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Fort Negley

05 May 2005

Huh, somehow I missed this, but they re-opened Fort Negley to the public last year. They even got a troupe (ha!) of civil war re-enacters to come out. That’s pretty cool, I’ll have to go check it out one of these days, seeing as how it’s right down the road from me. One side of my personality that gets little attention or expression is that I am enamored with local history. The result is that I really like local history, but I know nothing about it.

As an aside here: War re-enactments are one thing I just really do not get at all. I find it incredibly creepy. Here we have war, arguably the most vile plague ever foisted on mankind, and then we’ve got these people willingly investing time and money to re-enact it. I mean, don’t we have enough actual, real war still going on in the world that they can’t just, like, pick one and take a tour? Do we really need to fake it? It’s not like it’s a long-vanished artifact. Maybe some day when we’ve finally vanquished the nuisance of war, we can hold these solemn re-enactments and then followup with emotional speeches about how we must NEVER FORGET. But until then, it’s just a little damn weird, if you ask me.

And oddly, the civil war seems to be the most popular choice, despite being one of the least glorious and most tragic wars I can think of in our nation’s history.

I have never seen a war re-enactment in person, but I imagine it must impose a striking sense of surreality watching men willingly re-enact such mind-bogglingly horrific events. Maybe in some twisted way it highlights that senselessness, and that’s the point – to make you realize the folly of it all.

On the other hand, maybe it’s all just a bunch of hyper-violent macho cosplay.

Comments

Blake — May 05, 2005 at 13:04 · reply

I guess that means no more sneaking back there to see it anymore (Ft. Negley).

As to the reenactments…I think it’s more of a remembrance. You know…those who forget history are destined to repeat it.

cwage — May 05, 2005 at 15:28 · reply

See, I don’t really get that.. I think remembrance and memorial is important. I also think remembering the folly of history is important. I just don’t make the connection from that to dressing up and re-enacting battles.

I mean, you know, when someone gets murdered, you hold a funeral and a wake in their honor. You share memories and mourn the tragedy of it all.

You don’t dress up and re-enact the murder scene.

Blake — May 05, 2005 at 17:00 · reply

Unless you’re America’s Most Wanted. :P

CW — May 07, 2005 at 12:47 · reply

I am not a reenactor, however, the college I attend has many and I often ask them “why?”.

Most say because they enjoy reenacting. For most of them, reinacting is a hoby that stems from the study of American history. It also allows them to connect to a time that is percieved to be a time of honor and (Americanized) chivalry. It also connects to the roots of the south, much in the way that other cultures connect to their pasts (i.e. the Japanese and samurai, the English and knights).

I will admit though that some do it to connect to a period when the white male was the undisputed athority in the nothern hemisphere.

Cosplayers “…are one thing I just really do not get at all.”

A reenactor is an “actor”. They go and present a “play”. Some have lines, settings, backstories, “stage” direction. Cosplaying seems to be the oddity.

Dressing as a fantasy character and taking on the identity of this, in the majority of cases, completely fictional character. I think the cosplayer steps farther from “reality” when they attempt to become a “ninja/deamon-vessel” (naruto), a “chimera” of ape/feline DNA (catgirls), or any number of fantasy creatures created to provide an entrance into a purely fictional world.

The reenactor takes his stage as a display of American history. This display is not done for the glory of conflict, it is done is remembrance of a period in history that many would have you forget or pervert to the point of falsehood.

If you want to talk about “mind-bogglingly horrific events”, start in our schools, our sources of news, information, “entertainment”, and in our homes.

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