The audiovisual sources of history are all materials that combine audio and video that are used to know, analyze or teach facts of history. The main ones are documentaries, recordings and movies.
Historians have used other types of sources in the past, especially written documents, but technologies born about 150 years ago have introduced other kinds of resources.
These sources include documentaries and movies. Even when it comes to fiction productions, these can be useful to get an insight into how they thought or what was happening at the time in question, or to be used by teachers to teach their students.
The emergence of photography, film and television has added new tools to the study of history.
It must be taken into account that these images need contextualization in order to be understood and used as sources.
This is because they often narrate crude facts, and because they have been used on numerous occasions as propaganda elements instead of to show reality.
Types of audiovisual sources
Photography
Although it may seem that a simple photograph does not offer much information, if you have the right training it will serve to draw interesting conclusions about the time in which it was taken.
A simple group portrait reveals the way of dressing or the different social classes that existed at a given time.
This information has multiplied since the appearance of photojournalism, which is dedicated to illustrating events.
For example, snapshots of a war like Vietnam will provide relevant data on the type of weapons used or on which areas were being attacked.
Film recordings
It is not about fictional films, but about recordings that were made to create historical archives or reflect important events.
For example, during World War II it was very common for some cameramen to accompany the soldiers and record part of the events.
This material was used as propaganda. However, it is possible to obtain a large amount of information from images taken on the streets of Nazi Germany after the surrender, or those that captured the troops entering the concentration camps.
Documentaries
Documentaries are one of the most suitable genres to be used as historical sources.
They can be divided into two types: the first frames documentaries made as a reflection of historical events.
These are jobs done shortly after or during the given action. Although propaganda action must be discounted, part of the information can be used.
An example of this are the documentaries of the German Leni Riefenstahl. Her reflection of Nazi Germany is a wonderful source for understanding what happened at that time.
The second type of documentaries includes those that are created as a reconstruction of history. They are extremely useful in teaching since, apart from the images, they offer a contextualization and explanation of the facts.
Films
Even fictional movies are useful to be used as historical sources. There are films like The Birth of a Nation, directed by DW Griffith in 1915, which perfectly reflects the racist actions of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States.
Movies are a good way to get students interested in history. If the film is good and has a solid documentary base, you can learn about the era in which it is based.
References
- Bresciano, Juan Andrés. Historical audiovisual sources and telematic repositories. Recovered from dehesa.unex.es
- Martínez-Salanova, Enrique. Leni Riefenstahl. Obtained from uhu.es
- Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Audiovisual education. (July 20, 1998). Retrieved from britannica.com
- Lis BD Network. Definition of Audio Visual Materials. Retrieved from lisbdnet.com
- Randall G. Felton, Rodney F. Allen. Using Visual Materials as Historical Sources. Retrieved from alaskool.org