My Favourite Media

Despite the fact that I enjoy a good action movie, a fine piece of music or a sci-fi novel, historical fiction is far and away my favorite type of media, in any of its forms. This was probably due in part to HBO cranking out some of the most watchable things in the past decade. John Adams, Band of Brothers and The Pacific are probably the three best miniseries adaptations of historical fact to come down the tubes in the last ten years, and probably the most historically accurate. You have other gems as well, like The Tudors and Rome which are presented in 50-minute episodes and also allegedly follow the history books somewhat faithfully. Now, that's not to say that historical accuracy is imperative to my enjoyment a historical blockbuster. I enjoyed Gladiator to no small degree, and 300 and Troy both got more than one viewing from me even though none of these three films were especially (or even slightly) accurate. I find the concepts and realities that made up this world's past to be fascinating. I like that people have launched a path that history has taken simply by the fact that they did what they did, that they existed and achieved during their lives, and without the comforts and conveniences we take for granted. People survived and thrived and built empires and tore others down and did it all without electricity, industrialization or even simple hygiene systems. The world simply doesn't naturally produce such strong people anymore, people who can function completely at a level of existence that we would consider catastrophic. They lived in tiny, dirty, damp, smoke-filled huts and killed if they wanted to eat and stood face to face with another man and looked into their eyes as they defeated him in combat. I love to read about this lost part of our humanity and watch movies about people who existed then. We've gained much since then, but lost much as well. Some people don't like to be reminded of this fact, they are put off by the ugliness, dirtiness and brutality of our past, but in this past I find a purer kind of man, although he's filthy and mangy, because he has instinct. It's been bred out of us by modern society, and I relish any chance to be reminded of it. I like reading books by authors like Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell because they don't spare the details that may be unpleasant. Cornwell and Iggulden will describe a battle scene in all it's disgusting glory, the smell of blood and sweat and human waste that makes it reek, and the wonderful all-consuming joy and fear that control and direct a man in the crush of the shield-wall, and the everyday mud and sickness and toil of ancient life. It's this frankness that many people don't like about historical fiction. But the people that like it, love it.

Clip from Troy, embedding disabled by request. (Watch in 1080p, it's worth it.)