Jamestown, Virginia: How To Make History Cool
I chose this piece because it seemed to be an interesting profile of a place, rather than of a person. While perusing the news this weekend, I realized that many of the profiles in the major magazines have to do with VA Tech. Although a lot of these pieces were interesting, I didn't want to overdo it! Marin already posted the link to an excellent profile in the NY Times, so I decided to go in quite a different direction. Plus, we haven't talked about profiling a place as much as we have talked about profiling a person, so I thought that this piece could at least serve as the basis for some riveting class discussion! ;-)
I thought that the topic of this piece was very interesting. The use of the location of Jamestown, VA as the basis for a discussion about the modern lack of interest in history brought meaning to the piece. I think the piece is well structured, beginning with information about present Jamestownian discoveries, switching gears to provide history about the fort/city, and returning to a present day description of the interesting sites, interwoven with more historical background and context. The background information about Jamestown was obviously extensive, yet the important details were chosen by the author. It was also presented in a way that dispelled myth by interweaving tale and fact, which I thought was a great technique.
There is not an extensive use of quotes, but I the insight provided by archaeologist Kelso adds a personal element to the piece which helps get the reader excited. The storytelling in the piece is well-done, but I think that the main thing it is lacking is detailed physical description. The writer does a good job of generally describing the new exhibits, but I would have liked to know more about the city itself: what did it look like 400 years ago, what does it look like now, etc.?
Despite what I saw as a lack of bold imagery, I thought the portrayal of the city's history as "murky and menacing" was a good 'evocative' detail and definitely accomplished the piece's goal: to make history cool!
It was evident that the writer had simple access to this material, because it was based mostly on observation of a location. There was only one personal interview and one book cited in the piece. From what I see here, I am guessing that the reportage for profiling a place tends to be much simpler than that necessary for profiling a person. However, personal profiles tend to be much more interesting, in my opinion, so I guess there is a trade-off!
Story of a Gun
I also found this article in Newsweek about a 9mm handgun, the weapon used at VA Tech. I thought it was interesting, and I recommend taking a look at it. I wasn't sure if a piece like this would qualify as a profile, but I thought it was an interesting angle to take in writing about what happened at VA Tech and worth a read and maybe quick discussion in class.
Enjoy!
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10 comments:
As you said the historical information are interesting and well explained. Though, I find this article a bit “flat”. There is no pace to the piece. The journalist chose the title “Jamestown, Virginia: how to make history cool.” It would have been interesting to know how cool this place is for children and other visitors, I want to know what their comments are on this place. I would have liked the writer to make me enter the place…but it seems that he did not even go himself. We don’t feel the atmosphere that Adam Hochschild talks about in “Telling true stories.”
I think this is a neat example of a profiled place, especially, as Jenny noted, because it brought the place into a larger contextual issue. I agree with Virginie and with you, Jenny, that there was a lack of detail and we didn't feel as "in the moment" as we could have been. But I wonder how much of that might be a time and length issue. This certainly wasn't the cover story for Newsweek. But it was written for a magazine, so we can presume there was more time to work on it. What I thought was really cool was the video linked to this story. I watched it and enjoyed it and I think that speaks to the multi-media way news goes out now.
Overall, a cool story.
The author did a good job of showing why the place is interesting for visitors, but like ya'll said, could have done a better job describing some of the exhibits that people liked to peak the reader's interest. The video that Lauren mentioned helped with this and it's also cool to take a look at the "related stories" link on the same page.
Virginie, your comment about the piece being "flat" hit home with me. I felt there were many times when the author could have delved into more detail. Specifically with the human bodies that are being exhibited-- it would have been cool for him to let us know how it "feels" to experience history through a skeleton. Or, what the atmosphere is like when you are actually watching the historians dig at the site. Taking the reader through Jamestown, by adding sensory details would have helped a lot. If it is touristey or authentic, what it smells like, if it is crowded etc.
I did enjoy reading a profile about a place and not a person, just a change of pace and made me think a bit more if there was a place I would like to profile for my assignment.
ALthough the historical aspects of Jamestown are important in debunking traditional American myths, the article does not reconcile facts with a feeling of place. Jamestown, in this article, does not undergo a dynamic change. True, new elements are being introduced to the museum and exhibits, but I didn't feel that the language the author used guided me through it. The only thing I could imagine was the human skull with a bullet where the leg used to be, who cares?! Perhaps, I did not enjoy the article as much because none of the historical information the author presented was new to me.
The "Story of a Gun" article was much different. In comparison, both are written about inanimate things or objects. People gain context about places or things through human interaction. In the case of the 9 mm, an identity arises by how people use it and the destruction caused by it. It brings into question the accessibility of guns, which in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, is a big issue right now. At the same time, you don't need flowery language or metaphors to illicit an intense emotional response from the reader, so a dryer account, as in the "Jamestown" article could still prove effective.
The profiled place didn't have a lot of detail... just a lot of told history. Don't tell me about the rich culture the Africans were ripped from- show me colors. Don't tell me that the Indian girl who inspired the Pocahontas story was found to have "deplorable manners" by her husband... what did she do to offend his sensibilities? If we don't know, can we extrapolate?
Show me how the children react to the bones and the bullet lodged in them. Show me the dialogue of 10 year old boys who are gabbling about whatever they're seeing instead of lamenting that they could be home playing Halo 2.
But, I did learn some things and appreciated the different view of Jamestown! It wasn't a bad article overall... just didn't grab us very well. I didn't feel a "turn" in the article and it felt more like a lecture than a story.
Great choice. I found it helpful as an example of a profiled place. Seems everyone has had the similar reactions to the piece, and I too was a little bored by the article. I was intrigued to learn the true facts about Jametown. I love the Disney version of Pocahontas, and I figured it would be good to see where the movie went wrong. The article did provide this information, but I don't feel it really achieved its purpose. I thought it could have focused more on the details of the present day exhibit, instead of the past that it encompasses.
I have to agree that it did not go in depth into Jamestown as much as I expected, but I do feel it offered an interesting look at what they were doing there. The ability to take was is often considered a boring subject and put a modern day spin on it, the references to CSI and the work they were doing on the skeletons seemed like a good way to pull people in. I also really liked the story of a gun, it was interesting to see a profile not on a place or person, but on an object and its evolution through American Society.
I thought this article was extremly interesting. Although, getting into the article was rather difficult, I liked what I read by the end of it. The author is right on the money when she says that “have been so turned off by history is that the traditional airbrushed version of the American past seems so unreal.” When she was talking about what they had found at the war sights, it started to make Jamestown seem quite interesting.
It is important to educate people, especially the youth, in the historical conquest of the Americas. This article does an excelent job of bringing attention to a new attraction that serves an educational purpose. The article describes the true historic events that most people are ignorant to. These events are brought to life in the Jamestown recreation. The African, English, and Native American perspecives all seem to be well shown.
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