06 January 2015

How Watching 'Downton Abbey' Helps Us Learn History!



It’s easy to recognize shows like Genealogy Roadshow, Who Do you Think They Are? (WDYTYA), and Finding Your Roots, as relevant to our genealogy and family history research.

Have you considered looking further afield?  Though I am not caught up on Downton Abbey (I am a season behind now), I know that many genealogy colleagues avidly watch this series and when the newest season premiered this past Sunday, I suspect many were watching or recording.

I’m not mentioning this just to let you know something of my personal tv viewing habits and because there is historically relevant information conveyed by period dramas.  This was recently discussed in a New York Times post, ‘Downton Abbey’ and History: A Look Back which states ...

As a chronicle of the ups and downs of fictional British aristocrats and servants, “Downton Abbey” weaves a surprising amount of authentic historical context into its plots. Here is an episode-by-episode look at some of the show’s period details, and how those events have been covered in The New York Times. “Downton Abbey” returns for its fifth season on PBS on Sunday — check back each week during the new season for updates.

I found this a fascinating read into the “true” historical context conveyed in the various episodes of this show.

Another recent article, From Masters of Sex to Boardwalk Empire: How Accurate Are Fact-Based Dramas? ends by saying one of my basic beliefs about watching historical drama ...

 "After I saw it, I looked up the history and saw how it deviated. But I was also thinking, 'There's no way I'd be looking this up without that movie.'"

That’s my perspective!  My family recently watched the first few episodes of Marco Polo (we’ve also watched Band of Brothers, Rome, Borgias, and other shows together as a family) and you know it got our attention when as an episode ends, we all have our cell phones out checking Wikipedia and other resources to get a sense of what was truth and what was fiction.

Is this not a great way to learn about history?  A tv show hooks you into wanting to learn more.  Until I watched these shows, my knowledge of these individuals and/or time periods was pretty slim.

All I need to do now is document some ancestors who might have lived during the depicted time periods and the history learned will be even more relevant!

Are there any historical dramas that you have found particularly useful as you research your ancestry?



Editor’s Note: Related articles ...





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to [email protected]. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow NGS via Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter

No comments:

Post a Comment