Apollo 13, the Space Program, and the Future

I hope you all enjoyed our movie this week, Apollo 13.  As is usually the case, true stories make the best movies.

For us, it is an especially important time to be thinking about the space program. As you may know, the space shuttle (our most recent space vehicle) has reached the end of its life with its final landing in July 2011. There is a huge debate raging over what - if anything - will replace it.  With a return to the moon being put forth as a goal of NASA, any future space vehicle would have to be more like those in the Apollo program.  Our space shuttles are incapable of going to the moon.

As you might imagine, any new program would involve billions of dollars. One side of the debate argues that the benefits to science that would be realized are worth all of the money needed. The other side argues that in a time of such difficult economic problems, it would be irresponsible to spend money in space.

Your generation will have to pay for much of whatever is decided in this debate.  Whether it's paying the billions that the program will cost if we decide to return to the moon, or the potential scientific advances if we decide to cancel NASA's plans.  What do you think we as a country should do?  Should we make the investment necessary to return to the moon? If so, why? If not, why not?

Please make your responses thoughtful.  If you would like extra credit, make sure your response is in by the end of this Sunday.

Again, I hope you enjoyed the movie. We'll be scheduling the next one in the next few weeks.

The Patriot

Thank you all for coming out to see The Patriot. I think that most everyone thought it was a great movie - even if it is difficult to watch at a few points.

The Patriot is probably a perfect film to watch in order to think about the value of Hollywood movies based on historical events. One of the knocks that these types of films gets is that they play fast and loose with the history in order to draw big box office money. Making money is after all the job of Hollywood movie executives. So this is a legitimate complaint. In fact, it is a complaint that I hear from a few parents every year as we kick-off the History Film Festival.

My question to you here is; What is the value of this kind of big-budget Hollywood "history" film? Should it be judged just as entertainment? Or is there any academic value to watching the film? Does it lead viewers astray - especially those with a weak understanding of history? Please explain whether or not you think they have historical value. And why you think that.

Our next film will be coming up soon.

Andersonville

Well, I know it wasn't the most pleasant movie to watch. I do hope that you found Andersonville interesting and informative.

The Andersonville National Historic site is just a few hours north of us in Georgia. It's hard to imagine that such horrific war crimes took place so close by. Some of the scenes in the movie reminded me of scenes from the concentration camps of the Holocaust - albeit on a smaller scale. But nearly 14,000 dead in one prison over the course of about two years is still a staggering figure.

The movie raised several important questions. Is it possible for humans, when put into those kind of circumstances, to maintain the basic laws of human decency (not to mention actual laws)? Is it understandable that some would go into a "survival of the fittest" mode, like the raiders in the movie? Is that behavior excusable, at least at some level?

On a more general note, do you think that the History Film Festival (our after school movies) has been worthwhile? Have you enjoyed the films? Understanding that we have to keep the films related to our class, what would you change about the Festival? Were the movies too graphic (violent, harsh language, etc.)?

My goal with the History Film Festival has been to show you movies that you might not go out and rent on your own. I hope that you've enjoyed it.

Andersonville Links:
Andersonville National Historic Site
Andersonville on Wikipedia
From the Civil War Home website

Make sure you comment by Wednesday, June 1 for extra credit.

The Story of the 54th Massachusetts

"Once you let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship."

Frederick Douglass

Thanks to everyone that came to the movie. I hope you all enjoyed it - and learned something. The story of the 54th Massachusetts is an important one, and just an example of the nearly 200,000 black troops that served in the Civil War. One interesting fact about the 54th is that they served at the Battle of Olustee, which took place near Lake City, FL (just about 1 1/2 hours from Tallahassee).

If you came to the movie and are interested in earning extra credit, complete the survey at the following link by clicking here.