Abby's Blog

English 211c

[abbylcklr-blog]

Pearl Harbor: The movie

Pearl Harbor was directed by Michael Bay and was released in 2001. This movie, based on real historical events, follows American boyhood friends Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) as they enter World War II as pilots. Though based on actual events, the movie is fictional and highly romanticized. 

This movie is important to my paper because it is one of the three movies set in WWII that I am using as examples for how movies manipulate historical events.  In Pearl Harbor, even the attack on the naval base was manipulated to the point of no longer being historical accurate at all.  The problem with this is that most audience members don’t understand that this movie is fictional and they view the events portrayed in the movie as fact.  It also only shows the American perspective and depicts the US as the good guys in every situation.  

[abbylcklr-blog]

Citation #3

Past Imperfect: History According to the Movie 

In this source, Mark Carnes and Oliver Stone discuss the ways Stone’s movies differ from the events they were based on. Stone claims that historians avoid going into the shadowy parts of history and prefer to instead just discuss the known facts. Films can bring out the more unclear aspects of an event and try to explain them in ways historians refuse to.  This is how he justifies why he needed to stray from the known facts to create a movie that answered historical questions.  

Carnes, M. (1997). Past imperfect: history according to the movie: a conversation between Mark C. Carnes and Oliver Stone. Cineaste, 22(4), 33-37.

[abbylcklr-blog]

Citation #2

Pearl Harbor: How Film Conquers History

"Hollywood-made combat films tend to dwell almost obsessively on distinctly US adventures, obstacles, and contributions."  This leaves out the vast amount of history that doesn't fall under the "heroic" category.  The leaving out of the facts that don’t necessarily conform to the popular American view of their country is a main topic in my final paper.  Film producers manipulate history to make America look better and they tend to demonize the opposite side.  

Boggs, C. (2006). Pearl Harbor: How Film Conquers History. New Political Science, 28(4), 451-466. doi:10.1080/07393140601005246a

[suzykassempoetry]

“THE WORLD CITIZEN” by Suzy Kassem Copyright 2010, SUZY KASSEM. All rights reserved.

Suzy Kassem Poetry

[abbylcklr-blog]

Citation #1

CLASSEN, C. (2009). BALANCED TRUTH: STEVEN SPIELBERG'S SCHINDLER'S LIST AMONG HISTORY, MEMORY, AND POPULAR CULTURE. History & Theory, 48(2), 77-102. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2303.2009.00499.x

This article discusses the idea that the film, Schindler’s List, is an authentic representation of a historical event. It investigates how the impression of historical truth and authenticity emerges in a fiction film. Because of the topic of this article, it is a great source for my paper.  I am researching the film industry’s manipulation of history when making historical films.  Schindler’s List is one of the movies my paper is using as an example of a historical film that has lost authenticity trying to conform to pop culture standards. The article referenced above with provide evidence and ideas to support my claims that the film industry manipulates history.  It will also allow me to better understand the differences between Schindler’s List and the events it was based on.  

This is a reliable source to use for my paper because it was written by a  contemporary historian who is well known for his work in Holocaust studies.  It was also published in History and Theory Journal, which is a journal established and maintained by an accredited university.  

[abbylcklr-blog]

Hello Tumblr!

I have been writing papers since middle school, but this is my first ever Tumblr post!  Lately I have been writing more and more research papers for my college classes and I have gotten much better at being clear and concise.  I regularly come across situations in my daily life that require me to be able to make myself understood through writing.  Even when I am taking notes, it is important that I can quickly and accurately record my thoughts.  I am hoping this English class will further enhance my writing skills and allow me to research topics that are important in today’s society.