Often when people think of using films or film history to look as societal, political, or economic changes in American history, they often think of Classical Hollywood Cinema or other major Hollywood or studio productions. While it is true that these films have the ability to do that through their messages about the time period in which they were created (such as The Manchurian Candidate’s themes of political unrest and communist paranoia), amateur films and home movies bring viewers into the past and show how things looked from the perspectives of those living within these communities. From there you can make your own interpretations by using these films as primary sources to talk about history, as well as social and cultural issues.
This page will discuss the importance of using home movies as historical records to portray the characteristics of people in their daily lives rather than something that has been commercially produced and acted out as in Hollywood movies. Even documentaries can be argued to have been constructed to tell a certain truth, and even then can really only be used as secondary sources. While home movies are constructed, they are still true representations of the people and community surrounding the filmmaker.
Home movies provide a personal connection to individuals, who often have either filmed or starred in home movies of their own, and can give viewers a framework for how this genre of films can be read in terms of what the social, economic, or political culture was at that time, how times change and people evolve, as well as how people react to being filmed and what that says about that period’s culture. Even today, many historians do not use films in their historical research, and if they do, they often read it by itself without supplementary materials, such as associated documentation created by the filmmaker during the film making process [1]. This is something The Andrew Avery Collection does extensively and is arguably an important step for historians to take in order to legitimize the study of home movies as historical records.
Most video information the public receives (the news, for instance) comes from commercial media. It is important to treat media as a legitimate record of life, though one must always proceed with caution in terms of authenticity of records. Because home movies are becoming more ubiquitous and easier to create, it is important for the public to understand that their films may someday be of value if they are properly cared for. For instance, if people did not film historic events and incidents, these important records would not be available for examination or evidence in support of broader topics of the past and provide various perspectives on historic people or events. Although fragments of documentary evidence can be argued to be limited in their research value or flawed because of bias, they are still important to consider when looking at history and how to examine historical sources and events [2]. Below are two examples of footage that display such historic events: the World Trade Center in New York City during 9/11 and the racially-charged events occurring in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. These are two recent events in American History that have been captured by cell phones or video equipment and speak to current political and social issues during an age where the ability to create media has become easier than ever.
Home movies can also serve as an examination of the personalities of people, especially those who spend much of their lives in the public eye and have been historically perceived in certain ways. One example of significant footage shown below are still photographs from footage of Adolf Hitler flirting with Eva Braun in her home movies. While his political actions were atrocious, his private life can be seen here. It can be useful to look at this footage in order to better understand who this person was in a private setting in comparison to his public, or political, identity.
Home Movie Analysis Worksheet for Educators
This worksheet is designed as an analysis tool to place home movies in a historical context. It asks questions that allow the viewer to dig deeper into the content of a film's to piece together its historical importance.
This page will discuss the importance of using home movies as historical records to portray the characteristics of people in their daily lives rather than something that has been commercially produced and acted out as in Hollywood movies. Even documentaries can be argued to have been constructed to tell a certain truth, and even then can really only be used as secondary sources. While home movies are constructed, they are still true representations of the people and community surrounding the filmmaker.
Home movies provide a personal connection to individuals, who often have either filmed or starred in home movies of their own, and can give viewers a framework for how this genre of films can be read in terms of what the social, economic, or political culture was at that time, how times change and people evolve, as well as how people react to being filmed and what that says about that period’s culture. Even today, many historians do not use films in their historical research, and if they do, they often read it by itself without supplementary materials, such as associated documentation created by the filmmaker during the film making process [1]. This is something The Andrew Avery Collection does extensively and is arguably an important step for historians to take in order to legitimize the study of home movies as historical records.
Most video information the public receives (the news, for instance) comes from commercial media. It is important to treat media as a legitimate record of life, though one must always proceed with caution in terms of authenticity of records. Because home movies are becoming more ubiquitous and easier to create, it is important for the public to understand that their films may someday be of value if they are properly cared for. For instance, if people did not film historic events and incidents, these important records would not be available for examination or evidence in support of broader topics of the past and provide various perspectives on historic people or events. Although fragments of documentary evidence can be argued to be limited in their research value or flawed because of bias, they are still important to consider when looking at history and how to examine historical sources and events [2]. Below are two examples of footage that display such historic events: the World Trade Center in New York City during 9/11 and the racially-charged events occurring in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. These are two recent events in American History that have been captured by cell phones or video equipment and speak to current political and social issues during an age where the ability to create media has become easier than ever.
Home movies can also serve as an examination of the personalities of people, especially those who spend much of their lives in the public eye and have been historically perceived in certain ways. One example of significant footage shown below are still photographs from footage of Adolf Hitler flirting with Eva Braun in her home movies. While his political actions were atrocious, his private life can be seen here. It can be useful to look at this footage in order to better understand who this person was in a private setting in comparison to his public, or political, identity.
Home Movie Analysis Worksheet for Educators
This worksheet is designed as an analysis tool to place home movies in a historical context. It asks questions that allow the viewer to dig deeper into the content of a film's to piece together its historical importance.
Video courtesy of precisenews
Video courtesy of Brown Blaze
Eva Braun Home Movie, 1936. Images courtesy of The Internet Archive
Notes
[1] Kuiper, John. “The Historical Value of Motion Pictures.” American Archivist 31, no. 4 (October 1, 1968): 385–90.
[2] O’Connor, John E. “History in Images/Images in History: Reflections on the Importance of Film and Television Study for an Understanding of the Past.” The American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (December 1, 1988): 1200–1209.
[1] Kuiper, John. “The Historical Value of Motion Pictures.” American Archivist 31, no. 4 (October 1, 1968): 385–90.
[2] O’Connor, John E. “History in Images/Images in History: Reflections on the Importance of Film and Television Study for an Understanding of the Past.” The American Historical Review 93, no. 5 (December 1, 1988): 1200–1209.