Analyse the ways history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights. In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least one other related text of your own choosing.
History and memory work together in order to generate compelling and unexpected insights into the past. Stephen Frears' film The Queen allows the audience to gain unexpected insights about the titular character, and thus gain sympathy for her position. Likewise, The Outsider, a painting by Gordon Bennett, uses his own emotions to impact on his painting, creating a highly personal artwork that provides insights into the Indigenous Australia hardships endured during assimilation polices. Hence it can be seen that history and memory are interconnected and together portray a more cohesive picture of past events. Insights into Queen Elizabeth II's emotions during the aftermath of Diana's death can be gained through observing the interplay between the collective and personal memories of the event. Frears' imagined interpretation of the Queen's vulnerability challenges the public's collective memory of Diana's death. Frears' perspective is immediately depicted in the opening intertextual quote from Shakespeare's Henry IV: "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". Sympathy is created as Frears suggests the difficulty of the Queen's role of being a leader, a role that she interpreted as having to be stoic and strong. This is supported by Robin Janvrin's confession to Blair, body language and expression secretive: "this public reaction has completely thrown her". The Queen came onto the throne at the age of 27, and it was a role that she had become accustomed to by the time of these events, believing she needed to be powerful in the face of adversity. Realising that this was suddenly not wanted by the public perplexed her. This is demonstrated as Frears selects events from his personal interpretation and uses a high angle long shot as the Queen retreats into nature at Barmoral Castle. The vast landscape and the camera angle is symbolic of the Queen's insignificance as she cannot comprehend the abrupt changes to her role. Frears adds authenticity to his account through his costuming and casting, which closely imitates the characters being portrayed. Hence Frears' perceived memory, assisted with historical data, generates compelling insights into the Queen's experience of the time, and thus creating unexpected sympathy for her difficult position. Unexpected insights into the hardships of others can also be seen in Gordon Bennett's painting, The Outsider. The painting reflects the emotional trauma on Indigenous peoples caused by assimilation practices in Australia, as depicted by the exploding head. History informs viewers that the Stolen Generations had been denied expression of their Aboriginal culture and split families, but the true extent of the damage cannot be fully
© (2012) All Rights Reserved 1 of 2 For more info, go to www . hscintheholidays . com . au understood without Bennett's expression of personal memory. The inclusion of Greek sculpture heads with their eyes closed demonstrates the Caucasian ignorance of the issue, demonstrating how Bennett's painting would be providing unexpected insights into the nature of the emotional scarring. The appropriation of famous Western artworks, Starry Night and Bedroom at Arles by Vincent van Gogh, paired with the recontextualised Indigenous handprints, allows Bennett to depict the feeling of being trapped in a society which denies one's cultural heritage. Van Gogh was also a painter who had deep emotional trauma, and the links that Bennett draws between him and the historical figure generate a compelling idea about the intense nature of the pain: van Gogh committed suicide to escape from the tortures of his everyday existence. Thus it becomes apparent that these insights do not occur on their own; history and memory work in synergy to provide a more holistic understanding of the past. A compelling and challenging view of Diana is also presented in the film, furthering Frears' purpose of convincing the audience of the difficulty of the Queen's position and hence softening the public image of her. Diana is initially presented through a montage of grainy archival footage, where Diana almost seems to be courting and teasing the media with her image. While this archival media footage adds authenticity to Frears' account, it also demonstrates how insulting this behaviour would have been to the rigid policies of the monarchy. Thus as Diana is depicted as causing trouble for the monarchy, sympathy for the Queen's position upon her death is created. This compelling portrayal of Diana, through historical footage, allows Frears to validate his personal memories and in this way the symbiotic nature of history and memory is revealed. Bennett also enables his personal memory to challenge the collective memory, through the sheer emotional power of his painting. Bennett evokes emotional connections as can be seen by the agitated brushstrokes and the bloodstained walls. The garish red of the bedcover only highlights how what is supposed to be comforting in his own bedroom is really only an extension of his pain as he is still suppressed in society. In this way, the audience is made able to connect, making Bennett's memory universally recognised and thus elevating it to the status of history. Thus it can be seen that history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights into the emotions of those affected by major historical events. Therefore in conclusion, history provides data about past events, and memory can be used in conjunction to generate compelling and unexpected insights. The Queen, a film by Stephen Frears, utilises the director's imagined memories of the events succeeding Diana's death to portray the Queen, and her actions, in a warmer light. Gordon Bennett's painting, The Outsider, represents the Indigenous Australian experience of the assimilation policies, allowing those who were not impacted to have a greater understanding of the emotional turmoil it wrought. Hence it can be seen that the confluent nature of history and memory allows compelling and unexpected insights into the past to be found.