesia. This paper utilizes literature studies to answer some of the research problems posed. Literature studies of sources related to historical film studies are the focus of the researchers. In addition, a deeper understanding of the development of historical films in Indonesia is also a concern to uncover the souls of the times that surround historical film production. This study concludes that the existence of historical films in the present is a challenge for historians to face the era of openness and variety of media that presents information about the past.

National Mentality and Risks of the Transformation of Belarusian Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 26-49
Author(s):  
Victoria V. Anohina
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Reflexive Modernization ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Potential Risks

The article analyzes the socio-cultural risks of the modernization of Belarusian society as well as the opportunities to minimize these through communication mechanisms of cultural tradition. Since in the postmodern conditions social transformation takes the form of a “reflexive” modernization, its inherent risks should be considered as closely linked with globalization of culture, in particular, with glocalization, pluralization of social identity, hybridization of cultural traditions, fragmentation of the “lifeworld” and of the nation’s historical memory. The author considers various levels of the structure of cultural tradition, paying special attention to the national mentality as its basic layer. The goal of this paper is to show how the specific features of Belarusian mentality become sources of risk and to reveal the role of cultural traditions in preventing or reducing such risks. Analyzing different strategies for constructing the national identity, the author defines the vulnerabilities involved. It argues that the formation of modern forms of national identity in Belarusian society is due to interaction of at least two identification models: the “strong” and “weak” ones. By analyzing the specifics of the “strong” national identity of Belarusians, the author notes that its poles – the nationalist and the patriotic ones – are largely compatible and do not respond to the most urgent challenges. On the contrary, the model of a “weak” identity has a high capacity to adapt to the conditions of “reflexive” modernization. This model is implemented in the process of constructing a pluralistic civic identity of Belarusians, but it has potential risks, especially in conditions of geopolitical turbulence and external pressure on Belarusian society. A reflexive attitude to the past is considered a possibility to minimize such risks, to avoid or to limit potential adverse impacts of social mobilization or national identity construction. It is emphasized that discussions about the past should be carried out in the form of a dialogue that meets the rules and requirements of communicative rationality.

Voices from the Past – Recent Nordic Historical Films

2015 ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Gunnar Iversen
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
Historical Film ◽  
Historical Films ◽  
Nordic Cinema

Nordic cinema since the 2000s has turned to history to a greater degree than before, employing historical subject matter and settings to entertain, show off costumes and tell stories, but also to contribute with images and sounds to what historian Robert A. Rosenstone calls ‘that larger History . . . that web of connections to the past that holds a culture together, that tells us not only where we have been but also suggests where we are going’. This chapter discusses the connections to the past made by the genre of the historical film. By historical film I mean films that create stories that take place in the past and not the present. The main questions are: How do Nordic filmmakers interpret and construct Nordic history? How do Nordic filmmakers engage with the past? And, what constitutes history for current filmmakers in the Nordic countries? I discuss four different feature films, from four different countries, in order to show the scope of the new Nordic historical film and different varieties of engagement with the past.

scholarly journals Memories of cinemagoing and film experience: An introduction

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Kuhn ◽  
Daniel Biltereyst ◽  
Philippe Meers
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Film Studies ◽  
Memory Studies ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Film ◽  
Film Experience ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Relationship

Over the past two decades, the relationship between cinema and memory has been the object of increasing academic attention, with growing interest in film and cinema as repositories for representing, shaping, (re)creating or indexing forms of individual and collective memory. This Special Issue on memory and the experience of cinemagoing centres on the perspective of cinema users and audiences, focusing on memories of films, cinema and cinemagoing from three continents and over five decades of the twentieth century. This introduction considers the relationship between memory studies and film studies, sets out an overview of the origins of, and recent and current shifts and trends within, research and scholarship at the interface between historical film audiences, the cinemagoing experience and memory; and presents the articles and reviews which follow within this frame. It considers some of the methodological issues raised by research in these areas and concludes by looking at some of the challenges facing future work in the field.

scholarly journals “New Drama” in the Context of the Historical Film

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Lydia V Kuzmina
Keyword(s):  
Historical Event ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Historical Film ◽  
Historical Films ◽  
Russian Cinema ◽  
Social Theater ◽  
New Drama ◽  
Philosophical Understanding ◽  
The Revolution

