The news today is given to us in seconds on a program; only a chosen taste of a story is put on the air.
Newsreels used to be part of the movie theater experience. Rather than watching “commercials” of future movies coming to the screen, the audience was given several minutes of relevant and breaking news. At this site, some of the most famous newsreels are available. There is quite a variety of topics and years to choose from.
http://www.newsreelarchive.com/ – 15k
I just watched several of these and was fascinated to see history come alive at the touch of a button. There was little difference in the Boston Marathon pictures, but England’s royal family certainly had a look o foreignness from the way they are today.
These newsreels would be an added resource for history teachers, and I wonder if they use them. YouTube has much to offer when it comes to education, and I could spend many hours going from one section to another.
I am writing about some new forgotten women who lived during the twentieth century. Looking at historical newsreels has enhanced my visuals of their lives. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” for sure.
We don’t go to the theaters much, but I have noticed that most audiences don’t pay attention to the trailers. This is a time to visit and prepare to be quiet for a while.
You might want to choose choose one of these newsreels to watch. Of course, they are in black-and-white, which is not what we are used to, but the information and news was relevant at the time.
Living in a different world today, where news is available on my Droid at the touch of a button, I can imagine that those theater audiences were mesmerized by what they saw in the newsreels. My parents used to talk about the newsreels and how much they learned by watching the news, not just reading about it.
The explorer Christopher Columbus said, “Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.” He and his shipmates had no clue of where they were going or what they would find. As a writer, I can identify with this, because I don’t know where the muse’s light will lead me on any-given day.
John grew up listening to radio broadcasts, not television. His family enjoyed country music, and I had never really listened to it until we married. He introduced me to an amazing part of our Southern culture. Believe it or not, today I will be searching out the early years of the Grand Ole’ Opry, and I can’t wait.
Sheila Ingle 