Hindsight Needs Corrective Lenses Flashcards
Who was credited with earliest form of record keeping?
Sumerians or Egyptians
Hieroglyphics
Egyptions used for inscriptions on walls of tombs temples, statues, coffins, and sarcophagi
Sacred Carving
Cuneiform
Writing started for practical uses.
Cuneiform means “wedge-shaped” and was written on clay tablets using a reed stylus with the end cut in
a wedge shape.
Cuneiform is syllabic, and one symbol could represent one full word then becoming letters, the character for the word “ra,” meaning head of a man, turned into the symbol for their “R” consonant.
Cuneiform was only used by skilled practitioners such as astronomers, scribes, priests, and the king.
Cuneiform began to be deciphered into English in the late 1800s by Henry Rawlinson.
The Behistun Inscription was key in accurately translating ancient cuneiform
Differences between Hieroglyphics and Cunieform
Hieroglyphs are intricate pictures representing objects, while cuneiform uses wedge-shaped impressions made on clay tablets
Hieroglyphics were used for the ancient Egyptian language. Cuneiform was used for several languages like Sumerian, Akkadian, and Elamite.
Hieroglyphs carved in stone have survived for millennia, while cuneiform tablets are more fragile.
Petroglyphs
Rock carvings made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammer stone.
deep religious significance or were used as maps (depicted surrounding terrain with symbols)
Created around 40,000 years ago with the oldest cluster of them thought to be in Iran.
Highly concentrated in parts of Siberia, Scandinavia and Africa
Nsibidi
Indigenous to the Ejagham peoples of Southeastern Nigeria
Many show love affairs
Used TODAY by the Ekpe Secret Society
Aesthetically compelling and encoded- decorative
Quipus
Made from strings that was used by a number of societies in Andean South America
Inca Civilization
Knotted tally cords
Used for collecting data, monitoring tax returns, keeping track of calendrical information, and organising troops
Unknown if it has corresponding language, if it does not; it would be impossible to decipher.
Dispilio Tablet
Wooden tablet containing inscribed markings which is more than 7,000 years old
Tablet’s text is indecipherable
Found in 1993 during George Hourmouziadis’ excavations of Dispili, Greece (Neolithic lakeside settlement) at the bottom of Lake Kastoria
Partially damaged due to being exposed to an oxygen rich environment for a long period of time
Oldest known text in existence
Oracle Bones
Animal bones and turtle shells
Used in divination ceremonies (future predicting using supernatural powers)
Questions were carved on the bones/shell before they were subjected to intense heat through a metal rod until it cracked due to thermal expansion. A diviner would interpret the pattern of the cracks, seen to be a message from a person’s ancestor, and finish by writing the answer to the question on the bone
Ancient China- Shang Dynasty
Cyclons
Cylindrical stone marked with incisions
Originated from magical or religious functions
Could contain maps- which would be the oldest known in existence
20,000 years old
Geoglyphs
Large-scale drawing/image made on the ground made by arranging stones, stretching the earth, etc
Only fully visible from a distance or the air
Modern form of art being popularized during the Land Art Movement
Purpose is unknown
Nazca Lines in Peru which consist of white lines along the desert landscape which form large figures
Runestones
Memorials to dead men
Rune language
Most were brightly colored
4th century to 12th century
Used by Ancient Scandinavian societies, most notably the Vikings
Why do images present a challenge for those producing stories set in photographed times?
To build realistic sets and to cast actors who look enough like their historical counterparts
Who played President Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho)?
Tien Hoi in 1987 play- “A sleepless night”
Why was Tien Hoi chosen to play Ho Chi Minh?
Striking resemblance to a young Ho Chi Minh
What did the success of “A sleepless night” do for Tien Hoi?
Earned recognition General Vo Nguyen Giap
Showed that he was capable of embodying historic figures
The Musical Hamilton defied the expectation of what actors in historical dramas should look and sound like by….?
Casting Black actors as America’s legendary founding heroes
People say that it distorts American History
Hamilton
Aaron Burr (US v.p) and Thomas Jefferson (US P) Duel
Created by Lin Manuel Miranda
Colour- blind casting
Casting of Jodie Smith as the Queen of England in the Channel 5 series rendition of Hamilton
August Wilson, an African American playwright, was against color-blind casting, arguing that it perpetuates the erasure of history and assimilation of repressed communities
West Side Story and The Simpsons facing similar criticism
Call for the industry to create new spaces where BIPOC actors can thrive and contribute their talents without controversy
In Hamilton on Disney+, white roles were often portrayed by BIPOC actors.
Only King George III was portrayed by a white actor
Audio recording in theater- Example
Actress playing Margret Thatcher is expected to study her voice diligently
Color-conscious casting
The Great Gatsby, where characters’ ethnicities are reinterpreted to reinforce and explore themes of identity and belonging
4 Steps to mimicking voices
- Study & Research (Accent, Tone, etc.)
- Feedback (from people who have heard the original person’s voice)
- Only Voice- Method Acting
- Ready To Perform
Which leader gave his victory speech from prison?
Pakistan, Imran Khan used AI to give his speech
Pakistan 2024 election
Shehbaz Sharif, representing both PML-N and PPP, poised to become the prime minister with a coalition of seats
The election raised questions about the credibility of the electoral process and sparked protests and clashes across the country
This happened due to internet shutdowns during polling day
Who played Gandhi in the movie?
Ben Kingsley
Some have criticized the choice to cast someone of only partial Indian descent—and British
Kingsley, born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in the UK to an English mother and a Gujarati father
Very successful film
“Gandhi” Movie
Gandhi’s political awakening as a lawyer in South Africa, where he fought for the rights of Indians and tackled segregation.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Disability
Never photographed in a wheelchair
Paralyzed from the waist down by polio
Kept out of public eye by using leg braces, holding onto an advisor or a lectern while swinging his legs forward
Went on to become governor of New York in 1928 and was elected president in 1932
Concealed from the public eye, as he was determined to project an image of strength and capability
Photography of FDR in Wheelchair
2013- First photo
Showcasing him being transported down a ramp after visiting the USS Baltimore
FDR Memorial Commission selected Lawrence Halprin to design a memorial for Roosevelt
Statue of him in a wheelchair unveiled in Washington, D.C. in 2001
Statue has wife’s words about his condition and his perseverance
Old movies and TV shows filmed in black-and-white
To feel more authentic
Steven Spielberg- 1993 magnum opus “Schindler’s List”
Allowed audiences to connect
History of photography
First photo- Joseph Nicephore in 1826
Exposing a metal plate into a camera obscura (which is essentially a black box that can project images)
“The View from the Window at Le Gras” is the title given to the world’s first permanent photograph
Who created the Leica Camera
Oskar Baranack
Ansel Adams
Premier landscape photographer of his time
First 2 people ever photographed
Paris’s Boulevard De Temple- a shoe shiner and his customer.
Daguerreotype
First conventional large-scale method of taking photographs
Louis Daguerre
Involve the use of treated light-sensitive polished silver-plated copper which was exposed in a camera for as long as necessary. The plate would then undergo mercury fuming and chemical treatment before being rinsed and dried
Dry-plate method
Richard Maddox