There is Nothing New Under the Sun: The Hunger Games

With the recent release of the film, The Hunger Games, questions about the similarities of the film and a Japanese movie, Battle Royale have been hotly debated. There are people that say The Hunger Games is a poor copy of the plot of Battle Royale. Others claim that while they are both about children killing each other, that the stories and themes are different.

I feel like we trudge through this kind of debate every time some book or movie becomes popular. How many times did people pick apart Harry Potter as though fiction should not have any influences? (Rowling was never found guilty of plagiarism.) 

 
What people don't want to hear is that there is nothing new under the sun. Historians are well acquainted with this. It is true, ideas are a dime a dozen. Humans have very similar life experiences and not surprisingly, humans  have similar ideas. But, it really isn't the idea that is important, it is the treatment of the idea that makes all of the difference.

I know some artists like to think that their work is unique with no influences and unlike anything ever done but this is foolish thinking. I, like many, have fallen prey to this in my early years of writing when I found someone wrote a similar story or a blog post on the same topic. :) If you've had an idea, chances are someone else has had it too. That is what makes art transcendent of time and place. Literature deals with universal themes, that is why we love it and love sharing it.

Anyone who feels that their enjoyment of The Hunger Games was affected by its blatant rip off of Battle Royal should read Lord of the Flies which was surprisingly, almost a fanfic of a book called "The Coral Island," or do some research on gladiator games. Lotteries and battles to the death are nothing new. These were not the focus in The Hunger Games, which emphasized inequality and the real reality of "reality TV."

Impoliteness: Reading a Book in the 1850s

Below is an excerpt from an 1857 issue of the Happy Home and Parlor Magazine, a Christian publication, which details some of the impolitenesses that younger people exhibited.

Numbers two and nine on this list demonstrate reading as a very social activity. Much like families and friends gather around the tv today, the radio in the 1940s, people in the age of inexpensive publication, would gather and listen to readings by their friends and families.









Sometimes reading with friends went beyond just reading and became a dramatic reading. Poems and short plays were published frequently in magazines of the 19th and 20th centuries for people to entertain each other with in the parlor.

Dramatic readings of literature were even public events. Remember in Anne of Green Gables when Anne gets to recite two poems at a concert? (I never miss a chance of inserting an Anne of Green Gables reference.)    

We still have this innate desire to share our reading adventures with others. We frequently discuss books we read with friends, some people belong to book clubs and there are numerous online book forums. Not to mention the recent popularity of book series' such as Harry Potter, Twilight (okay, using the word "book" loosely here,) and the Hunger Games.   

Some Civil War Era Reading Material for Your Pleasure:

This next one is a skit from Godey's Lady's Book from 1860 about an artist and his highly stereotyped house servant, Tillie.  It is an interesting read because you can see the use of derogatory terms and stereotypes as were used in a commonplace way during the period. You might have to right click on the images and open the them in a new window to zoom in.

Does anyone still read aloud with family and friends? Andy and I have been reading Sherlock Holmes together (among other things) over the last few years. Reading aloud is slow going but the dramatics and conversation are irreplaceable. It's much different than watching a movie together because you and your friends contribute to the story. Parts in the story become memorable because of the interactions that accompany the story.

"Polly Put the Kettle On":19th Century Kettle-Holders

When you are cooking over an open fire, kettle-holders are of the utmost importance. Unlike modern pots, the handles of cast iron get very hot, even if it doesn't look it.

Today, what we call pot holders were called kettle-holders. Pot holders then were metal stands designed to hold pots off of the ground.  

It was common for kettle-holders to be made of wool squares, bound together at the edges with binding. Knitted kettle-holders also existed but were knitted with thinner yarn than we are used to today and "thicker" stitches. Similarly to holders today, kettle-holders generally had a loop in one corner for hanging.

Kettle-holders were small and easy embroidery projects and many feature designs or sayings such as the common "Polly put the pot on," or the abolitionist, "Any holder but a slave holder."

For examples of embroidery for kettle holders there are many "pot holder" quilts made during the Civil War. These quilts were not made from pot holders but the same type of technique was used to make each square and the binding between squares gives the appearance of pot holders.

