The Class Activity

Your task:

Become familiar with the public and scholarly reaction across various social and communications media to two influential, history-based films, Lincoln and Django Unchained.

Consider how you might focus on a historical event or perspective portrayed in either of the films according to your own interests. What piques your interest? Even if you have not seen either film, you have ample scenes, character descriptions, and plot points described in the instructor-provided resources that were linked previously.

Consider the resources to be examples of the public discussion of historians and others around the two films, as well as examples of primary sources that may shed light on your analysis. Use the examples as jumping-off points for the activity.

Follow the guidelines below to "become your own historians."

1. Read: "Katyń: History, Lies, Fiction and Myth" (short essay by Dr. Laura Gibbs) which asks us to consider what we all know, but do not always remain mindful of when we are seeing a film for entertainment purposes.

http://journeytothesea.com/katyn-history-myth/ (opens in new window)

I believe that Laura's approach to history and story in this foreign film will be a useful process to you as you delve into the history behind our two Oscar-nominated films. Although her film is about a different nation in a different time, keep the process in mind for possible application to your own work below.

2. Select one interesting event, scene, or perspective that seems to have caused controversy among historians and others upon the release of either Lincoln or Django. This may be as broad as the "Spielberg style" that has been said to minimize the role of abolitionists in the filmed viewpoint ofLincoln, or as narrow as the presence of Klansmen in 1858 in one scene of Django.

3. Locate and describe in detail a primary source (record, artifact, etc.) that gives a more accurate (truthful?) account of your selection from item 2. This may be from the Library of Congress, from the National Archives, or from any other source.

4. Compare and contrast the two, the film and the record. Consider the needs of the creators to tell a compelling story as well as the needs of people in the modern-day US to understand what may have actually occurred, what was possible and what was not, and why that should matter. Try Laura Gibbs's general approach and see where it takes you.