Between history and memory : nonfiction film and the veil of the past
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Academic historians have defined "history" as an intellectual discipline characterized by a commitment to empiricism, analysis, and a certain detachment from contemporary controversies. Other scholars, however, have identified a phenomenon called "collective memory"; while only loosely tied to academic standards of historical thinking, collective memory retains the social and cultural power to shape peoples' sense of the relevance of the past. Some of the most innovative documentary filmmakers who make films that engage with the past have exploited the cinematic form to creatively explore this tension between "history" as knowledge and "collective memory" as emotion or experience. This Project explores four different filmmaking strategies: the use of recreations and performances; the centering of people's interactions with historical monuments; the long-form interview; and the exclusive use of archival footage. Drawing on interviews with filmmakers, this Project assesses filmmakers' efforts to think creatively about the nature of history.
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M.A.