This post gets more into the philosophy of living history and reenacting so buckle up and if I don’t lose you by the end then thanks for reading!
Alright! First let’s define what all this stuff really is. To someone in the hobby-reenacting and living history are physical outlets to educate the public on social, political, military, material, and a whole array of historical facets an individual has learned over the course of time. Behind the brains of a presenter are hundreds of books, articles, and resources that shape all his interactions with the public. Everything is done to levels of personal satisfaction while knowing the public will learn something from the experience and have a deeper appreciation for history.
Otherwise to someone outside the hobby, the sum total can be wrapped up into two words- cosplay and LARP. -Clutches pearls- Yes, by definition they aren’t wrong and by god most people in the hobby don’t exactly discredit the label. Let’s establish this: To everyone outside of the hobby, the baseline starts us right next to Comic-Con, waifus, and the Viking guy with fake hair extensions drunk sleeping at a mead bench at the local renfaire.
Now who all is encompassed in this other world outside the hobby. The scary truth is that it includes site directors, park staff, state agency employees at their respective capital offices, and even Living History directors. Do you get what I’m putting down? To the right people you are lumped together as a joke, a freak show, an abnormality that should be replaced as soon as possible by other less expensive things. Think I’m overreacting? Think again.
Bent’s isn’t the only site rethinking how it does history and who they do or don’t need. In the East many 18th century events are being reshaped due to outcries from enrolled Natives rightfully indignant that their ancestors are being portrayed slap stick by farby reenactors.
Battlefield sites are opting to forego force on force reenactments in lieu of high quality living history demonstrations. The public learns much more history from personable interactions with volunteers than watching large masses of people duck hunt each other. It also forces participants to up their A game as an individual right in front of an audience vs. a dude who did the bare minimum to burn powder and drink beers with his buds.
At some point we’ve got to consider why the community as a whole does public events? If education isn’t foremost listed as a reason then should we wonder why we’re seen as a joke, and again, an expensive one at that. Do you realize the amount of labor, logistics, and funding that goes into an event? The good news is the hobby isn’t dying, as many in the older crowd are likely to say but rather it has become condensed and focused- the epitome of quality of quantity. The park staff of many sites are seeking greater guideline controls and volunteer screenings to give the public a decent taste of history. The question everyone needs to ask themselves is which side of the aisle they fall on and if they’re ready to go the next step and grow as historians or to stay in the world of furries and fairies.
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