Due to an unfortunate inability to obtain the required materials in time to do my original project, I had to change gears mid stride. My gaming group is starting up a major American Civil War game next year so I went with a civil war angle. Although my family at the time of the Civil War lived in the North, being a native born Virginian I do have some Southern sympathies (particularly for this state which only seceded reluctantly). Plus I find the Confederate cause oddly romantic, as a Yale professor remarked some time ago defeat is sometimes more interesting to historians than victory.

Here is the final work, I will discuss below:

I blended Video, Audio, Writing (the fictional diary entries) and Still Visual shots in this piece. I was trying to capture the enthusiasm that gripped both sides at the war’s opening, what an early 20th century writer called “an abundance of unctuous fury.” The fictional diary entries are meant to be humanizing and give an individual viewpoint on the sweep of events. The Confederate national anthem is damn addicting and gets stuck in your head so easily (I guess that was the point). It also captures the eagerness of Southerners to defend their liberties. I included the FAMOUS Ashokan farewell violin piece because at its quiet stages it pairs nicely with the paintings of the war, but it peaks as I switch to photographs of the real consequences. I was trying to show that while the war was romantic and glorious in the artist (and many Americans’) vision it had very real, very human consequences. I didn’t want my film to turn into a “ra ra South” movie like many adherents to the Lost Cause tradition make, while I do sympathize and to some extent agree with the South this was a horrible, horrible war. Finally I included the “I’m a good ole rebel” bit accompanied by the scene from Gods and Generals to show that many Southerners didnt forget what happened and were bloody bitter about it. Again, I can kind of relate to that, its a human emotion. Plus, I like the song (why oh why did the Confederacy have WAY better songs than the Union? we may never know).

I dont think I say anything truly insightful, but here is my 2 cents!

So now that we are at the end of the course it is time to go back and review my WAY early post about What is Storytelling! In my initial post, I commented that to me, storytelling meant Homer and Homeric epic. While I do still think that stories should have an element of the epic in them to be effective, DS106 has broadened my perspective a little bit. Even little bits of mundane, day to-day life can tell a story: a lot of it just depends on presentation and interpretation. I was inspired by someone (and I couldn’t find it again or I’d have linked to it) who in this course made a five picture story out of making coffee in the morning, that is what made it “click” for me that I suppose even Homer could make a good story out of making coffee (Oh Muse! Sing to me of delicious caffeine and the tenacious dripping of that heavenly beverage! OK so maybe not quite Homer’s thing).

I also have gained new appreciation for off-the wall forms of media like remix, which prior to this course I didnt take very seriously at all.

Tutorials.

Historifig
Alternate History

August 1914: World War I begins, German armies sweep into Belgium and Holland while the smaller German 8th Army defends East Prussia from a massive Russian Invasion. At the end of the month, 8th Army defeats the Russian First Army in detail.

September 1914: Battle of the Marne. A French and British counterattack leaves the issue in doubt until German forces break through the French 6th Army, scattering the Allied forces and leaving Paris vulnerable.

October 1, 1914: German troops occupy Paris despite desperate resistance by the scattered French troops, French government asks for an armistice, English armies evacuate from the continent.

October 15, 1914: The Paris-Berlin accords end hostilities between France and Germany. German armies embark on trains headed east while a small force remains on the French border. English enter into talks with the German Empire to negotiate an end to Anglo-German hostilities.

November 10, 1914: German offensive into Russia hits the flank of Russian armies attacking Austria-Hungary, the Tsarist forces are routed totally with thousands of losses.

December 1, 1914: German forces occupy all of Poland, and entrench along the front as the German Navy begins a campaign against the Russian fleet. England signs Peace of Brussels with the German Empire.

December 24, 1914: Russian armies launch a surprise attack all along the front, however deserters forewarned Central Powers Forces of this operation. Millions of Russians are captured or killed and Grand Duke Nicholas (commander of the Russian military) commits suicide in disgrace.

January 1, 1915: Middle class ministers mutiny and stage a coup in Russia, the Tsar is forced to negotiate wit Germany.

January 15, 1915: World War I ends with the conclusion of the Treaty of Warsaw: Russia makes some territorial concessions to Germany and formally abandons all ties in the Balkans, Serbia is absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Europe enters a period of immense prosperity and peace thanks to German wealth.

September 1, 1939: A broke, friendless artist named Adolf Hitler commits suicide in Munich, alone.

January 5, 1957: A Russian orthodox priest nicknamed Stalin dies in Southern Russia, surrounded by fellow priests.

My favorite historical figure is Otto von Bismark of the German Empire. Bismark served as the practical head of state of Prussia and then Germany at the end of the 19th century. I admire him for his political and military genius (although Moltke deserves most of the credit for the latter) and for his dedication to the fatherland. I also strongly agree with his politics: Bismark was no great fan of nationalism and strongly supported the monarchy. He is admirable for his genius alone but his quick wit and staunch conservatism in the face of a world literally going mad are what make him my inspiration and hero. Bismark conducted the Concert of Europe in tune as the concert hall was collapsing amid a storm of nationalistic fervor and the unfortunate rise of the domineering modern democratic system and the harmony of the old world did not long survive his death.