Old History in New Bottles

Question 1

Woman King Article

What are some criticism of The Woman King?

Ways it distorts history, other criticms, what it is

Answer 1

• Shows the triumph of the Agoodjies, the women warriers of the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey in Benin
• Abomey (the capital) and Ouidah (the main port) are shown from the perspective of Nawi, a novice in the all-female regiment
• US far-right have condemmed it for showing black women killing white men, and it attracted racist rhetoric, especially surrounding the “savage” customs
• ADOS (American descendants of slavery) criticized it for glorifying a kingdom which brutalized their ancestors
• Additionally, it misrepresents the slave trade, and some say Dahomey was not worthy of representation
• One distortion is how the King Guezo is shown as wanting to end the slave trade, though this was not really the case
• The movie made the Oyo kingdom look evil and made Dahomey look innocent
• Viola Davis and Julius Tennon both said that the movie is meant to be entertainment
• It could be seen as alternate history
• However, most people don’t know the true story, so this may be more of a falsification of history

Question 2

Braveheart

How does Braveheart distort history?

Controversies and distortions

Answer 2

• The only true part is that William Wallace did lead a rebellion against English occupation, won a victory at Stirling Bridge, lost at Falkirk and was tried and excuted
• Was not as poor as depicted, Andrew Moray was not mentioned
• Using spears was not a sudden moment of improvisation
• The Scottish nobles deserting Wallace didn’t happen either
• The portrayal of Robert Bruce was also highly inaccurate
• Princess Isabella was not the sweet delicate flower she was portrayed as, and never had a known relationship with Wallace
• Finally, Edward does not die as Wallace is being executed, as is shown in the film

Question 3

Pocahontas

How does Pocahontas distort history?

Controversies and distortions

Answer 3

• Her age was changed from 10-11 years old to being much older to make the love story with Captain John Smith
• Pocahontas also met teh settles almost right away when they came in the movie, unlike in real life where she only saw them a few months after
• The love story was also false, as she was far too young to have a relationship with Johm Smith
• Kocoum’s storyline was also rather inacurate
• Pocahontas saving John Smith from execution was likely his misunderstanding of the event

Question 4

300

How does 300 distort history?

Controversies and distortions

Answer 4

• Main distortion is that Leonidas would have been exempt from the agoge, around which the plot centres
• It glorifies ancient Sparta which is dangerously inaccurate, as Sparta was a very difficult and opressive place to live
• The costumes are inaccurate
• The Persians are highly misrepresented
• Ephialtes was not disfigured in real life like he was in the movie
• The spartan Ephors did not oppose Leonidas
• Leonidas had a larger and not exclusively Spartan army
• More than 300 soldiers actually stayed behind to die
• The real Greek army fought in the Hoplite fashion
• 300 leaves out the Athenian fleet

Question 5

Newsreel Video

What things are seen in the newsreel from For All Mankind?

Things and events seen here

Answer 5

• Reagan’s speech saying that the US will remain strong despite fears
• Russia launching into space
• Reagan being inaugurated
• Mars Rover being launched from Cape Kennedy
• Israel and Egypt failing to reach agreement at Camp David
• Soviets withdrawing from the Afghan border
• Mount St. Helens eruption
• The USSR being the USA in hockey
• John Lennon narrowly escaping death
• John Paul 3rd shot and killed in St. Peter’s square
• NASA prepares launch of first space shuttle

Question 6

G.G. Kay Article 1

Who is Guy Gavriel Kay?

Proffesion, nationality and some famous works

Answer 6

• Famous Canadian fiction writer who incorporates a lot of history in his novels
• Works include The Lion of Al-Rassan, Under Heaven, River of Stars and Ysabel

Question 7

G.G. Kay Article 1

Why did Kay start adding history to his books after his first novel?

First novel, reasons for the above question

Answer 7

• First book was Fionavar Tapestry which is pure fiction
• Adding history is something new, challenging and compelling for readers
• Had a horror of repeating himself and writing a “four volume trilogy”

Question 8

G.G. Kay Article 1

How does he combine history and fantasy in his books?

How he does this

Answer 8

• Characters must have validity to the things they believed
• Including say, ghosts or fairies if the people of that time believed in them, and portraying this as useful
• Readers can never think they are above or smarter than the people of those times
• Readers can truly look at the world through the eyes of Kay’s characters

Question 9

G.G. Kay Article 1

What was Kay’s inspiration for Ysabel?

