Once again I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s discussion and appreciated Richard Shenkman’s talk on the myths of history and how storytelling is key to persuading and engaging an audience, whether the story is true or not. I found the topic of staged historical media most interesting because while it makes perfect sense that there likely weren’t cameramen at these events (sewing of the flag, Pearl Harbor, etc.) I had never really thought about the reality of it.
I liked how we delved into politics a little bit tonight and the stories that politicians must tell to make them relatable to the public. Every politician is guilty of this, and yet, I can’t help but think about how sad it is that politicians have to dumb themselves down in order to appeal to the masses. You would think we would want someone with higher intelligence than the rest of us. I’m clearly not speaking for the masses.
