The History Channel Effect

Abstract

Throughout the HBO series The Sopranos, New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano is portrayed being obsessed with World War II documentaries on the History Channel. Watching the Nazis take Paris inspires him to take on a rival family in New York. A on Rommel helps guide his judgment he fights off a rebellion among his own soldiers. What does this rise of the popular documentary, viewed via cable, the Internet, or other outlets, mean for our relationship with the past? How do teachers and students view documentaries historical sources? What impact do they have on social studies education. Documentary films have long been treated objective windows into history because viewers feel if we can see (and, presumably, feel) what people in the past saw and felt (Rosenstone 1995: 52). As a result, students and the general public don't apply the same critical eye they do when watching a historically inaccurate Hollywood movie. Viewers who suffer from the History Channel Effect are unable to recognize the value-laden ideological perspectives in most documentary-style videos. They believe that all documentary films are objective and neutral sources of historical information. The History Channel doesn't bear all of the responsibility for the History Channel Effect. This phenomenon stems from how documentaries are viewed objective sources of history, how teachers use documentaries, and the overwhelming amount of media and reality program viewing. Historian Robert Rosenstone explains that films are more problematic than Hollywood films as historians, journalists, and the general public are more trusting of films because they resemble written more than feature film (2006: 71). However, the degree to which documentaries present well-researched, balanced, or aptly warranted varies. History Channel-produced programs in particular (for example, The Real West, Weapons of War) can be extremely inaccurate a result of low production budgets, use of out-of-context images and video, little or no historical oversight, and a desire to appeal to middle-aged male audiences by emphasizing warfare and patriotism. Regardless of the quality, however, any is always a representation of the past guided by the views of the film's producers and reflective of the time and place of production. Teachers reinforce a view of documentaries accurate and trustworthy when they fail to ask students to critique what they're watching. …