Basic themes explored in the book as well as the time, place and history

Answer 9

• The past does not really go away
• About the past not exactly repeating itself but rhyming with the present
• Inspired by the origin story of Marseille in France, when Phoenician merchants went to Provence and met the local Celtic Tribes
• The legends and things people tell themselves can be really powerful in the present day

Question 10

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is Under Heaven?

Basic plot and historical inspiration

Answer 10

• Inspired by Tang Dynasty
• Inspired by the terrible rebellion of An Lushan, one of the most destructive rebellions in human history

Question 11

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is River of Stars?

Setting, inspiration, some of the characters

Answer 11

• Set in the Song dynasty about 300 years after the setting of Under Heaven, during the fall of the Northern Song when it was overrun by steppe invaders of the North
• Song dynasty poet Su Shi inspired Kay
• There was the greatest female poet in Chinese history who lived in the Song dynasty
• Story of a great military leader of that time
• These were the inspirations for the three main characters of River of Stars

Question 12

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is the difference between Under Heaven and River of Stars?

The difference and what is interesting about it

Answer 12

• Under Heaven is an internal rebellion
• River of Stars features a threat from the outside
• Interesting because the Song dynasty (River of Stars) was so afraid of rebellion from 300 years before (Under Heaven) that it had a weak military that could not withstand the intruders
• It shows that “learning lessons” from history will not always help us and may even harm us

Question 13

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is The Lions Of Al-Rassan?

Historical inspiration and characters

Answer 13

• Set in the reconquest of Spain
• The inspiration came from El Cid and a great Muslim leader, both potent people were exiled to the same city
• This book covers their imagined meeting
• Also includes a female physician, which was a thing at the time
• Kay likes to include strong female characters not for political reasons but because they are appealing to readers
• About what happens to ordinary people when holy war strikes, and the power of resisting

Question 14

G.G. Kay Article 1

According to Kay, is friendship the last resort to survive war?

Answer from the article

Answer 14

• Yes
• He believes that kindness and other good traits are as much a part of human nature as bad traits
• He says his fiction is a bit different from other fantasy as many novels of the genre are very grim and cold

Question 15

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is Children of Earth and Sky?

Inspiration, setting and main idea

Answer 15

• Set in Kay’s “Almost Europe”
• Inspired by Venice, Dubrovnic and Istambul
• Set 25 years after the fall of Constantinople
• About ordinary people who are not powerful or influential in their time
• They are smart but not movers or shakers, just ordinary people living at the edge of a great war and crisis

Question 16

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is Days Without End?

Who wrote it, connection to Kay, what it is about

Answer 16

• A book recently read and recommended by Kay
• By Irish writer Sebastien Barry
• About a 15 year old Irish boy who comes to the America during the Great Famine, his family has died and he is uneducated

Question 17

G.G. Kay Article 1

What is A Song for Arbonne?

Who does Kay think this is a good book for, what is it about

Answer 17

• Kay thinks French readers would find this book interesting
• In his imagination it is a book that reverses the effect of the Cathars Crusade
• About what would happen if the culture of Provence had survived, how the world would be a different place
• He thinks French readers would find that idea interesting to think about

Question 18

G.G. Kay Article 2

What is the plot of the excerpt from All The Seas Of The World?

Basic plot points of the first chapter in chronological order

Answer 18

• Intro: introduces the ship that has landed with people seeking to assassinate someone
• The following paragraph covers the two characters: an abducted woman sold into slavery who is now trying to chart her own course far from home, and the man who owns the ship, who was exiled with his family on account of his faith
• Chapter one begins with discussing a longing for home, about dreaming about it, following distant music that reminds you of your childhood
• It also talks about the people who do not feel this way about home, who do not follow the music
• It then talks about different ways to start a tale, from which perspective the tale is told in, and how this matters to both the listener or reader, and the storyteller
• It then transitions into the story itself, with a small boat landing on the beach off the coast of Majriti
• The story turns to Nadia, the only woman in the party, who is first thinking about the assassination ahead, and then reflecting on when she killed the man who owned her, though he was sometimes good to her
• She then thought about Rafel, who saved her, gave her a piece of the small business of trading and stealing on a small boat he owned, how he found use and respect with even a woman
• She also reflects on how she will not go back home to Batiara, even with Rafel for business
• She further reflects on raiding and trading, on the help of khalif Almassar, how they got a meeting for this assassination and that after this job, she and Rafel could retire and live the life they each wanted to
• She was now disguised as a man on the shore, just to be safe in dailight

Question 19

G.G. Kay Article 3

What is the outline of the interview?