The article is devoted to the cultural phenomenon of the "new drama", which since its the beginning of the 2000s up to present day has a significant impact on the Russian cinema. The authors of the trend, first of all, are close to the theme of contemporaneity. However, while seeking for a holistic, philosophical understanding of time, they turn to the past. One of the most important historical films that appeared in the circle of the "new drama" were the TV-series The Diary of the Murderer (2002) by Kirill Serebrennikov, staged according to the scenario of the famous playwrights of the post -Vampilov wave Nina Sadur, Elena Gremina, Mikhail Ugarov. The creators of the picture offered their understanding of the revolution: they believe that this historical event was a diabolical game in which the notions of humanity and morality were destroyed. Kirill Serebrennikov masterfully presented their idea, using the techniques of postmodernist deconstruction: playing with the usual cultural cliches, particularly cinema (the heroic image of the commissar and the like), the director opens up a different sense of images and events behind them. Another important problem that the authors of the series are exploring is the fate of the intelligentsia and its ability to withstand the catastrophe of the revolution. They come to the sad conclusion that the educated people were too weak and too far from understanding what was happening to resist the morale of the lumpen manifested in the revolution. This understanding of history to some extent determined the approach of the "new drama" to the theme of contemporaneity. Particularly, the ideologists of the trend and the creators of the Theater.doc Elena Gremina and Mikhail Ugarov believe that a modern social theater and cinema will help the cultural layer to soberly look at reality, understand the psychology of the crowd and all the dangers associated with it.

scholarly journals Between truth and memory: images in Lithuanian historical documentaries in post-communist transformation period

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-101
Author(s):  
Rūta Šermukšnytė
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Images ◽  
Historical Films ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Made In ◽  
Transformation Period

The goal of this paper is to reveal how and why the circulation of the same historical images takes place; whose values and, simultaneously, memory are conveyed through these images; what is the relationship between the audiovisual representation of the past and collective memory? The article states that manifestations of the visual stereotypes of Lithuania history in post-communist transformation period (1988–2004) are mainly based on certain cinematic tendencies. Historical films that are considered to be an adaptation of the national narrative cinematography have been predominant since 1988. This kind of narration is characterized by validation of history as a national value, formation of national identity and its stabilization rather than diversification and correction of the collective memory or the development of critical thinking. The current documentary material that is based on the understanding of history as a myth of the nation’s history is not aimed at creating a new visual and verbal narration about the realities of the past, but rather at recognizing what has been said and made in the previous works.

scholarly journals Argentine Cinema and National Identity (1966-1976)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Film ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Film Genres

Argentine Cinema and National Identity covers the development of Argentine cinema since the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, a period that has been understudied. Marked by tumultuous political events, these decades witnessed debates about Argentina’s modernity and tradition that affected film production and consumption. Two film genres, the historical film and the gauchesque— a genre based on outlaw gauchos was crucial for nation-building in the nineteenth century—generated great local interest and high expectations among film producers and distributors. The notion of national identity guides the analysis of certain emblematic films that were well-received by domestic audiences and engaged with the issue of Argentine identity. This manuscript investigates the way Argentine cinema positioned itself when facing the competition of glossy American films by representing the past and the heroic founding figures so as to bridge the stark divisions between the Argentine left and right in the late 1960s.

Remembering the Past in Nineteenth-Century Scotland

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Collective Memories ◽  
The Past ◽  
Prevailing View ◽  
The Way

At a time when the Union between Scotland and England is once again under the spotlight, Remembering the Past in Nineteenth-Century Scotland examines the way in which Scotland’s national heroes were once remembered as champions of both Scottish and British patriotism. Whereas 19th-century Scotland is popularly depicted as a mire of sentimental Jacobitism and kow-towing unionism, this book shows how Scotland’s national heroes were once the embodiment of a consistent, expressive and robust view of Scottish nationality. Whether celebrating the legacy of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, the reformer John Knox, the Covenanters, 19th-century Scots rooted their national heroes in a Presbyterian and unionist view of Scotland’s past. Examined through the prism of commemoration, this book uncovers collective memories of Scotland’s past entirely opposed to 21st-century assumptions of medieval proto-nationalism and Calvinist misery. Detailed studies of 19th-century commemoration of Scotland’s national heroes Uncovers an all but forgotten interpretation of these ‘great Scots’ Shines a new light on the mindset of nineteenth-century Scottish national identity as being comfortably Scottish and British Overturns the prevailing view of Victorian Scottishness as parochial, sentimental tartanry

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document