Reframing the Past by Mia E. M. Treacey

Author:Mia E. M. Treacey [Treacey, Mia E. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General, World, Modern, Social Science, Media Studies
ISBN: 9781317273219
Google: cM2jCwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-02-26T16:13:07+00:00

6

A tale of two Roberts

1990–1999

Those interested in Screened History from the 1990s onward became familiar with one person in particular: Robert A. Rosenstone. Yet, as previous chapters established, Screened History since 1898 had been about far more than the ideas of one man. Unarguably Rosenstone’s ideas challenged and changed Screened History and History; however, his was not the only viable approach that developed in the 1990s. The profile that Rosenstone brought to Screened History was undoubtedly a blessing for its status within History. His approach, and the scholarship of those who followed it, created a definable school within American Screened History. But, in some ways his profile was also a curse, as it was hard for others to find a voice when one person was already speaking so loudly and clearly. Other ideas and methods with significant possibilities for Screened History were being discussed and published by Film, Television and Cultural Studies, but they went mostly unnoticed by historians focused on ‘History and film’. Overall, the 1990s included scholarship that, while not as well known as Rosenstone’s form of American Screened History, continued to push boundaries, explore different methods, and demonstrate the legitimacy of Screened History as a research field within History.

Therefore, this chapter reconsiders Rosenstone’s most influential publications Revisioning History: Film and the Construction of a New Past (1995a) and Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to our Idea of History (1995b) within the more complex context of early Screened History discussed in previous chapters. It also compares it with the other school of 1990s American Screened History, which became a prolific source of scholarship. This alternative school is examined through an investigation of the work of Robert Brent Toplin, whose screened histories typified the approach that came to dominate alongside Rosenstone’s. Placing Rosenstone and Toplin’s work within the broader context of other disciplinary developments and earlier Screened History scholarship makes it possible to assess the value and influence of both schools. It also highlights the variety of other American and international scholars who continued to produce Screened History in the 1990s. For example, in Australia, historian Tony Barta who was involved in the FHAANZ Film and History conferences (1982 onward) edited Screening the Past: Film and the Representation of History (1998). Screening the Past brought together Australian historians, film and television scholars, filmmakers, and English Literature scholars to discuss Screened History. Included were contributions from British scholars Sue Harper (Picturing the Past: The Rise and Fall of the British Costume Drama, 1994) and Colin McArthur (Television and History, 1978), both of whom made ongoing contributions to Screened History. The collection also included a chapter by Pierre Sorlin, and an example of American Screened History by Daniel Walkowitz. Screening the Past demonstrated how Australian Screened History had been internationally engaged and defined by its interdisciplinarity. Film historian Ina Bertrand was also a contributor to Screening the Past and the Film and History conferences, as well as the founding editor of the online journal Screening the Past (1997 onward).

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