Appropriating the Past
I got my degree in history, and when I got to historical movies, I'm the one indignantly whispering to my seatmate about errors. Though actually I'm pretty charitable: I understand that movies do have budgets and physical limitations. If you're making a World War II movie and can't scrounge up enough M-1 Garand rifles for all the extras playing American soldiers, I won't be upset if some guy in the background is carrying a British or even a German rifle of the period. (But I will be ticked off if he's got an M-16.)
In fact, the thing that moviemakers get wrong which bugs me the most isn't the physical details, it's the attitudes. One of my perennial complaints about historical fiction is how often the main characters have modern opinions and mindsets. In C.S. Forester's wonderful Captain Hornblower series, it does occasionally strain belief how frequently Captain Hornblower displays mid-20th century ideas about early-19th century issues. One reason I utterly love Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin series is precisely because his characters have unashamedly Regency-era views. Captain Aubrey in particular is very much a man of his time, even something of a reactionary, but he's still obviously a good man and a great character.
Why is this a problem? Why can't I just enjoy the costumes and quit nitpicking?
I think my objection to Getting History Wrong has the same root as the objections some others express about writers or moviemakers "appropriating" non-American cultures: the past, like other countries, is not just a stage set or a collection of costumes to play with. The past ��� again, like other countries ��� was inhabited by real people, as smart and as moral as ourselves (if not more so).
Making fun of our ancestors for not being clever enough to be born after 1980, or not being enlightened enough to read BuzzFeed, is more than just disrespectful. It's stupid. Having an iPhone doesn't change your essential humanity, so you can learn a lot from Marcus Aurelius, Gautama Buddha, or Hernan Cortez. Understand them on their own terms, just as you should try to understand people from other cultures in the present.
After all, you'll be history yourself, someday.
