Monday, March 15, 2010

The Outline

Yes, this is kind of general and not finished; in my defense (i.e. lame excuse) I had a busy weekend and forgot all about this.

Historical Film

Intro
The genre of historical film has been attacked and belittled. I will briefly describe some of the antagonistic views of this genre.
Thesis: Historical films, when used properly, can bolster society’s historical understanding as well as have a positive influence for change.

Body
Bolstering society’s historical understanding
  • Presents differing viewpoints
  • Movies allow un-told stories to be told
Gives an audience a glimpse into the past in a vivid, evocative way
  • Sets, props, costumes, etc.
Another point that I haven’t quite settled on yet

Positive influence for change
  • Movies often portray the “controversial” events in history and entertain while allowing people to take home a message
  • Example of the movie “Glory”:Taught about the effects of stereotypes, racism, determination, courage, power of ideas, etc. Generated a lot of interest in the topic

Conclusion
Draw everything together to discuss that historical movies can be effective at teaching history under certain circumstances

1 comment:

  1. Basically....none of the above. I think that I could easily take my paper in a counterpoint-point style of argument. I have read a little bit about both sides of this argument and I know that many people still dislike historical movies for many reasons. I can bring up their claims and rebut them for my arguments listed above.

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