[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: History and the Movies (and the Publishers)



you know, that reminded me of something I saw about a month and a half ago
on the History Channel. It was a show about Napoleon and his obsession with
conquering Egypt.. They had a small clip of film that was supposed to depict
Admiral Nelson's in the delta region. It looked great except for the fact
that the ships were not English... The prows looked oddly like the Kalmar
Knyckel out of Delaware. I've always heard about the rule of one in ten, but
I never expected to be the 10th person!

Kristin Torgerson
Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland
----- Original Message -----
From: Bunker, Kevin <kbunker@SS.CA.GOV>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Friday, June 30, 2000 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: History and the Movies (and the Publishers)


> And now this word from the Friday soapbox (+ Friday Funnies)
>
> In my past life at California State Railroad Museum, we often got calls
and
> visits from the media folk, such as "coffee-table book publishers, and
folks
> from the cable history television industry. "We need lots of pictures of
> trains."
>
> After prying a detailed subject-by-subject and "circa" date list out of
> them, we'd then have to spend considerable time searching the photo
archives
> and pull possibly interesting/appropriate images for consideration. These
> their agents or researchers or authors would review.
>
> Then comes the final product, with odd layout juxtapositions, odd  or
> erroneous captions, etc., etc.
>
> For the Funnies list:  On reference one day I got a call from a woman with
a
> slight level of edge to her voice.
>
> "I'm having an argument with my 14 year old daughter who is taking
American
> History. We have a $50 bet and need you to settle it!"
>
> "Gee, ma'am, I'd prefer not to get in the middle..."
>
> "No, you have to answer the question and prove I am right. SHE says I'm
> wrong! Here's the question: What train did George Washington use to get to
> his inauguration in Washington, D.C.?"
>
> I had to literally put the phone away and stifle a guffaw.
>
> "We have a significant problem, ma'am. How much did you say was the bet?"
>
> "Fifty bucks. So which train was it?"
>
> "Well, ma'am, I hate to say this, but you'd better get out your wallet."
>
> "Why?!"
>
> "There were no trains for George Washington to take to his inauguration."
>
> "What?! Then how did he get to Washington,D.C.?"
>
> "There's the other problem, ma'am. There was no Washington, D.C. He was
> inaugurated in New York City."
>
> There was a pause, she repeated it somewhat and distant peals of teenage
> laughter across the line. "Told you," I could hear the daughters voice
say.
>
> The woman comes back with: "Well what train did he take to New York?"
>
> "Ma'am, there were no railway trains of any kind in the United States
until
> around 1830."
>
> With a very biting edge now: "Well, then, HOW did he get to New York?"
>
> "I must presume, ma'am he either walked, rode in a stage or on horseback."
>
> More peals of teenage glee came as I heard a sheepish, maternal "Thank
you,
> I guess..." and a hangup click.
>
>         And this is not an April 1 gag...
>
>         Kevin Bunker
>         Student Assistant
>         California State Archives
> > ----------
> > From:         Kurilecz,
Peter[SMTP:peter.kurilecz@WOODSIDESUMMITGROUP.COM]
> > Reply To:     Archives & Archivists
> > Sent:         Friday, June 30, 2000 8:32 AM
> > To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> > Subject:      Re: History and the Movies
> >
> > The History Channel's program "History or Hollywood" examines movies so
> > that
> > they can ask the question is it history or is it Hollywood? They usually
> > have some subject experts on to discuss various aspects of the film.
Last
> > nights experts were from the Naval War College and Gettysburg College.
> >
> > They also interviewed one of the curator's for Historic Brattonsville.
> > This
> > expert was great as they went through the buildings etc. BUT the best
part
> > was when he related an incident that occurred during the filming. (they
> > showed the relevant scene, too). The scene involved 6 militia men at
night
> > carrying torches. They were entering one of the historic WOODEN
buildings
> > with TORCHES. The curator said that before they could enter the building
> > one
> > of the staff slammed the door in their faces. Eventually filming
continued
> > but as he related there was a staff member out of camera range with a
fire
> > extinguisher handy AND a member of the local fire brigade with charged
> > hose
> > in hand also off-screen. Just in case.
> >
> > I've worked with local TV people in the past who were very good and
> > pleasant. What I found most difficult to work with were local print
> > journalists who were reluctant to discuss their research topic. And even
> > after providing them with all the information they needed, they would
> > still
> > screw up the story. The worst is that the public would come in saying
"but
> > the paper says that's what happened" They couldn't be convinced even if
we
> > showed them the original.
> >
> > Anyway here is the url for Historic Brattonsville, SC
> > http://yorkcounty.org/brattonsville/
> >
> > Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA
> > Manager, Records Management
> > Woodside Summit Group, Inc
> > Richmond, Virginia
> > Tel: 804-744-1247 extension 23
> > Fax: 804-744-4947
> > mailto:peter.kurilecz@woodsidesummitgroup.com
> >
> > >
> >
> > A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
> >
> > To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
> >       In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
> >                     *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
> > To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
> >
> > Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
> >      http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
> >
> > Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
> >
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
>       In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
>                     *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
> To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
>
> Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
>      http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>