Some Civil War "pot holder" Quilts:

-1864 Civil War Quilt
- Pot Holder Quilts
-Major Thoughts: Potholder Quilts

A later design featuring "Polly."

Another Knitted Pattern

I've got to get working on some of these. We always just use rags as they are the closest thing around but it's time that we stop dirtying our rags just to move pots. 

Opportunities for Amateur Historians

We romanticize the job of historians. We imagine them as erudite, old men, bent over old tomes with hair disheveled and glasses firmly in place. We see them in their book lined study.  Each page they turn, they are piecing together the clues to a puzzle lost in time.  They touch documents that are of such significance that your hands would shake under the importance of them.  

I’m sure this kind of historian exists, somewhere. Regardless of the image of the “classic” historian, few historians fit the picture.  Most deal with the writings of everyday people who wrote about ordinary things. Many historians never touch important documents; they study them on the computer or as photocopies.  But these “ordinary” writings are just as important to the study of history.  

The digitization of documents has been a major advancement in the history field. It has not only opened up the history field for historians but also for amateur historians. What once required detailed planning, far away museum visits, phone calls,  and hours of searching can now be done instantaneously at any time of day from the comfort of your own home. Historians are more average than ever.

Many museums have many more documents in their collections than they can afford to digitize and transcribe, so many resources remain unavailable to researchers. Many museums are now soliciting the help of nonprofessionals to transcribe these digitized works for the ease of researchers.

If the thought of digitizing documents on Friday night excites you, you can now do so for the only slightly lower than normal pay for a transcriber: free. :D


Projects that need help:

-William & Mary's Transcription Project: "From Fights to Rights: The Long Road to a More Perfect Union," where transcribers work on documents from the Civil War Era up through the Civil Rights Movement.

-The National Archives' "Citizen Archivist" project where transcribers can choose documents of varying transcription levels from beginner to Advanced.Visit here for more transcription projects from the National Archives.

-The University of Iowa's "Civil War Diaries & Letters Transcription Project."

St. Patrick's Day Guest Post

This is a guest post from Andy, as he's been promising to record some music for me for quite some time. Some Irish music History will be fun for St. Patrick's Day. The song, An T-athair Jack Walsh was popular during the Civil War.

I've been promising Stephanie Ann for a long time to do a post like this. I've finally put away my bashfulness, and written it. I only hope it does The World Turn'd Upside Down justice. When St. Patrick's Day comes around each year, many people think of leprechauns, pots of gold, rainbows, dressing in green, and drinking. The Irish have a very rich culture, and generally Irish Americans are very proud of their heritage. All things Celtic have exploded in popularity in the last few decades. One thing that has gained popularity is Celtic, and especially Irish, music. In honor of Lá Fhéile Pádraig (St. Patrick's Day), I've attempted to record a few tunes. I'd like to discuss some peculiarities about each of the tunes.

 An T-athair Jack Walsh

One of the notorieties of traditional tunes among those familiar with them is the lack of a set name for many tunes. Many traditional tunes still played today were composed in the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, the music was passed on "by ear." Musicians would learn a tune from other musicians. Learning traditional music through sheet music wasn't a common as it is now. As a tune spread through different regions, it might pick up several names. In modern times, some tunes are renamed after a musician who makes the tune popular. The jig "An T-athair Jack Walsh" (pronounced "an 'ta-her") is a tune with several names. These names are mostly the same, though, and differ mainly because of translation. The name I've given is translated from Irish as "Father Jack Walsh," as in a priest. One other common name is "Tatter Jack Walsh," an Anglicized version of the Irish name. I've recorded this tune on the flute.

The Rakes of Invercairn 

The Rakes of Invercairn is an old tune that isn't very commonly heard. I discovered it through a piper named Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn. He was featured on a BBC show called "Seinn Liom (play with me). He gives a very lovely history of the music in beautiful Irish with English subtitles. Anybody interested in this music should definitely see this! Tiernan describes where he found the tune, and that it probably hadn't been heard in about 100-200 years! Not only does he give a lovely history lesson, but also plays the tune much better than I do.

Thanks Andy! Please leave some comments!

Some past St. Patrick's Day Posts:

-Movies for St. Patrick's Day
-Irish Potato Candy Recipe
-David Kincaid at Godfrey Daniels