Historical Movies As A Learning Source

As a history educator, I want to talk about topics in a way that will connect with people. History can be discussed or displayed in so many mediums, it just takes a bit to learn which mediums tend to connect with a group of people. Video games with history facts or flavoring is still quite new, but movies seem to stand the test of time.

Movies can take a person though a whole story or lifetime in only a few short hours. This is enough time for these movies to connect emotionally, discuss complex issues, or make the viewers question what they know about life as it is now. Historical movies attempt to do all these while giving an impression (normally overexaggerated) of what living in that time was like. For example, in any adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, there is some understanding that the Bennet family lived in a smaller house but still nice and in the country. There can be so much of the viewer to unpack from there alone.

Keeping in mind that there is some level of overacting for the drama, viewers get to see Jane Bennet who is quiet, docile, and she does not show much emotions, which is seen as the more classic attitude expected of a European woman. On the other hand, her sister Elizabeth is much more bold and used as the example of women who didn’t fit that expected mold. There are many times that Elizabeth is told to act more like Jane. To keep watching these movies as a discussion is key, especially because these movies hit an emotion. The goal of a historian is not to say that these movies are wrong, but to get viewer to think about how this would have different from the real experience the main character had in the 1800s. I would use this to talk about those gender norms noticed and then dive into questions about class. For example, Elizabeth and Jane are judged for trying to keep up with the upper classes, especially when Elizabeth walks to see sick Jane staying at Netherfield. Mr. Bingley’s sisters then make fun of Elizabeth and think less of her for this. Would that be realistic? Most likely yes.

I would have students watch both (major) versions and make a small list compare the social setting difference between the two. Then I want students to bring that list to class and discuses how  those differences gave the adaptation a more or less historical feeling. I think would also apply that historical thinking I have talked about before because its asking students to put themselves in the shoes of someone from the early 1800s and, based on what they already know of that time period, decide if one version did a better job of portraying the time over the romance. The romance may be part of or the surface of their answer, but I am looking for a deeper reflection on gender norms, communication methods, and class influence.

there are some ways this could be incorporated into DH or digital storytelling that seemed fun to me. First would be a podcast just discussing the differences. This one would most likely be only a one or two episode thing. A longer but funnier option is to do a “historian reacts” video. Experts react videos are extremely popular with the public on YouTube and are a great way to share your thoughts in bite size pieces while asking one to put themselves in that time period and decide what is realistic and what is not. Especially when comparing Jane and Elizabeth as characters versus an example of a historical representation.