Final Flashcards
Should historians focus on blockbusters or experimental films? (2)
- All the films we watched in this course were experimental in some way or another (e.g. Lumumba: Morte de Prophet, Battle of Algiers)
- Experimental films are less concerned with pleasing the audience than blockbusters and therefore are more likely to reflect historical content
Are movies essentially about the present? (4)
- Historical films are often made during comparable crises as a way of reflecting society’s interests
- May present the filmmaker’s point of view on current events through the analysis of historical events
- Breaker Morant reflects war sentiments, having been released shortly after the end of the war
- Battle of Algiers was released during the peak of anti-war sentiments in the US
How can research on Hollywood films move to achieve deeper levels of understanding? (2)
- Focus on the elements of motion picture (e.g. composition, actors, lighting, camera angles)
- Study the film’s reception at the time of the release, the background and experiences of the filmmaker
Is “cinematic history” essentially a genre? Why? (4)
- Yes
- Filmmakers often collapse several historical characters into a few and condense the time sequence of events
- Very obvious villains who represent forces of evil
- Romance plots for the sake of entertainment
What is colonialism? (4)
- A subset of imperialism which imposes direct political control
- To effect economic exploitation
- For strategic interests
- Often associated with a threat from rival powers
What is new imperialism? (6)
- Imperialism motivated by economic and political factors
- Significant differences to older imperialism: actors, timing, rationale, scope
What are the causes for expansion? (3)
Economic, political, socio-cultural/ideological
What is involved in the economic cause for expansion? (2)
- The over-success of industrialism in Europe meant that they would run out of people to buy commodities
- Colonizing for the sake of new ventures
What is involved in the political cause for expansion? (4)
- The rise of nation states
- Securing your position on the world stage
- Proxy ways (to maintain power in Europe without it becoming a domestic problem
- Snowballing (taking over one territory to get to another for political rivalry)
- Prestige value (France claiming new territory after losing the war)
What is involve in the socio-cultural/ideological cause for expansion? (4)
- Acts as an apology rather than a reason
- Rooted in pseudosciences rather than religion
- The white man’s burden: one day inferior peoples will evolve into being perfectly civilized
- Missionaries
What does film have the potential to do?
Effectively tell the past while raising historical questions in new ways
If cinema is going to draw its subjects from history, what does it owe its patrons? (2)
- Greater accuracy
- It shouldn’t be offered to the public until a reputable historian has reviewed it
How does the dramatic feature film indulge in fabrication and invention? Why? (4)
- Characters, incidents, events, moments, dialogue, setting
- It makes it more palatable
- Necessary for the genre and medium
- Time constraints, necessary detail that cannot be known
How can filmmakers be honest about the sources of their work? (2)
- Listing them in the credits
- Admitting to any uncertainties
What was the Cape of Good Hope used for? (2)
- White settlement
- Refuelling stations for the Dutch East India Company
What was the Cape of Good Hope like? (3)
- Good in terms of weather
- Inhabited by locals (San & Khoi Khoi)
- Locals were weakened by diseases brought by Europeans
What does Boer mean? What language do the Boers speak?
- Dutch for farmer
- Afrikaans
What happens during the frontier expansion in South Africa? (2)
- The San and Khoi Khoi are squeezed out
- Commando-style defence squads defend white settlers against “hostile” locals
What happens during the British occupation of the Cape of Good Hope?
They set up a colonial state and encourage settlement of English nationals
What do the English nationals settled on the Cape of Good Hope want? (5)
- Political representation (which they eventually get)
- To end slavery (a British imperial policy)
- Votes for non-whites (based on their economic status and property ownership)
- English to be the language of law and governance
- Limited eastern expansion and treaty rights
What are the two Boer Republics?
- Orange Free State
- Transvaal/South African Republic
What was found in the Orange Free State? What happened? (3)
- Diamonds
- A corporate land grab under the guise of saving people
- Led to a short war
What caused the Boer War? (2)
- The British reversal of the Pretoria Agreement which recognized the independence of the Boer Republic
- They established a federation to seize mineral wealth and strengthen the empire
What are the phases of the Boer War? (2)
- Initial conventional warfare
- Guerrilla war and commando units
What is conventional warfare?
Conventional armies of men in uniform
What is guerrilla warfare? (3)
- Surprise attacks which are to the advantage of the people who know the terrain
- Who is the enemy? All dressed in civilian clothing
- Women and children involved
What are “bitter enders” (5)
- Those who fight until the very end of the Boer war
- Concentration camps
- Human shields
- Take no prisoners
- Field Marshall Horatio Kitchener’s “scorched earth campaign”
Why did Australia get involved in the Boer War? (2)
- They were a self-governing Commonwealth state that coincided with the war
- A way of refining their respectability due to their weird reputation
What did Australia do in the Boer war? (2)
- Fought under British command
- Bushveldt Carbineers (BVC)
What are the Bushveldt Carbineers? (2)
- A mounted unit to fight Boer Commandos
- Made up of mostly Australian volunteers
What kind of historical is Breaker Morant (1980)
Based on real events
What ideas does Breaker Morant explore? (4)
- Immoral/moral acts during times of conflict (war crimes)
- Lawful orders: should one be held guilty for the actions ordered by a superior
- The death penalty
- Guerrilla warfare
Which current event did the release of Breaker Morant coincide with?
The end of the Vietnam War
Who are the main subjects in Breaker Morant? (4)
- Lieutenant Harry Harbord Morant
- Lieutenant Peter Handcock
- Lieutenant George Witton
- Major J. F. Thomas
Who faced a court martial in Breaker Morant? (3)
- Lieutenant Harry Harbord Morant
- Lieutenant Peter Handcock
- Lieutenant George Witton
Why did Morant face a court martial? (2)
- Ordering the execution of 6 Boer prisoners
- Claims it was an order issues indirectly from Lord Kitchener through Captain Simon Hunt
Why did Witton face a court martial? (2)
- Allegedly killing one of the 6 Boer prisoners before their execution
- Claims it was in self-defence
Why did Handcock face a court martial? (2)
- Allegedly associated with the killing of a German missionary
- Relies on lack of eyewitnesses
Who issued the charges against Morant, Witton, and Handcock? Why? (3)
- Lord Kitchener
- To use them as scapegoats to protect the name of the British army since they aren’t British
- Further demonstrated by the prosecutor having 6 weeks to preare and the defence attorney (Major J. F. Thomas) only having one day without trial experience
How does Breaker Morant tell its story?
Through flashbacks during the trial