From the podcast, my biggest takeaway was how one-dimensional a huge part of history is. Because of the difficulties of obtaining the materials to write, or the ability to be able to write in the past, much of history is focused on the nobles or “great men” of the time. This makes figures in history appear much grander than in reality. It not only distorts our perceptions of what life was like during those periods but for many people it establishes an unattainable falsehood of the capabilities of man. By assuming that an individual person is capable of running an entire kingdom or conquering a land by themselves, it establishes so many unattainable falsehoods.
I think this connects with Hollywood movies in particular. There are a ton of movies out there that intended to depict great men from history. I can only speak for men, but for us, they create these extremely masculine hero-like characters that do not exist in reality. They create so many falsehoods in men that are unattainable, yet so many people believe that that they are. It creates a toxic representation of masculinity that is neither correct nor attainable. For some people, it creates a toxic level of ambition, and for others, it emasculates them. Either way, it is an unhealthy practice. I can not deny that I enjoy these types of movies. However, it is essential to understand that they are just movies and not an accurate portrayal of reality or history. This tends to be twisted especially in today’s culture where we epitomize looks or standards that are unattainable.
The falsity of one individual running an entire kingdom or country, I think, plays into a lot of the division we see in American today, and in different eras in history. With respect to today, and particularly the presidential election, most Americans were determining their vote based on Trump and Biden as people. But that assumes those individuals are making the decisions and have the power to make huge changes in society, and that is not the case. I think a lot of people thought after the election everything would change immediately, but America feels the exact same to me. And that is because it does not come down to one individual — there are so many more people involved.
I also enjoy the Hollywood action movies. I agree that they create unrealistic expectations on what a man should look like and act like. Realizing the falsities and learning about accurate portrayals, historically and in the present, is essential to creating a more accepting society. I do not think action movies should disappear, I like them too much, but the viewers need to be aware of how ridiculous they are.
Not only does history make these great leaders seem grander than they were in reality, but Dr.Bezio talks about also how this leaves out people who made a significant impact, or an even bigger impact behind the scenes; the invisible leadership. This is a falsehood that, now learning about it, is hard for me to believe any of us ever believed one person is mainly responsible for a movement or running a kingdom.
I really resonated with your points about our glorification of historical figures and movie stars because I have always felt the same. Movies are entertainment and as such, they present the most ideal form of anything and everything. While this can be fun to watch, I find it difficult to separate reality and fiction and often compare myself to those I see on screen. I always think “If they could do it, so can I,” but they didn’t actually do it but rather pretended to.