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ERIC Number: EJ791648
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-May
Pages: 10
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-2745
EISSN: N/A
Forget the Alamo: Thinking about History in John Sayles' "Lone Star"
Adams, Anna
History Teacher, v40 n3 p339-348 May 2007
John Sayles' film "Lone Star" is an excellent vehicle for teaching about the production and interpretation of history in a high school or introductory level college history class. The film illustrates that history is subjective, that the sorting and arrangement of evidence is what makes history, and that history is not necessarily an inevitable linear progression toward Western "civilization." Set in a small Texas border town of Frontera in contemporary times, "Lone Star" examines the relationship between past and present, the importance of perspective in historical accounts, and the origins of differing perspectives. Sayles has expressed his view that history is eminently revisitable, and in "Lone Star," he revisits and alters Frontera's traditionally white, Walter Prescott Webb-based history by including Mexicans, African Americans, and Native Americans as objects and subjects of history. Those who have been hidden from history, who have been excluded from the official history texts, are given equal time in Sayles' film. Sayles wants to reflect the multicultural history of the United States. (Contains 14 notes.)
Society for History Education. California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840-1601. Tel: 562-985-2573; Fax: 562-985-5431; Web site: http://www.thehistoryteacher.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A