ABSTRACT
Errors in film and TV depictions of the past are often seized upon with alacrity and held up as demonstrations of the impossibility that popular culture has anything worthwhile to say about history. Adopting a different approach, however, Film and Cultural Studies have begun to ask different questions. What if mediated pasts are not attempts to ‘do’ history, but are nevertheless able to make contributions to it? What if films that depict different kinds of pastness were able to stimulate historiography by offering contrasting representations and encouraging viewers to choose the most resonant? And what if they were able to serve not as a kind of history in themselves but rather as a stepping stone to foster historical awareness among audiences that was closer to a more formal study of history? This chapter examines the methods of studying the past using the theoretical frameworks offered by Cultural Studies in general, and by Film Studies in particular, to explore the ways in which different lines of questioning can fundamentally challenge core assumptions about imaginary narratives.