Basic points and ideas stated in the interview

Answer 19

• About G.G. Kay’s newest book, A Brightness As We Know It
• Set in Renaissance Italy
• Discusses the powerful emotions present in his novels
• Talks about some military leaders which are features in his books
• It was instinct to not make the main character the narrator in the book
• “Always be suspicous if an author tells you AFTER the fact why they did something”
• Discussing how the characters stumble through life and how he gets inspiration for his characters
• He likes to tell the stories of those who tend not to be told, like women and the illiterate
• He loves research and he loves that part of the writing process because he doesn’t have to make dicisions
• One interesting thing he learnt was that tailors were higher in the hiearchy because they were in the homes of the wealthy and noble

Question 20

Brazilian Telephone Article

What is the context of Brazilian Telephone?

Author, meaning of the poem

Answer 20

• Miriam Bird Greenberg
• In a book of poetry of the same name
• Poem about resourceful children conducting an old experiment
• Not knowing that this experiment is dangerous, showing the simplicity of childhood and being resourceful

Question 21

Municipal Gallery

What is the context of The Municipal Gallery Revisited?

The two authors (poem/article) meaning behind the poem, names and places

Answer 21

• Poem by W.B. Yeats
• Article by R.T. Smith
• Roger Casement was put on trial for the Easter Rising efforts
• Arthur Griffith started the party Sinn Fein
• Kevin O’Higgins was a politician who served as Minister for Justice
• Speaks about Irish rebellion and suppression and British rule
• Abbot blessing the tricolor flag of Ireland is false and too beautiful for reality
• The Venetian woman in the poem is of Italian origin (hence the term Venetian) and is known to be a woman that Yeats loved in his real life
• Hugh Lane put together the collection in the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, where the poem is set
• Augusta Gregory was an important figure in Yeat’s life and was an Irish dramatist
• Hazel Lavery was a painter
• John Synge was an Irish playwright
• Fifth stanza shows Yeats kneeling in front of Augusta Gregory’s portrait, as his knees are becoming weak, and he wishes his children find home in her works
• Spencer refers to Edmond Spencer, a famous poet of the epic The Faerie Queene
• Thinking about how Yeats and his friends Synge and Gregory believed everything should come from Ireland itself
• Apperently John Synge is very well-rooted

Question 22

Napoeon Article

What is the context on At The Tomb Of Napoleon?

The author and the meaning of the poem, and any places/events

Answer 22

• Robert G. Ingersoll
• Quote from The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child
• Seine is a river in France
• Toulon is a port city on France’s Mediterranean coast
• Napoleon ended a Royalist Parisian uprising
• Was Commander in Cheif of the Army of Italy
• Napoleon beat the Austrian rear-guard at the Battle of Lodi which convinced himself that he could achieve great things
• Conquered the Alps and the eagles refer to the French Imperial Eagles and the eagles found in the mountains
• Marengo, Ulm and Austerlitz were all successful Napoleonic battles (successful for Napoleon’s side)
• Napoleon’s attempted invasion of Russia is one of the best studied and most lethal wars, and shattered Napoleon’s reputation of being invincible
• The battle of Leipsic saw him badly defeated (in modern-day Germany)
• Napoleon abdicated the throne after being emperor of France and is banished to the Island of Elba, where he ruled for a bit then escaped ten moths later
• The great bloody battle which saw the end of the great man’s career
• He was forced into exile at St. Helena where he was guarded for the rest of his life

Question 23

Toa Payoh

What is the context of Toa Payoh?

Author, meaning of the poem

Answer 23

• Koh Buck Song
• Toa Payoh is a residential area in Singapore
• Translates to “big swamp” in Hokkien
• Notorious squatter district
• Shows the colonization of a small squatter village and how the bravery of the squatters was washed out and modernized

Question 24

Christmas Letter

What is the context of The Czar’s Last Christmas Letter?

Author, theme and historical context

Answer 24

• Written by Norman Dubie
• Written in the form of a letter from the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas ll, to his mother Maria
• Nicholas abdicated the throne and he and his family were forced into house arrest, where they were murdered by Bolshevik revolutionaries
• Reflects on the past year of his life in the form of a Christmas letter, talking about his servant, wife and daughters, and the war, and the ability to take pleasure in the simple things in life
• “The last holiday” revers to Ascension Day
• This poem is about death, as they are soon murdered after this took place, and it is reflecting on his life and loves before the end of his life

Question 25

Life Event Article

How many movies are based on life events?

