History Happens in Black and White

So this is going to be a bit less about what I've been up to and more an observation on life.

Among my age group, and especially among the history-minded of us, there is a general consensus that the past happened in black and white. We all know this is false, but it makes sense. Movies, TV, and photographs were in black and white for a long time (or in the case of TV, in the beginning). I am a little surprised every time I see a photo from WWII in color...which is odd because I see them more often at work then I do in normal life. However, most of the photos I see are in black and white, even ones from my lifetime... the Navy seems to have a weird obsession with printing in black and white. At the American Holocaust Museum, there is the occasional color photo, and in various other museums (excluding posters, which, of course, are always in color).

As a whole, the "history happened in black and white" statement is a bit sardonic. We know people see in color, and therefore, the past happened in color. We mock ourselves; we know better, but most of the pictures and films we see the past through are black and white. Because of this introduction, we never think of the past in color--it's like Dorothy in Oz. If the past were in color, it would be some fantastical world, not the one we live in.

Let me illustrate. At the beginning of my film class, we were discussing color vs. black and white in film. We stated that black and white movies are assumed to be old. Our professor asked why, as all professors are wont to do. One of the girls, a history major, said because the past happened in black and white, as if it were the most obvious statement in the world. Again he asked why, but not to make us question our preconceptions but because we all laughed and he didn't get the joke, even after we explained it.

And back to the regularly scheduled program.

Last week was OK. Not much happened. Wednesday we had the best field trip of the semester. We went to the Eisenhower Institute and spoke with Susan Eisenhower. BEST FIELD TRIP. She was inspirational--more than really any of our other speakers. She told some great stories about England, Soviet Russia (and non-Soviet Russia), and the US. When she spoke about Ike, she didn't say "my grandfather" but instead "Eisenhower," "the President," or "President/General Eisenhower." She spoke about Ike's work on Civil Rights and his conceptions about compromise. My favorite part was Eisenhower's job description as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, one sentence (shorter than his job title): Invade mainland Europe, and beat the Nazis.

Friday was a movie night and Sunday was a lazy day. Saturday I hung out with my friend Megan, and her sister and mom (in town during spring break). We walked part of the Mall and went to the Holocaust Museum. In the evening we walked the Mall and took pictures (which I will try to get and post).

I have 18 days of work left (yay being able to sleep in!) and 4 weeks from Friday is my last day. This semester is going way faster than I thought it would!