History Boys (2006)

[hh5]

I was searching for movies with gay themes and ran into this one.

 

 

It was interesting to find Mr Dursely (Richard Griffiths) playing a gay character Hector - General Studies.

One of the students is gay as well. Posner never gets a ride with hector.

(Pity it would have been interesting to see Daniel Radcliffe wanting Mr Dursely)

 

The overall theme of the movie is 12 boys are up for Cambridge or Oxford University.

The school is giving these students extra attention - to boost the reputation of the school

 

Good questions

 

What is History?

 

What is History especially towards gender?

 

Whats wrong with the truth vs answering with what they want to hear?

( mmm try that with someone )

 

How does history happen?

 

What moves or alters history? turning points?

 

What is subjunctive history? Why is that a fashionable presentation of history? or the future? or the present?

 

Is character important part in history?

 

Can history be controlled ? Is it a wise course?

 

Is achievement or fate just one step away from history in the making?

 

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_Boys

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464049/

 

http://ukdvdreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hi...-boys-2006.html

[kitten]

The answer to most of those questions is contained in the word itself - hiSTORY.

 

Part of history is made up of accepted facts (e.g. dates of major events), another part is made up of things that are likely to be facts, but may be disputed, e.g. the writings of a chronicler who may be biased or not have access to the real truth, and even when the same historical event is descibed by real witnesses, their accounts may not agree. However, much of the subject called 'history' is the making of a STORY. People have a need to try to make sense of things - that's why they invented gods. history, and later invented science.

 

Making the stories in history attempts to link a number of facts and make some sense of them. What were the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire? Did Napoloen's health play a significant part in the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo? etc.

 

Some of these stories linking facts may be substantially true, but we will never be really sure because we don't have ALL the facts and the further we go back in time the more difficult it is to put ourselves into the mindset of the people involved. Yes, we know how objectively that the average medieaval European was obsessed with the possibility of spending eternity in hell, but most of us can't feel subjectively the way they did.

 

Even when we try to make sense of our own past, the things we experienced directly, how reliable would it be? We link the events of our life into a story because we don't like the idea that things might be random or we don't like some of the things our actions reveal about us. We can create a story of our own past which others may not agree with, even if they agree on the dates of actual events we describe. This stories we create about our own lives iare not lies. They are true for us, but they are so filtered by our own subjectivity that others may not agree with our 'truth'.

 

Therefore, whether or not history is affected by character, or has major turning points, etc, may or may not be true of particular parts of history. Even if we had a time machine and access to all the facts, there would always be the matter of interpretation. No matter how unbiased and objective a journalist tries to be, even when attending an event in present time, the story he produces will always be filtered through his own previous experiences and his own point of view. With history that filtering process is much greater.

 

History has great value. It assembles information on the past and tries to acertain the accuracy of the information. Then it tries to make sense of it by making sense of it - i.e. creating a story. That story will tell us at least as much about the person or society that writes it as it does about the period it is supposedly describing. e.g. Mediaeval historians (usually monks) might ascribe the fall of the Roman Empire simply to moral decadence, etc.

 

The most interesting thing about history is the narrative we create to link and 'explain' the facts. For most people facts without the narrative are much less interesting. However, care should be taken that the narrative is not itself taken to be a fact.

 

Kit

[Bondwriter]

I saw this movie. It was quite well-done, with all the issues linked to moving on into higher studies.

 

 

Sadly enough, a gay character has to die in the end.

 

[hh5]

Thanks for the reply Kit

 

I was posing the questions in multiple points - general, personal, story, etc

 

I do love reading the facts in a story but then those essays

* the approaches to arguments

* the fact finding

* the love of reading of insurmountable number of books

* the worry - am i going to get a high grade

 

I rather have the multiple choice confirming Facts and figures.

There are harsh teaching styles that should be ban.

or at lease match the student to the teaching style to ensure learning.

 

There are many different history books, you wonder if the historian your teacher selected is providing an account that can be digested by its students. But it seems to boil down to the luck of the draw and the focus of the teacher and the department.

 

I have to say - students that need encouragement in their studies would certainly benefit seeing films that gives them the idea of whats expected of them. "History Boys","Dead Poets Society", and similar films sure does enlighten.

 

In regular classes - you have a mix of students - not on the same page of learns - which makes it hard for the teacher to cover his material.

 

Aside from that - if you look at six history teachers of the same class - there seems to be six different methods of conveying the story being tested on one departmental exam.

 

In 10th grade, we had a change of history teachers and I needed a change from the new history teacher. The style of teaching certainly was not the kind that a lot of the student liked any way. The change was needed for me. But I was surprise on how many students stayed. But again I must presume they must have adapted or was use to the style.

 

The appeal for history - seems to be a combination - the teacher conveying the story and the involved number of texts the student must read - sifting through another set of styles of story telling. Forming a learning experience or essay that scores high points.

 

The other side of schools - Scoring High Points(Metrics) vs the quality of teaching vs Imparting the Interest (hence the passion) of the subject.

The fine line to leaving a distaste in the belly of the student - hence - a discourse for the category of learning.

Then someone saying - you get what you paid for - public or private or charter.

 

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In the movie - when it comes to the (Causes and Significance) WWI argument it seems to also head to the politics of War or rather the people beyond the counted dead but the one that has a name - a life - a personal history - a part in an event in history.

( the source of revelation - not from just a history book - but poetry, music, art, architecture, etc (evidence, proof) )

( the impression is the account of someone life )

 

other than that - how to write exciting and challenging essays

 

the clincher - lie about your credential - to get the job

having a connection - to get into the school

etc

 

hehe - those facts - sometimes don't make into the history book of that grammar school beyond 11 students got into their school of choice and one didn't - a metric fact but watching the movie - connected the facts but is not necessarly is the truth.

 

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Question - how accurate or realistic is the nature of the school?

- Its to be sort of a college level course for High School

Wow do they read a lot - and - I presume they were craming

I hope thats not a permanent norm.

It sort of looks like the lost of a personal life.

The only way to have one is to find someone who's in the same class in the same thing - but that be in a university level.

[hh5]

I saw this movie. It was quite well-done, with all the issues linked to moving on into higher studies.

 

 

Sadly enough, a gay character has to die in the end.

 

 

I was shocked - But still such an accident kill Hector? - It was a lost of balance on a slick road.

The bike would have tried to escape them.

[Caipirinha]

What is History?

 

It's just one f*cking thing after another. ;-)

[hh5]

It's just one f*cking thing after another. ;-)

 

Is that before or after invading "No man's Land"?

[Caipirinha]

Is that before or after invading "No man's Land"?

 

If I remember correctly it's after. It's in the scene where they are having the mock interviews (Mrs. Lintott asking Rudge how he defines history).

[KJames]

And here I thought history was written by those who won the war...

[Dolores Esteban]

Most of my stories are set in the beginning of the 19th century. I have to do a lot of research. I sometimes find letters that people wrote 200 years ago. These letters always touch me deeply. Those people lived in a different world and in a different time. But they were not so different from us. They felt love and hate, fear and pride, pain and joy. I feel connected to them.

[Drewbie]

Only saw the last half on hbo, thought it was pretty good