Data, different reasons

Answer 25

• Kathleen Drumm
• Industry Director for the Toronto International Film Festival
• Running a session titled “Based on a True Story”
• In 20 years, the % of movies released based on real events went from 7.7% to 27.2%
• Movies based on original screenplays have help steady, so it’s mainly adaptations that are falling
• ‘Original screenplay’ relates to the source of the script, not the originality
• The number of movies based on real events is growing, but box office sales are much slover
• Biggest budget movies tend not to be based on real events
• Documentaries are the most commonly based on real events, and are not well distributed
• Drama movies are the most likely fictional movies based on real life events, while rom-coms are the least likely
• Canada’s movies are based on real events 24% of the time, higher than many other countries, but less than Israeli and German films

Question 26

True Story Article

What is “Based on a true story”?

Examples and meaning

Answer 26

• Characters, storylines, and the majority of the scenes came from real life
• Schindler’s LIst, The Right Stuff, Lincoln, 127 Hours and Apollo 13 are based on a true story
• Creative liberties can be taken with dialogue, event sequence and exclusion of some events
• Overall close to what actually occured

Question 27

True Story Article

What is “Inspired by a true story”?

Examples and meaning

Answer 27

• Inspired by a specific story but more creative liberty
• You could focus on one aspect
• Focus on hilarity, drama, action or horror
• You can create some fictional characters, accentuate the truth and cherry-pick elements
• The Pursuit of Happyness is a notable example, using just real main characters but changing up things

Question 28

True Story Article

What is “Based on true events”?

Example and meaning

Answer 28

• The main event is used
• A fictional story and characters are created from the event
• However, historical elements can be included for it to be more legitimate
• Titanic did not use the title (it’s implied) but it is a great example
• A mostly fictional story but some real people are included
• Molly Brown was a close portrayal

Question 29

True Story Article

What is “Inspired by true events”?

Meaning and example

Answer 29

• It is very loose term
• Takes a true event and tells a cinematic story with nearly all fictional characters and fictional macro events
• Top Gun is inspired by the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN)
• The characters are all fictional, but loosely based on the school
• Inspired by a True Case is an offshoot tag, like if a crime show is made of a person being killed in a specific way, then it is loosely inspired by a similar case

Question 30

True Story Article

What is intellectual property and public domain?

Connection, reasons, terms

Answer 30

• Using intellectual property to inspire films is popular but expensive, so companies do things found on the public domain
• Stories like Aladdin, Cinderella, Frozen, Dracula and Robin Hood are included
• Items get on public domain due to copyright loss
• All works published before 1923 in the US are available for anyone to use
• However, there is a possiblity to infringe on a general trademark from other interpretations of the content, like Marvel’s Thor

Question 31

True Crime Article

What are some problems relating to true crime shows?

Different problems, the basics

Answer 31

• Victims of crimes feel like this is too personal
• Not a story, but a life
• True crime is incredibly popular and is found in almost every media platform
• There are concerns with people learning about crime in crime shows
• However, there also is an educational value
• Crime shows can impact the privacy of victims of crimes and their families
• True crime has been popular even in the 15th century

Question 32

Suzume Article

What is Suzume?

Basic premise, what it’s based on

Answer 32

• A teenager named Suzume Iwato lost her mother in the Tohaku earthquake/tsunami
• Wild fantasy and human drama is connected closely for Makoto Shinkai, like Your Name
• Suzume encounters Souta, a young man looking for mysterious doors among ruins left by natural disasters
• The disasters are caused by an otherwordly worm
• It is Souta’s responsibility to close the doors until a talking cat turns him into a three-legged chair
• The girl makes friends everywhere and draws closer to Souta

Question 33

Suzume Article

What are some choices made for Suzume?

How the movie was made, choices, backstory, feeling

Answer 33

• Fukushima makes people in Japan feel like they can be constantly harmed by disaster
• However, it was not a bleak film, with a 3-legged chair representing being unstable
• The act of closing a door to the afterlife was important for the film’s message, connected also with a nearly Shinto type of prayer connecting to Japanese culture
• Tamaki is Suzume’s aunt, shown as sort of in-between victim of the situation
• A global audience was not in mind for the film, but there is sort of a global sense of disaster being able to upend our lives, so this feeling combined with greater compassion could connect to international audiences

Question 34

Trigger Warning Article

What is the problem with trigger warnings?

