Historical Storytelling: Blog #6
History class has always been a struggle for me. Not the material, or all the writing, but the paying attention aspect. A lot of times, in order to grasp my attention, the content needs to strike an emotional chord with me. I think this may be due to the time period I live in, where so many crazy historical events happen everyday that I have become almost numb when I hear about a new current or historical piece of information. It also may be a direct result of technology overwhelming me to the point where I need to be constantly engaged. Who knows. All I know is that history is important to learn and digest, and when it is taught successfully it can be an extremely reformative experience.
An example of this would be the short historical film, “The Fallen of World War II.” This short and informative piece utilizes strong digital visuals, an effective narrator, and a good balance between factual charts and relevant images.
Retelling the events of World War II can be difficult not only because there is so much information to be told, but because the events that occurred are mentally and emotionally heavy. In “The Fallen of World War II,” the narrator effectively uses charts and digital diagrams that further explain the statistics of the war while also making it engaging. Within these statistics, you can clearly see the amount of people injured or taken by this war, and it makes the ideas and events more tangible to someone learning about it 75 years later.
Another aspect that can increase the impact that good storytelling can have on an audience is visuals. The visuals included in “The Fallen of World War II” were not only historically accurate to the events that occurred, but also extremely moving. The narrator inserted these images between statistics and they helped to move the story along while also showing real, raw details that people endured during the war. The balance between the moving images and the detailed statistics made the story not only impactful, but very easy to digest.
When it comes to historical storytelling, it can be difficult. You have to be able to accurately explain detailed events while also keeping your audience engaged. Oftentimes history isn’t easy to recount because of the emotional depth it has and the narrator needs to be articulate and sensitive when doing so.