History?

Date: 16 September 2010 06:48:47

I've been indulging my love of history again, this time by watching a program on the Dam Busters. I've watched the film of the Dam Busters lots, and over many years. Without really thinking it through I had accepted the version of what happens in the film, without really investigating. It was therefore interesting to learn more of the 'real' story. The overarching narrative of the film is true, but the details not so. There are many reasons for this. Partly it is to make a better story, but partly as the infomation needed was still clasified. Does it matter that it isn't all true? Well that depends on what is important to you. Is it to understand everyday or is it to see the big picture? We can't possiblly know the details in everything, maybe just having the big picture is the important thing. In this case the important things are the same in the film and real life, the heroism, the lenghts to which young men went to ensure a free country and the amazing skills needed all are the same. Yes the details are important in history, but often we can't know them for many reasons, but we can see the big picture, which we sometimes can dig deeper into to inhance our understanding.