Why I've Created This Pageant.
I apologize for the four letter words in this youtube, but the ignorance of the high school graduate (and future voter of America) it is about is far more shocking.
The Method in the Madness.
People in earlier era's did not have much of an idea of what people in previous eras really looked like. Here's the incident of "the generosity of Scipio" as painted by various painters through history:
Karel van Mander, 1548–1606
Peter Paul Reubens,1577-1640
Nicolas Poussin, 1594–1665
Giuseppe Maria Crespi, 1665-1747
Jean Charles Nicaise Perrin, 1754-1831
The representations are cast very much in the style of the artists own time.
Our era is different. With movies, T.V. and video games, we can get a pretty good visual history of the human race. So what I'm doing in this pageant is collecting together youtube clips of various movies, documentaries and video games and listing them in chronological order. As you go through them, you'll get a feel for the flow of human history.
I believe that one of the reasons people find history so hard to remember is that they do not have visual memories of historical scenes to hang their memories of historical facts on. Having a sense that this visual scene of history comes before that visual scene of history goes a long way towards helping a person remember the story of history as a whole.
Caution.
Note well that I've organized the materials around the famous battles of history, and make use of documentaries that use video game technology to present these battles. Hence, this is the BLOODY pageant of history. I've done this to make it easier for the young guys to stay interested. I know this works, because it worked for me.
Continuing Project.
This pageant is very much an on-going project. I continue to make links as time permits and as I become aware of material, and I continue to refine the comments I make on the material (and correct errors in grammar and spelling). I know that right now the pageant is terribly euro-centric. I hope to widen its perspective as time goes by.
Propagation.
Teachers and other educators, feel free to book mark this pageant and propagate it. Anything we can do to stem the tide of ignorance is worth doing, and desperate measures are call for!
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