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Lions Led by Donkeys?. V. By Mr RJ Huggins 2006. Q3. Lesson Objectives. Discuss the ‘reliability’ of comedy as historical evidence. Analyse two different types of comedy, a film clip and a cartoon about the Battle of the Somme and General Haig.
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Lions Led by Donkeys? V By Mr RJ Huggins 2006 Q3
Lesson Objectives • Discuss the ‘reliability’ of comedy as historical evidence. • Analyse two different types of comedy, a film clip and a cartoon about the Battle of the Somme and General Haig. • Finally, make a judgement about whether these two sources are useful to an historian.
How reliable is comedy as historical evidence? Satire and irony can be very effective criticism Ever a true word said in jest! Jokes often have hidden meanings! Comedy 2 minutes to jot down some ideas In order to get people to laugh, you have to exaggerate the truth! You can learn a lot from comedy & jokes about peoples attitudes People who can't talk openly because of censorship, often do so through jokes
Blackadder Goes Forth, 1991 What can we learn from this source about how many people viewed Haig’s tactics in 1991?
How accurate is Blackadder? Source 1: Private Williams ‘We saw the bombardment the Germans were getting. We thought it was a chance of getting our own back. Everyone was wildly enthusiastic. Far less men went on sick parade. Nobody wanted to miss the fight.’ • The following sources are extracts taken from letters written by soldiers who witnessed the shelling of the German trenches before the Battle of the Somme in July1916. • What can we learn from these sources about how accurate Lieutenant George’s view was of how soldiers viewed Haig’s before the Battle of the Somme? Source 2: Lieutenant John Parker ‘We couldn't speak, but it was an amazing show. We stood behind the lines and watched the giant fireworks in the darkness. No one could live through that.’ What evidence is therein these two sources to support Lieutenant George’s view of General Haig’s tactics?
The popular image of Haig in the Comedy series Blackadder, 1991 Positive: Lieutenant George Negative: Captain Blackadder Lieutenant George is presented throughout the TV series as an over optimistic, fool …. Looking forward to going over the top and giving the Germans ‘a darn good thrashing.’ Suggests that he expects Haig’s tactics will be successful. Blackadder expects that Haig’s tactics will be a disaster when he says: ‘You mean are we all going to get killed?’ Sees Haig as an uncaring arm chair warrior who doesn’t care about how many men he sacrifices to: ‘more his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.’
It appeared in a political magazine called Punch, Feb 1917 The ‘General’ looks like Haig it’s a caricature Does not directly mention or criticise Haig Source E Over 150 British Generals were either killed or captured during the FWW The caption ‘The absence of the General Sir’ shows that people were beginning to criticise Haig It’s a cartoon so it is designed to exaggerate the truth in order to get people to laugh.
OCR Question 3 • Study Sources D & E. • ‘These two sources are not about General Haig and the Battle of the Somme.’ • How far do you agree that these sources have no use to an historian studying Haig and the Battle of the Somme?
