Engaging the past : mass culture and the production of historical knowledge

Reading films, television dramas, reality shows, and virtual exhibits, among other popular texts, __Engaging the Pas__t examines the making and meaning of history for everyday viewers. Contemporary media can encourage complex interactions with the past that have far-reaching consequences for history and politics. Viewers experience these representations personally, cognitively, and bodily, but, as this book reveals, not just by identifying with the characters portrayed. Some of the works considered in this volume include the films __Hotel Rwanda__ (2004), __Good Night and Good Luck__ (2005), and __Milk__ (2008); the television dramas __Deadwood__, __Mad Men__, and __Rome__; the reality shows __Frontier House__, __Colonial House__, and __Texas Ranch House__; and The Secret Annex Online, accessed through the Anne Frank House website, and the Kristallnacht exhibit, accessed through the Unites States Holocaust Museum website. These mass cultural texts cultivate what Alison Landsberg calls an "affective engagement" with the past, tying the viewer to an event or person and fostering a sense of intimacy that does more than transport the viewer back in time. Affect, she suggests, can also work to disorient the viewer, forcibly pushing him or her out of the narrative and back into his or her own body. By analyzing these specific popular history formats, Landsberg shows the unique way they provoke historical thinking and produce historical knowledge, prompting a reconsideration of what constitutes history and an understanding of how history works in the contemporary mediated public sphere. Reading films, television dramas, reality shows, and virtual exhibits, among other popular texts, Engaging the Past examines the making and meaning of history for everyday viewers. Contemporary media can encourage complex interactions with the past that have far-reaching consequences for history and politics. Viewers experience these representations personally, cognitively, and bodily, but, as this book reveals, not just by identifying with the characters portrayed. Some of the works considered in this volume include the films Hotel Rwanda (2004), Good Night and Good Luck (2005), and Milk (2008); the television dramas Deadwood, Mad Men, and Rome; the reality shows Frontier House, Colonial House, and Texas Ranch House; and The Secret Annex Online, accessed through the Anne Frank House website, and the Kristallnacht exhibit, accessed through the Unites States Holocaust Museum website. These mass cultural texts cultivate what Alison Landsberg calls an “affective engagement” with the past, tying the viewer to an event or person and fostering a sense of intimacy that does more than transport the viewer back in time. Affect, she suggests, can also work to disorient the viewer, forcibly pushing him or her out of the narrative and back into his or her own body. By analyzing these specific popular history formats, Landsberg shows the unique way they provoke historical thinking and produce historical knowledge, prompting a reconsideration of what constitutes history and an understanding of how history works in the contemporary mediated public sphere. HIS036000,HISTORY / United States / General,SOC022000,SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture Reading films, television dramas, reality shows, and virtual exhibits, among other popular texts, Engaging the Pas t examines the making and meaning of history for everyday viewers. Contemporary media can encourage complex interactions with the past that have far-reaching consequences for history and politics. Viewers experience these representations personally, cognitively, and bodily, but, as this book reveals, not just by identifying with the characters portrayed. Some of the works considered in this volume include the films Hotel Rwanda (2004), Good Night and Good Luck (2005), and Milk (2008); the television dramas Deadwood , Mad Men , and Rome ; the reality shows Frontier House , Colonial House , and Texas Ranch House ; and The Secret Annex Online, accessed through the Anne Frank House website, and the Kristallnacht exhibit, accessed through the Unites States Holocaust Museum website. These mass cultural texts cultivate what Alison Landsberg calls an "affective engagement" with the past, tying the viewer to an event or person and fostering a sense of intimacy that does more than transport the viewer back in time. Affect, she suggests, can also work to disorient the viewer, forcibly pushing him or her out of the narrative and back into his or her own body. By analyzing these specific popular history formats, Landsberg shows the unique way they provoke historical thinking and produce historical knowledge, prompting a reconsideration of what constitutes history and an understanding of how history works in the contemporary mediated public sphere. Reading films, television dramas, reality shows, and virtual exhibits, Engaging the Past examines the making and meaning of history for everyday viewers. Alison Landsberg considers the films Hotel Rwanda (2004), Good Night and Good Luck (2005), and Milk (2008); the television dramas Deadwood, Mad Men, and Rome; the reality shows Colonial House, Frontier House, and Texas Ranch House; and The Secret Annex Online, accessed through the website for the Anne Frank House, and the Kristallnacht exhibit, featured on the United States Holocaust Museum website. These mass-cultural texts cultivate what Landsberg calls an "affective engagement" with the past, tying the viewer to an event or person and fostering a sense of intimacy that does more than simply transport the viewer back in time. Affect, she suggests, can also work to disorient viewers, forcibly pushing them out of the narrative and back into their own bodies. By analyzing these specific popular history formats, Landsberg shows how they provoke historical thinking and produce historical knowledge, prompting a reconsideration of what constitutes history and an understanding of how it works in the contemporary mediated public sphere. Book jacket Introduction -- Theorizing Affective Engagement In The Historical Film -- Waking The Past: The Historically Conscious Television Drama -- Encountering Contradiction: Reality History Tv -- Digital Translations Of The Past: Virtual History Exhibits -- Conclusion. Alison Landsberg. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Content: Introduction -- Theorizing affective engagement in the historical film -- Waking the past: the historically conscious television drama -- Encountering contradiction: reality history TV -- Digital translations of the past: virtual history exhibits -- Conclusion. Alison Landsberg is an associate professor in the Department of History and Art History and the Department of Cultural Studies at George Mason University. She is the author of Prosthetic Memory: The Transformation of American Remembrance in the Age of Mass Culture