3 minute read
~ Interview: Editorial Opinions, History Is Now ~
INTERVIEW: EDITORIAL OPINIONS
HISTORY IS NOW
"The Battle of Castle Itter in the final days of World War II would make an exciting movie. A small group of American soldiers, German defectors, and freed French POWs defended a castle from a much larger Waffen-SS force that had previously turned the fortress into a prison for high profile French prisoners. Not only is this unique instance of Allied and German troops fighting side-by-side against Nazis in an actual castle the perfect set up for an action film, but in the right hands a movie on this topic could also be a great period piece. " Maxwell McPherson (2) How do you think history will view what has happened in 2021 so far?
"2021 will be a year history shall remember even if it is somewhat overshadowed by 2020. I can ’t imagine future textbooks will look kindly on those who failed to act decisively to combat COVID-19 nor those who continue to impede the pandemic ’ s resolution. Conspiracies seeking to explain present events already abound, but as time goes on I expect to see more outlandish claims to arise. January 6 is already an infamous date mired in conspiratorial suspicion and I imagine that will only increase as time goes on and more controversial conflicts occur. We will have to wait and see if 2022 remains as exciting or if things will become more stable. "
Maxwell McPherson
INTERVIEW: EDITORIAL OPINIONS
HISTORY IS NOW
"It is honestly super difficult to chose just one historical event since I have so many favorites, but my preferences do lean towards near-biographies. I would love to watch an adaption of Jane Austen ' s life, collected from surviving letters and with quotes from her works, from beginning to end. Maybe an adaption of when Victoria and Albert met for the first time that stays as factual as possible or a documentary about Napoleon ' s coronation. Basically, I would love more micro-histories in any form and from any time period. " Gabrielle Goodwin (2) How do you think history will view what has happened in 2021 so far?
"This year will be one of those years in the textbooks that has twenty entries in the glossary and a few subheadings like '2020-2021, Politics of' and '2020-2021, Culture ' which be super diverse and fun to flip through in the future. I am hoping that history will view this year as the start of a cultural and social shift with longreaching impacts. Mostly, I want to see the positives right alongside the negatives: things like 'pandemic ' next to a list of the animals we were able to bring back from extinction. I think when we look back on
history, we tend to focus on the negative. As this year will have a lot of negatives, I hope that history chooses to include some positives as well. " Gabrielle Goodwin
