The Problem in Capturing History

Reading and/or listening to historical accounts is probably my favorite content to consume. I love hearing real-life stories of people who have gone before me. Whether they are experiencing things that I will never experience because of the century I live in, or if it’s people who are living lives that I very much wish to replicate.

What I’ve often found when there is content on big events is that it cannot possibly capture all sides thoroughly and without any doubt of truth. As I was listening through the Hardcore History Podcast on the first world war (Blueprint for Armageddon), Carlin consistently talks about how hard it was to condense his findings of this great conflict down into the length that he had, which was over 3 hrs an episode.

He mentions several times throughout the podcast that he is doing a disservice to parts of the war that deserve more time, but he simply couldn’t fit it all in, and if he did, the confusion of timelines would simply be too much for a listener to keep track of.

This evening, after watching the movie 1917, I understand even more fully this dilema. The story was told as if from one man’s perspective, one continuous shot over a period of less than 24 hours. There was enough for a feature film in only that amount of time, involving death and tragedy, and laughs and wins.

History is such a complex thing. There are so many moving parts. Why? Because history is the life you’re living right now. Maybe you would think that a movie on your life would be pretty boring, but when you dive deep into the underpinnings of who you are and the reasons you do everything you do, all of a sudden, this could easily become a full-length film. Complete with climaxes and tragedies.

The problem in capturing history is that you can never fully capture every aspect there is to cover. But that’s okay. If we have the important parts, that’s often what matters. Let’s keep good track of our history now so that maybe, just maybe, our kids grandkids can have a chance to learn from our mistakes.

How can we preserve history in a way that cannot be skewed and changed to the will of those in power? How do we make such a strong case for the truth of the history that is happening right now that those 300 years from now are forced to know the real truth and not a make-belief truth?