History is NOT made every day. #HistoryChannel #History #History Channel #Crimea

What happened to the History Channel?

USED TO SHOW ACTUAL HISTORY

A few years ago, it used to be one of my favourite channels. Don't get me wrong, I love all the movies and the sport on the bouquet of Satellite television channels we receive. But I also enjoyed being able to tune into and watch all manner of informative and entertaining shows about significant people and events of the past.

INVASION OF THE BEARDED HILLBILLIES

For the past few years, the History Channel has been dominated by an assortment of bearded hillbillies who are involved in ice road trucking, alligator hunting, tree felling, fishing in the Arctic, and a variety of related activities. In truth, it seems that any men who don't own a tool box which they regularly open and make use of, or who don't sport at least a goatee or moustache stand little or no chance of being featured.

This means that the Obama's, the Clinton's and the Cameron's of this World shouldn't expect to feature prominently or at all once they slip into retirement.

SHOWS NOW ON ARE BORING & NOT HISTORICAL

 Virtually all the shows now featured on the History Channel are not only exceptionally boring, but they have little or nothing to do with History.

Of course, I recognise that tastes differ. That these programmes are aired suggests that there must be some demand for them. Speaking for myself, I have no interest in anything involving tools or manual labour. If the truth be told, I would have been the author of "101 Ways NOT To Do It Yourself", but for the fact that I could not find anyone to write it for me.

 

TWO LEFT HANDS

Early on my father noted that it is just as well that I had an aptitude for academic study, because as far as doing anything practical was concerned, I was blessed with two left hands.

I also don't mean to suggest that I am in any way better than any of the current incumbents on the channel. I realise that it takes all sorts to make a world. If my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and a bearded man with a tool box turns up, I will not only be delighted to see him, but I will look upon him as some sort of Saviour.

I respect anyone who can work with their hands, or who can hunt, kill and put food on the table. The world probably needs more of them and fewer trial lawyers like myself. That said, I strongly prefer to enjoy the fruits of the labours of mechanics, artisans or hunters without having to watch how they did it. By the same token, I am sure many of them would prefer not to have to watch me prepare for trial.

HISTORY IS NOT MADE EVERY DAY

 I suspect that I am one of many who has noticed the change in programming on the channel and have wondered about what those in charge were thinking when they substituted the historical documentaries with programmes which aren't remotely historical in content.

And nobody is fooled by the Channel’s new catch phrase:

"HISTORY. MADE EVERY DAY."

The truth is History is not made every day. History is defined by significant events and by the role people, be they significant or ordinary, be they good or bad, have played in those events.

 History is defined by events such as: the battle of Trafalgar, Kennedy’s “Ein Berliner” speech, almost anything Churchill did, Mandela’s release, Mandela becoming president, Germany’s invasion of Poland, the long march of Moa Tse Tung, etc etc.

History is not about the ordinary or the routine. To be regarded as historical, a person or event must be extraordinary, significant, unique and memorable enough to be distinguished from the routine, the mundane and the ordinary.

A CATCH PHRASE CAN'T ELEVATE REALITY TELEVISION TO THE STATUS OF HISTORICAL EVENTS

When a trucker in northern Canada causes his truck to sink on an ice road, or manages to avoid sinking it, that is not history. That is his daily life. It may be boring to me, and interesting to some others. A catch phrase isn't enough to elevate what is nothing more than reality television depicting repetitive, mundane and ordinary events into a programme about anything vaguely historical.

There is not a single programme on the history channel which I now care to watch. Reality television is a curse visited upon television. It is sad that realty TV has now displaced the informative programmes which once featured on the History channel.

It is so that many of the older programmes once featured on the History channel were also constantly repeated and in need of renewal. I loved the Word War 2 documentaries, but would sympathise with those who may have believed that these were too often repeated and in dire need of substitution.

Surely, then, there are many other historical events of genuine interest which could be covered on this channel. What about programmes about the history of General Franco and the Spanish civil war?  I know very little about this war and about Franco’s rule, and would love to learn about it. There are many other genuine historical events or periods which could be featured, instead of forcing us to watch reality shows which masquerade as history programs.

OPIUM FOR THE MASSES??

If there is demand for the "bearded hillbillies" and their tool boxes, so be it.

But that someone should deem it fit to put them on the History Channel in place of actual historical content suggests either that those in charge think that most television watchers have become "DUMBED DOWN" or worse, someone believes that the only way to combat the free flow of information in the modern world is to attempt to actively contribute to the dumbing down of the population.

Who was it that said television was OPIUM for the Masses? What would they have said about reality television, I wonder??

WHY IS HISTORY IMPORTANT? CRIMEA

There are many who think History is boring and who wonder why anyone would be interested in studying it or knowing anything about it.

Simply put, without History, you cannot understand why things are the way they are (the past), you cannot analyse the present, and most significantly of all, you won't be able to make educated guesses about the future.

Earlier this year, when the pro-western Ukranian protestors caused the pro-Russian government in Kiev to fall, I told a friend that, as soon as the Russians were finished hosting the Winter Olympics, their troops would be on the move.

My friend laughed and said that the Cold War was over.

But I knew something he did not. For centuries, the Russians have had a desire for their navy to have a warm water port, i.e. a port that does not freeze in a cold winter. This desire has transcended political ideology. The Russians had access to such a Port in Crimea.

I knew that when the pro-Russian government in Kiev fell, Russians would worry about Ukraine possibly joining NATO. Russians would fear the loss of their warm water Port in addition to having another NATO ally in what it has long regarded as its exclusive area of influence.

I considered a Russian invasion of some sort to be inevitable. I'm surprised that this came as surprise to so many.

Perhaps the Americans might not have been so caught off guard by Putin if they lived in a world with more History and less Reality television. History is not just about the past.


Inspirational new name for History Channel



Gerhard Brits 94, in a moment of sheer Genius, suggests the History Channel should really be renamed Hillbilly 90210.




+History Channel

#HistoryChannel