4 5 12 Lone Star From a well known independent filmmaker John Salles Political films attached to character stories Never considered mainstream because the types of movies he makes do not have spectacle they are character driven Issue of borders immigration the question of history and representation History The archeological dig at the beginning Literally digging up history come across items from the past Such a statement assumes everything is fine in the present it becomes problematic when you bring up the past Boundaries that are imaginary until someone erects something that makes them real Making them concrete through power Boundaries are created they are not organic Who draws the boundaries Such conversations are more emotional than intellectual Who did what to whom This makes it difficult to have any sustained fruitful conversation no rationality Discussions turn into shouting matches History in the abstract A series of stories from the past that create a kind of representation Like a movie a system of representation We have to trust other sources in order to inform us of what took place before we got here Multiple narratives perspectives and points of view No such thing as objective history It all speaks to some larger sense of power Those with power to tell the historical tale relate only the things they want Whose point of view is privileged Those in the dominant position of power It is as much about the telling of the story as the story itself From a personal standpoint Personal history Birthdays a representation and celebration of one s personal history An integral part of our society and our individual lives Family friends anniversaries etc all examples of personal history How much editorializing are we doing when telling these histories Memory We make events conform to some larger story we are trying to tell Public history Shared by the public at large Holidays every year that people acknowledge and celebrate A national acknowledgement of Christmas regardless if people personally believe it When public and personal history collide Seen in Lone Star for the main character Sheriff Deeds Studying both the history of his father and a public figure History of Texas will not favor Mexico it will favor itself Reflective of a large agenda concerning representation Those who don t have the opportunity to express their historical point of view are ignored Deeds must hear about his father and deal with the legacy that was left behind for the town Scene in the diner when they talk about how Buddy became sheriff They discuss a monument being built to honor Buddy In our society there people for whom monuments are built streets are named after What does one have to do to get this honor What sorts of people get them Like a funeral Very elaborate but the person who it s for doesn t experience it It s not for the dead it s for the living The monument is for those who revere Buddy s legacy His legacy is a reflection of the point of view of the person telling the story In this case it benefit Hollace This is how it is in history too Monuments reflect those with the power to have such things build Hollace s version prevails because Charlie and Buddy are dead and cannot tell the story Charlie is immediately represented as racist and corrupt He is a villain utterly negative Buddy objects and then threatens to turn Charlie in if he doesn t quit Buddy is represented as a morally upstanding cop courageous too He wants to do the right thing He would even turn in a corrupt fellow officer He is the opposite of Charlie Why wouldn t you build a monument for him Hollace he was my salvation Religious overtones At least in Hollace s memory which favors him above everyone else Later we learn that Buddy was a human being with flaws he was not just a good guy We like to honor those people who we believe are perfect Stories told to benefit the teller Political races Politicians relay stories about their lives that appeal to the public Too often people believe what they hear without knowing any background information Ronald Reagan The image of Reagan was created to serve storytellers purposes No real image is ever accessed Monuments and street names Thinking about the origins of these names Norris Who was Norris Does it matter What if reading about Norris he turned out to be a Nazi Never named after people deemed as bad Such things are political Naming rights for sports stadiums Corporations will pay money to put their name on an arena Because such things are televised and spoken about a lot Advertising This is a very overt example but history operates the same way The scene in which we learn how Charlie really died Different from how Hollace originally told it Things come out that he initially left out This is now told from Otis s point of view For a long time he kept the story under wraps for his own safety He is not a cop has no political interests He just wants his bar to run smoothly It really doesn t matter to him how Buddy is remembered Buddy is not a murderer He steals money and gives it to Mercedes It was her deciding vote that got the monument passed She was also invested What is a legend A construction they are created and not organic What constitutes a legend is subjective Created to serve a purpose Hollace s version ultimately benefitted him O s interest in Native American history Their history has been virtually erased in our society Because they existence was systematically eradicated They live on the margins of public discourse Thanksgiving should really be thanks taking But people don t even question it Embedded in our history are all of our political circumstances The scene when they are trying to determine what to teach No one is really talking to each other just talking at each other Passionate aggressive You call it history I call it propaganda Propaganda biased information used to represent a certain point of view Not the same as history which implies the opposite objective neutral factual Historical is a good thing propaganda is negative Who decides Again it is not organic it is constructed One person s history is another s propaganda and visa versa Lies with whoever has the power Winners get bragging right If history is meant to be factual winners and losers should matter But those who win get the opportunity to tell their own story After a while no one questions it They decide what is historic and what is propaganda Changing history You can t go back a re do it it all already