The Perversion of Classic Novels (Warning: This post deals with adult themes.)

When i first heard about "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," I thought it was a cheap gimmick but pretty harmless. Many people have told me that the book and others along the same lines have gotten their sons interested in classics that typically appeal to girls. I support this. Books like this can create conversation between brothers and sisters. That's great. A book like this might even inspire younger readers to read the real thing some day.

I am typically for anything that gets people reading, but there's a new "treatment"  classics are getting that make them,well, not classics. Classics are timeless. The themes they explore are enduring and the struggles are as real today as they were the day they were written. These new adaptions are not. Our favorite classics such as "Jane Eyre", "Pride and Prejudice", "Nothanger Abbey", and even "Sherlock Holmes" have been colored a la "50 Shades of Grey."

Thoroughly modern readers will be appalled at my backwardness and prudishness. Far from it. Maybe I read too deeply into things but I think a glance or the holding of a hand can betray 1,000 feelings in a way that a graphic scene cannot. I may be in the minority but I find the the subtle attraction and tension in "Pride and Prejudice" to be alluring. I have an imagination, I don't need help connecting the dots. 

What happened in our culture to get to the point where we need everything spelled out? Remember in older movies where murder, death and sex happened off-screen and the plots weren't affected by it? Why does everything try to shock us now? I'm never so shocked at what I see as I am that the directors thought that I wouldn't notice that the story wasn't good because they added a bunch of explosions and nudity. A good story does well on its own. It doesn't need gimmicky fillers. Classics don't need fillers, they are already great stories. A good story, like a classy lady is as much about what you don't see as what you do see.

Naked people and violence are nothing new. It's shocking that this is the new "love." Aren't we inundated with enough graphic messages? Aren't our daughters oversexed enough? Since when does lust equal love and why are we teaching this message?

For more on the subject:

-News Busters
-New Versions, Still Classics?
-Oh Mr. Darcy!


What are your thoughts?

You Might be a Reenactor if...

Ladies will understand. :)

"But What is it Worth?" (and Why You Shouldn't Answer It) The Price of Antiques

As a person in the history field, I hear this question a lot. Sometimes I explain to a tour group that we can't touch anything in the rooms, because most  of the furniture is over 200 years old. Someone, either adult or child, will invariably point to an object and ask "What is it worth?"

"This object gives historians a lot of information about how people lived in the 1700s. This information was not recorded in books and therefore it is of considerable value to historians."

That's not what they want to hear. They will then clarify their question as if I didn't understand, "How much money is it worth?"

I don't know if it is today's economy, but lately historical artifacts seem to be about the money that can be made. Shows like American Pickers, Pawn Stars, American Digger and many others put an emphasis on the price tag of antiques instead of their educational, historical and cultural value. It is an even more grave situation, when people are prompted to loot historic sites, like what happened in Gettysburg two weeks ago.

It's really important for history educators to go over the basics of archeology and the importance of artifacts and antiques to our understanding of history. Tell your listeners the importance of the information gained from archeological sites and how the artifacts collected are not the goal, but a result of archeologists excavating for information. Try to bring the focus off the antiques and artifacts and try to emphasis how important these things are for learning about the past.

It's almost never good to put a monetary value on an antique in front of a crowd. Many people have the notion that antiques are worth huge sums of money, and some are. But, most antiques are pretty modest in price compared to the impression many get from Antiques Roadshow. If you tell your crowd that your dug Civil War Eagle Coat button is only monetarily worth about $6.55, many will be surprised at the low "value" but many more won't have an interest in holding it because it's no longer special in their eyes. Putting a monetary value on these things breaks the connection with the past that each individual can make when touching and passing them around.  

Has anyone else noticed this at events and in museums? If someone asks you about the "value" of something, what do you say?

World War II Weekend at Joanna Furnace

This weekend is a WWII event at Joanna Furnace in PA.  I don’t typically go to WWII events but this one promises to be a good weekend.

Joanna at night.

Joanna Furnace is a beautiful iron furnace that was established in 1792 and shut its doors in 1901. This weekend it will be transformed into the 1940s, complete with 150 reenactors representing a variety of units and impressions. Highlights include live music, a fashion show, 2 dozen military vehicles and fascinating guest speakers counting WWII veterans and a concentration camp survivor. It will be a fun event for those that can make it out.

The event is tomorrow (7/21/12) from 7am-10pa  and Sunday (7/22/12) from 7am-3pm. For more information visit the Hay Creek Vally Historical Association Website.

New, Free Civil War Reenactor Magazine!: The Civil War Citizens & Soldiers Digest

How exciting! There's a new magazine for Civil War reenactors. It's been disheartening to see a few of the hobby's publications canceled, such as the Civil Was Historian Magazine.

You can read the first issue of The Civil War Citizens & Soldiers Digest by clicking the widget below:

Open publication - Free publishing

Or by visiting their website at http://www.citizenssoldiersdigest.com/ . Head on over there and check out their magazine! This months publication includes articles about authentic reproductions and period dancing.