Category: History and Film

• February 25, 2013

  Thoughts on Argo, and a Three-Thousand Year Old Peaceful Resoultion

  Last night, Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture.  I remember 1980 and the Hostage Crisis very well, and I remember how we worried about the United States bombing Iran in retaliation for taking the hostages. No one wanted to see a violent end in Iran, yet no one knew what would work to bring…
• February 10, 2013

  Django Unchained as Education

  Django Unchained has received a lot of commentary this year, and deservedly so.   Spike Lee condemned it, historians criticized some of its details, and film critics lauded it.  Can such a movie teach us about American history, and if so, in what ways? -The obvious:  slavery was brutal.   The violence in the film may…