Censorship

Censorship in Re-enactment

This may seem a strange topic to bring up, but one will soon understand that this concept is a very important one. All forms of good Living History are dedicated to authenticity, however, only insofar as it can be shown with minimal disturbance of the conscience. 

What do I mean by this? I mean, that, should one’s group re-enact 16^th century Japan, one should not display actual headhunting at an event or in any other context. Another example: if one’s group re-enacts the Middle Ages and one wishes to do a surgery demonstration, one should not show an actual surgical demonstration with actual wound quarterisation straight onto the skin. The reason for this is obvious, but I will state it nonetheless: you are still living in the 21^st century and, therefore, some practices that were authentic in your period are unethical, extremely dangerous, completely unnecessary, or a combination of these.

However, does this limit one’s Living History? I would say that it does not, as the art and science of applied Living History is not just about showing authentic practices in an authentic manner. This art and science is about displaying an authentic lifestyle to a modern audience in such a way as to be educationally effective and as authentic as possible, even if one does not do actual demonstrations of a real beheading for example; this is where the skill comes in. However, one can easily simply speak of these practices without actually doing them and risking a huge lawsuit or committing something highly unethical and traumatic. Therefore, why insist on doing something horrendous just for the sake of authenticity? If it is really that barbaric or gory, just talk about it and don’t really demonstrate it, for you can still do this and be authentic at the same time, believe it nor not. 

However, some groups have a way around this so that it is still safe yet still as authentic as possible. For example, Companie of Knights Bachelor perform a surgery demonstration – of which I often was the ‘victim’ – and use a skin coloured fake blood pack with an arrow point inside. The blood pack has a thick piece of leather or wood in between the patient’s stomach and the surgery utensils so it protects the patient; the patient can scream as much as he/she likes to make it seem authentic, and when the red hot iron is applied for quarterisation, it still makes a sizzling noise as it burns the blood pack instead of the actual stomach of the patient. Companie of Knights Bachelor also do a cutting of the hand demonstration, using a fake hand and fake blood, this is also permissible (for certain audiences of course). Those in an academic/philosophical ivory tower would say that these simulations promote the otherness of history, creating a barrier between us and the mindsets and ideologies of the past… whether they will continue this line of thought after undergoing real medieval surgery or losing a hand, however, is up for debate.

So what does this all mean? It means try and work your way around a practice that cannot practically be done purely authentically by making it less ‘lethal’; or, if this isn’t possible, simply don’t do that demonstration at all and, instead, talk about it with the public (keeping their age and maturity in mind). One wouldn’t, of course, show a medieval surgery demonstration to very young primary school students for example. Tailor the demonstration to the audience, work around things, be flexible as well as authentic, and it will work out fine. Remember, it is a re-enactors duty to educate and inform while being as authentic as possible.