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dragonlady7via http://ift.tt/24sQQNI:
I can’t respond to the other answers I got here because I’m bad at Tumblr so I’ll lump it all in here and thank everyone for their input, because it was fascinating.
@tolrais, George III was actually a pretty interesting dude– his dad was real real dumb– and on the one hand it’s a shame he’s only remembered as The Bad Guy In The Rev War but on the other hand at least he’s remembered!
@rosaline-queen-of-apricots – it probably depends where you are what American history is taught. I went to school in the UK for a year and I had a way better grasp of European history than vice-versa, so I spent a lot of time being blown away and making connections and so on (because, like, even in Olden Times, what happened in one place affected other places and so clearly, there are connections!), while my UK compatriots stared at me in bafflement because they were pretty sure I was making the whole thing up. But I’m sure it varies in different countries. I’m certainly not trying to imply that the American education system is any more comprehensive than anyone else’s because uh LOL no :( :( :( it’s pretty bad.
This whole thing absolutely wasn’t me being hostile or anything! I’m not trying to imply that there’s anything less for a non-American to get out of the whole thing, I was just wondering what it is that’s got such cachet if you didn’t grow up with George Washington Mythology and so on. Clearly, you’d find something different in it if it weren’t about characters so familiar that you felt a sense of ownership, you know?
And i think that’s part of the brilliance of recasting it with actors of color in the hip-hop vernacular, because of that sense of ownership– you grew up hearing about these people, and by having an actor of color play them you’re explicitly saying that they are everyone’s, not just white people’s. But that’s my perspective as a history nerd white kid from New York, you know? I’m just trying to see how that translates.
And if it is just that it’s a good story well-told with catchy, well-crafted music, well then, good! I’m so immersed in it I can’t even begin to guess how I’d feel if I came to it cold, you know?
I can’t respond to the other answers I got here because I’m bad at Tumblr so I’ll lump it all in here and thank everyone for their input, because it was fascinating.
@tolrais, George III was actually a pretty interesting dude– his dad was real real dumb– and on the one hand it’s a shame he’s only remembered as The Bad Guy In The Rev War but on the other hand at least he’s remembered!
@rosaline-queen-of-apricots – it probably depends where you are what American history is taught. I went to school in the UK for a year and I had a way better grasp of European history than vice-versa, so I spent a lot of time being blown away and making connections and so on (because, like, even in Olden Times, what happened in one place affected other places and so clearly, there are connections!), while my UK compatriots stared at me in bafflement because they were pretty sure I was making the whole thing up. But I’m sure it varies in different countries. I’m certainly not trying to imply that the American education system is any more comprehensive than anyone else’s because uh LOL no :( :( :( it’s pretty bad.
This whole thing absolutely wasn’t me being hostile or anything! I’m not trying to imply that there’s anything less for a non-American to get out of the whole thing, I was just wondering what it is that’s got such cachet if you didn’t grow up with George Washington Mythology and so on. Clearly, you’d find something different in it if it weren’t about characters so familiar that you felt a sense of ownership, you know?
And i think that’s part of the brilliance of recasting it with actors of color in the hip-hop vernacular, because of that sense of ownership– you grew up hearing about these people, and by having an actor of color play them you’re explicitly saying that they are everyone’s, not just white people’s. But that’s my perspective as a history nerd white kid from New York, you know? I’m just trying to see how that translates.
And if it is just that it’s a good story well-told with catchy, well-crafted music, well then, good! I’m so immersed in it I can’t even begin to guess how I’d feel if I came to it cold, you know?
