Writing history with lightning : cinematic representations of nineteenth-century America / edited by Matthew Christopher Hulbert and John C. Inscoe.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hulbert, Matthew C., editor.

Inscoe, John C., 1951- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History in motion pictures.

Historical films--United States--History and criticism.

Historical films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press [2019]

Summary:

Films possess virtually unlimited power for crafting broad interpretations of American history. Nineteenth-century America has proven especially conducive to Hollywood imaginations, producing indelible images like the plight of Davy Crockett and the defenders of the Alamo, Pickett's doomed charge at Gettysburg, the proliferation and destruction of plantation slavery in the American South, Custer's fateful decision to divide his forces at Little Big Horn, and the onset of immigration and industrialization that saw Old World lifestyles and customs dissolve amid rapidly changing environments. Balancing historical nuance with passion for cinematic narratives, Writing History with Lightning confronts how movies about nineteenth-century America influence the ways in which mass audiences remember, understand, and envision the nation's past. In these twenty-six essays-divided by the editors into sections on topics like frontiers, slavery, the Civil War, the Lost Cause, and the West-notable historians engage with films and the historical events they ostensibly depict. Instead of just separating fact from fiction, the essays contemplate the extent to which movies generate and promulgate collective memories of American history. Along with new takes on familiar classics like Young Mr. Lincoln and They Died with Their Boots On, the volume covers several films released in recent years, including The Revenant, 12 Years a Slave, The Birth of a Nation, Free State of Jones, and The Hateful Eight. The authors address Hollywood epics like The Alamo and Amistad, arguing that these movies flatten the historical record to promote nationalist visions. The contributors also examine overlooked films like Hester Street and Daughters of the Dust, considering their portraits of marginalized communities as transformative perspectives on American culture. By surveying films about nineteenth-century America, Writing History with Lightning analyzes how movies create popular understandings of American history and why those interpretations change over time.

Contents:

Cover

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Reappraising a Century's Worth of Lightning matthew christopher hulbert

I. FRONTIERS, EMPIRE, AND THE EARLY NATION

1 The Far Horizons The Lewis and Clark Saga as a Surfeit of Stereotypes donna j. barbie

2. We Are Melville's Monsters: In the Heart of the Sea as Eco-Horror in the Age of Climate Change brian rouleau

3. "Some Say He's Dead, Some Say He Never Will Be": Mountain Men and the Frontier-Hero Myth in Jeremiah Johnson and The Revenant jacob f. lee

4. Andrew Jackson and the Ladies: The Gorgeous Hussy and The President's Lady john f. marszalek

5 Delineating Davy, Defining Ourselves The Alamo in 1960 and in 2004 james e. crisp

II. SLAVERY AND THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH

6. A Fugitive Slave in Southern Appalachia: The Journey of August King john c. inscoe

7. Birth and Rebirth: Filming Nat Turner in the Age of Fake News kenneth s. greenberg

8. History White-Washed: Reflections on Steven Spielberg's Amistad marcus rediker

9. "I Survive": Individual, Community, and Slavery in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave william l. andrews

10. "Now You Are Ready for Mandingo": Sex, Slavery, and Historical Realism diane miller sommerville

11. Mint Julep Melodrama: Jezebel catherine clinton

III. SECTIONAL CRISIS AND CIVIL WAR

12 From "Bleeding Kansas" to Harpers Ferry via Santa Fe Trail nicole etcheson

13. Abraham Lincoln on Film michael burlingame

14. Glory: "Heroism Writ Large, From People Whom History Had Made Small" john david smith

15. "And Does It Matter, After All, Who Wins?": The Movie Gettysburg and Popular Perceptions of the Civil War lesley j. gordon

16. Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York: Racial Ambiguity in New York City's Five Points graham russell gao hodges.

17. The Assassin's Accomplices: Guilt, Innocence, and Redemption in The Prisoner of Shark Island and The Conspirator jonathan d. sarris

IV. THE LOST CAUSE, RECONSTRUCTION, AND THE WEST

18. Historical to a Fault: Gary Ross, Free State of Jones, and the (Eventual) Destruction of the Lost Cause joseph m. beilein jr

19. Sommersby: Identity, Imposture, and (Re)construction in the Post-Civil War South tom lee

20. Knights of the Twenty Years' War: Race and American Exceptionalism in The Hateful Eight matthew e. stanley

21. The Silver Lining of "Bad History" at the Movies: Reconstruction, Confederate Exiles, and The Undefeated matthew christopher hulbert

22. Custer's Last Stands: Remaking a Frontier Legend in Hollywood Film kevin waite

V. LATE-CENTURY ECONOMICS AND IMMIGRATION

23 Far and Away The Stereotype of the Irish Immigrant Story ryan w. keating

24. Silver Screen, Bright Leaf: Hollywood's Cigarette Habit drew a. swanson

25. Adaptation and Autonomy on the Lower East Side: The Jews of Hester Street stephen j. whitfield

26. "We've Taken Old Gods and Given Them New Names": The Spirit of Sankofa in Daughters of the Dust allison dorsey

Filmography

Selected further reading

Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references, filmography (pages 311-313) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780807170908

0807170909

9780807170892

0807170895

OCLC:

1080433135