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Exploring the Relationship Between Film and History Through the Life and Reign of Elizabeth I

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Exploring the Relationship Between Film and History Through the Life and Reign of Elizabeth I 1 Film as a Historical Text: Exploring the Relationship between Film and History through the Life and Reign of Elizabeth I Brittany R. Rogers This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Research Honors Program in the Department of History Marietta College Marietta, Ohio April 28, 2008 2 This Research Honors thesis has been approved for the Department of History and the Honors and Investigative Studies Committee by ___________________________________ __________ Faculty thesis advisor Date ___________________________________ __________ Thesis Committee member Date 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 3 Chapter 2: Film Theory 6 Chapter 3: Historiography 11 Chapter 4: Historical Analysis of the Films 39 Chapter 5: Conclusion 54 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Long a subject of detailed discussion, Elizabeth I has captivated the interests of the research scholar to the amateur history buff. With a personal life as turbulent as her political reign, the controversies surrounding Elizabeth continue to generate debates about the issues of her rule and the impacts she had on Western civilization. Situated within these debates, and in historical debates in general, is the use and impact of film medium in history. Elizabeth I provides a strong character for film and her reign a powerful story line that attracts many film writers and directors. A popular topic for the historical film as well as the subject of historical research, the life and reign of Elizabeth I offers a unique lens through which to study the relationship between history and film. This thesis examines the relationship between history and film in an effort to determine whether such a relationship is beneficial and true to historical discourse. METHODOLOGY Using both an understanding of film-history theory and a historiography of Elizabeth’s life and reign, I will determine whether five films depicting Elizabeth’s rule should be considered part of the Elizabethan historical discourse or simply pieces of fiction. By comparing historical accounts of Elizabeth with films that portray her life and reign, the accuracy of those cinematic depictions can be determined. The general themes of Elizabeth’s life and reign are determined first from the historical texts and second from the historical films. The two sets of 5 themes are compared, looking for continuity or changes. The films will confirm or challenge, utilize or reject the historiographical themes. Focusing specifically on the religious and succession questions that plagued Elizabeth’s reign, it will be determined whether these films accurately deal with those issues, or choose to ignore them completely. In order to establish this, first I will lay out the historiography of Elizabeth’s life and reign to understand the issues surrounding those questions. Just as films can vary on the style and approach to the same story, in effect proposing different themes and ideas, historians can have differing opinions on how to interpret facts and evidence to construct a historical narrative or analysis. Finally it is determined whether the films should be regarded as pieces of fiction meant only to entertain, or as legitimate forms of historical analysis situated within historical discourse. This is achieved through the application of film-history theory. Concepts of true and false invention, supplement versus complement, and Rosenstone’s four fictional moves are discussed and then applied to the film narratives. Depending on the goals and purposes of the films, certain historical issues will or will not be addressed. Those with entertainment in mind will choose dramatic exaggeration over faithful adherence to historical fact. The films that do provide a narrative with historical context then are assessed to determine whether they should be considered supplements (a separate historical source) or complements to written biographies and analyses. This will determine their importance as histories and whether the relationship between film and history is beneficial to the field of history and furthers the development of historical discourse. The five films span eight decades and are mainstream films produced by Hollywood. By choosing mainstream Hollywood films, the films should be recognizable and accessible to the 6 general populace. As the film medium increases its role in society and culture, mainstream films increasingly influence the public’s ideas and understanding of the world, and consequently, of history. Viewers generally trust what they have seen on film as truth, and often the film is the only contact they have with the subject matter. Produced with the general public in mind, these five films are advantageous in determining the use of film to educate, entertain, or both. 7 CHAPTER 2: FILM THEORY To establish the historical place and usefulness of the Elizabeth films, first film-history theory must be understood. Robert Rosenstone, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, developed the controversial field of film as history through his experiences as a historical film consultant and emerged a leader in the field.1 Rosenstone finds that film can be an excellent source of history, provided it finds support within a historical discourse. He feels historians often put restrictions on the mediums through which history is discussed, and forget that history is both a process and a construction. This is as true for the written word as it is for film. Both are lenses through which the real world is reflected. 2 Rosenstone divides historical films into two parts: history as document - the documentary, and history as drama - the mainstream film. Both follow six points in creating a visual historical world. History in film is always told as a story, with a beginning, middle and end, which delivers a moral message meant to show how history is progressive. Most films leave the audience feeling good and positive about the story, and when a film does present uncertainty or distrust as the main message, it still gives the audience optimism that raising awareness of certain questions will cause beneficial change. The viewers’ connection to film is essential with film’s use of presenting history through emotion and personalization. Allowing the viewer to experience the history through sensory means immediately makes the viewer feel 1 Robert A. Rosenstone, “The Historical Film: Looking at the Past in a Postliterate Age,” in Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995), 45-79. Robert Rosenstone Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History is the main source for the discussion of film and history theory. Rosenstone has written, edited and contributed to several books on the topic including History on Film/Film on History, Revisioning History , Lights, Camera, History: Portraying the Past in Film. Before emerging as a leading scholar in film and history theory, Rosenstone wrote several political histories such as Protest From the Right and Seasons of Rebellion as well as biographies of Jack Reed and Issac Babel. 2 Rosenstone, Visions of the Past, 49. 8 connected to the past, something the medium of film effectively delivers with its cinematographic and editing techniques. Those techniques, along with the use of sets and costuming, allow films to present the past visually. This in a sense brings history to life, or at least attempts to present it in a multi-layered context; the landscape, utensils, homes, clothing, and personal interactions all work together to show the bigger picture, rather than focusing on one fact after another. This is what Rosenstone calls showing history as process. While the written text will often sort aspects of history into different groupings, such as politics, religion, economics, social structure, film will integrate and connect all the aspects and definitions of history. As Rosenstone states, “[h]istory in film becomes what it most centrally is: a process of changing social relationships where political and social questions…are interwoven.” 3 History in film form is developed through the story of the individual because of the manner of the medium. The camera creates a connection between the viewers and the individuals on the screen. The actions of the individuals represent the history of a larger group. Film also depicts history through one story, one perspective of the past. The linear storyline is where Rosenstone finds fault with history as film and sees it as the main difference between film and the written text. Like the need to present the story through individuals, film is condensed into one linear storyline, not providing for the possibilities of interpretation found in the written document. While the written text allows for generalizations, film demands specific images that require a summary of events and facts more exact and linear than those found in the written text. This comparison of the written text and film is where another leading history and film theorist differs with Rosenstone. Hayden White coined the term historiophoty to describe “the representation of history in verbal images and filmic discourse,” and argues that the historical 3 Rosenstone, Visions of the Past , 61. 9 process that films and written documents use to decipher their data is the same. 4 The historian and filmmaker both construct their version of a historical document, as the historian interprets and constructs the written word from facts much like the filmmaker does when he interprets the written word into a visual representation. Both the written text and film are products of “processes of condensation, displacement, symbolization, and qualification.” 5 For White, this counters the charge that film provides both too much detail and too little detail when dealing with historical facts and events. Academics make such a claim based on the fact that films may require the use of sets and actors that do not absolutely correspond with the historical facts (too much detail) and often condense a story that transpired over the course of several years into a two-hour film (too little detail).
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