What they do, problem and idea

Answer 34

• Featured commonly on social media
• Very controversial as most people ignore them
• Effectiveness is largely under-research and unproven
• They may be able to reduce distress, but very very marginally
• It could even amplify anxiety and distress
• Countertherapeutic since they encourage avoidance, and avoidance maintains PTSD
• They largely do not benefit trauma survivors
• However, they are still used out of concern, such as professor Kate Manne at Cornell who prefixes her lectures with warnings to help some students prepare
• There is more and more access to terrible news, and it is trying to help the situation
• It could be a mindless replication of trends for some
• However, if it doesn’t work, it should not be used
• However, content warnings can be made to foster a culture of consent
• Ultimately intended to hold space for vulnerable communities

Question 35

El Otro Oz

What is shown in the El Otro Oz trailer?

What are some things depicted in the trailer?

Answer 35

• Shows Dora arguing with her mom about having a quince
• She is struggling at her quince and doesn’t want to connect with her culture
• A fun dance scene with Dora and the farmers(?)
• There is a scene with someone who seems a bit like the scarecrow singing in Spanish
• A female wizard of Oz type figure?
• At the end it shows her connecting back with her family and her culture

Question 36

Veldt Article

What is the Veldt story?

Basic idea of the provided exerpt

Answer 36

• A family was living in a smart house that provided anything that they wanted and did everything for them
• The two children lived in a nursery that showed things whatever they thought
• It this case, it became an African veldt with a feeling of death, and the parents became concerned for their children’s thoughts
• They called a psycologist, who suggested to turn off the whole house
• As the family turned off the nursery and the house, they turned on the nursery one last time before they left
• It is implied that the children made the lions in the nursery eat the parents for real

Question 37

Holodeck Article

What is the holodeck?

What is it, details, how does it work

Answer 37

• Consists of two systems
• A holographic imagery system and a mater conversion system
• The views are meant to appear far away from users and don’t interact with them
• Some objects just dissapear when taken outside
• Holodeck matter includes holographic characters and is supposed to be a partially stable form of matter
• Doesn’t coincide with the Technical Manual
• A power failure is seen in one episode
• There is a holodeck safety protocol
• It is quite safe for even children to enter
• Safety protocols, however, sometimes fail, endangering many people
• Protocols dicatates that:
• Each object needs one model, objects can be represented by physical model that emulates all spects of its working principle in the real world
• Replicated weapons are not safe
• Holographic modeling may be limited to the look and feel of the object
• Simple and safe projects are generally required
• There is a category of items labeld potentially dangerous
• If new objects are added to the library then a human decides whether or not it is safe

Question 38

Buffalo Dusk Article

What is Buffalo Dusk?

Author and main idea

Answer 38

• Carl Sandburg
• Poet from Illinois who used a very free and relaxed style of poetry
• It talks about the mighty buffalo and how they are now gone
• Also, anyone who saw them properly when there were many of them are also now gone

Question 39

September 11 Article

What is Photograph from September 11?

Author and main idea

Answer 39

• WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA
• Well-known Polish poet
• TRANSLATED BY CLARE CAVANAGH
• Describes a photograph capturing people jumping from the windows of the buildings struck by 9/11
• It shows how the photographs kept them alive, showing them in flight
• The final line says that the thing the poet can do is not add a last line, suggesting that these people in real life did not make it
• However, the are still flying in the photograph

Question 40

Photograph Article

What is This Is a Photograph of Me?

Author and main idea

Answer 40

• Margaret Atwood
• Canadian poet
• It describes an image in a lovely country setting, with trees and a simple house, a lovely nature scene with a lake
• It says that it was taken after the speaker drowned, and that they are slightly visible in the surface of the lake if you look long enough

Question 41

Spain Article

What is My Castle in Spain?

Answer 41

• John Hay
• American statesman and poet, Lincoln biographer
• Description of the speaker’s idealized vision of love
• The castle represents this romantic ideal
• The castle is a magnificent structure standing on a green hill by the Xenil river, with towers hidden in the “mists of Hope.”
• Speaker reveals that the true treasure he seeks is not the castle itself, but the woman he loves who dwells within it - his idealized beloved who reigns as the “Queen” over this imaginary realm
• Symbolizes this romantic ideal that can only be realized in the imagination and persevering hope of the speaker.