Back in History Class – Or Going to the Movies -- A Personal Educational Resolution for 2018

So, here is how it all began for me. The night of the Academy Awards in the winter of 2011, my husband Ken and I realized we had not seen one single movie nominated or any movie for that matter for several years … Not in the movie theatres anyway. So, instead of watching a competition where we did not know anything about the competitors, we decided to go to the movies. As The King’s Speech was announced as the best movie of the year, we were watching the credits at the end of the movie roll by. Then I came home and googled the “true story,” and proceeded to learn all about King George VI, Elizabeth, the time of his reign, the abdication of his brother and so much else. I was fascinated and a little bit hooked on the pageantry, expanse, and details of the history of the British Empire. I am sure that the actual facts and figures must have been included in one or more of my high school and early college years of World History, but too long has passed and too much has been forgotten.

Fast forward about six years from that night at the movies! A few weeks ago, I am surfing the channels and movies on the various systems on our television trying to find something to watch and I come across The Young Victoria, the story of a teenager who becomes Queen of the same British Empire, this occurring in 1837. Her life pre-dates that of the story of The King’s Speech, and once again I consulted Ms. Google, my consistently reliable research assistant, to find out more about those chapters of history and the degree to which the movie depiction was valid. Another set of history classes into the wee hours of the morning. I was hooked.

So I have officially (for now) put aside my real television addiction of Law and Order (by the way, I am amazed that there are still segments I have not yet seen and am not even quite sure how this is possible) and began to look for these adaptations of chapters of history. After all, true stories retold seem to be the order of the day in our entertainment industry; and let’s face it, its much more colorful and engaging than pages and pages of dates and events that ended with tests in those long ago classes of dates and the order of events – something I always found a struggle to do successfully. I land on Viceroy’s House, the story of Lord Montbatten, the last official British official steward of India invested in handing back India and ultimately turning it over to its people as two units and separate countries, India and Pakistan. The attraction and interest was immediate, as I have long studied and been aware of many pieces of the story of the British Mandate and its aftermath in Israel/Palestine; and knew about the shared angsts and challenges in these two situations. So there we are in the landscape of 1947 India looking at religious strife, the fractured relationships between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs and I am thinking, right, I saw this not so long ago in the movie, also based on a true story within the context of historical reality, Lion. The latter movie unveils a narrative of years after the former, but as those of us so connected to Israel know very well, when the war ends, the battle continues, so to speak, and it was just too easy and obvious to make so many comparisons. Another late night with my research assistant and her vast library of papers, tomes of chapters and the choices of narratives to further my understanding of the history I was presently devoted to learning about.

So yesterday, as 2018 dawned and we shared its first day together, Ken and I once again went television channel surfing and landed on The Crown. I feel like I have done well in the pre-requisites and am now well prepared for this longer and more involved history of Queen Elizabeth II, also coming to the throne at a ridiculously young age, as a result of the death of her father, King George VI of The King’s Speech. We actually binged – I think watching the first five episodes of the first season justifies my use of that word! I look forward to my continued education of this era and more insight into the might of The British Empire that left so many conflicts in its rear view mirror as decisions were made to leave areas under its control.

So while I never thought of New Year’s Resolutions per se, it appears that I have made one – to go back and relearn and reconsider various chapters of history that are part of the world community to which we belong. Learning these chapters is so important in that they are part of our shared heritage and help us better understand the conflicts, historical differences, unresolved hurts and all of the other elements that go into making us who we are as individuals, members of our community and citizens of the world. I have also reintroduced myself to the educational value of my visual technology (television) as providing me with wonderful narratives and stories in which to feel invested and then inspired to learn more. Okay, so back to The Crown. It is now Thursday and three days since our initial binge. I have to return to class – a nice balance of seeing the people, colors and scenes of long ago and then going to the pages of information that explain them.