Last year I wrote an article entitled "A Trip To 1887" where I discussed a group of people that are very close to my heart, not only for their importance in my life, but what they, and I am doing to preserve United States History. After I published this article, I found myself having to defend a social norm for one of my classes which allowed me to delve deeper into the harsh stigma that exists in the world of Historical Reenacting.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” There is a scene in the movie “Sweet Home Alabama”, the 2002 comedy starring Reese Witherspoon that immediately comes to the minds of many individuals when they think about the term “reenacting”. In the scene, the main character, Melanie Smooter, is seen walking into a field full of older men dressed in Union Civil War Uniforms. Melanie calls out to find her dad amongst the bodies, one man stands up and answers her, and then proceeds to fall back down on the ground.
The hobby of historical reenacting is, for the most part, extremely misunderstood. This particular movie isn’t just the only movie scene where the stigma has been placed on the hobby that is historical reenacting; it has been misunderstood through the media as well as from a political standpoint for what it actually is; it truly is an art form that can change the world and keep what we know about our past for future generations.
What I question is why this stigma exists in the first place. Why do people question or give you weird looks when you explain what you do when you tell them you are a historical reenactor? Why is something that has been a hobby for so many years still so misunderstood in the first place?
Contained inside the reenacting community is a group of people who can be key to keeping the history of the United States alive and well, and allow it become something that people now, and in the future can enjoy. For this reason, I believe that this stigma should be removed, and more effort should be put into understanding the significance of the hobby of historical reenacting. My father has been a part of the historical reenacting community for over twenty years.
Throughout his long time career in the world of reenacting, he has taken part in creating the law in the state of Oklahoma that allows historical firearms in the classroom for educational purposes, been involved in the production of a few historical Hollywood films, and presented numerous historical programs to children and adults of all ages. At the same time, he saw his hobby belittled across talk shows and movies, and saw law suits against historical reenactors and other organizations for “bringing back conflict that was once dead” and “bringing back firearms that should be made illegal.”
When I was seven years old, I joined this community. From this moment, I was introduced to some of the most special and influential people in my life, and began to understand just how important the hobby is to history of the United States Of America. As reenactors, you aren’t simply putting on a piece of clothing, but you are preserving and sharing the history of our country.
Authentic historical reenactors, or those who take the hobby seriously put hours upon hours into the details of their clothes, accessories, and presentations, among other things. They spend their time reading books about the era they wish to recreate, watching films and documentaries about the era, and doing other forms of intense research to make every detail of how they portray their particular area of focus exactly right.
In fact, most reenactors who put careful detail into their “kit”, or their complete outfit and accessories oftentimes find amateurs who lack the authenticity towards the era to be somewhat disrespectful of the hobby itself. This applies to those who call themselves reenactors but have spent very little time researching the era they are portraying. When I thought about my hobby that is so near and dear to my heart, I was able to flip the card and turns the lens on myself.
Although I have been a part of the reenacting community for most of my life, I have never understood the concept of Cosplay. I didn’t understand the concept of dressing like a superhero and attending conventions with others dressed like other superheroes or other television characters.
Although historical reenacting is a different caliber and idea then cosplay, I could see the similarities between the idea of cosplay and reenacting. Both cosplayers and reenactors put lots of efforts into trying to make sure they look perfect down to every detail of their outfit. Like reenactors, they try and research everything they can about the character they are portraying.
Reenactors and cosplayers are actually very much alike, and I have realized that need to give more credit to cosplayers then I have in the past. Historical reenacting truly is an art form.
