Digital history is a topic that has many definitions and everyone seems to have some version of it that they adhere to. For me, digital history is a way for those who might not adhere to the traditional historian’s approach to an argument and want to make something more involved and exciting. Instead of writing a paper and waiting months for it to be published in a journal, podcasts can be started in minutes and the first episode out a few days later; digital exhibitions are an easy way for those who might not be able to travel to see works on display at museums; maps and story graphs offer an easy follow along for viewers when covering complex topics.
For my project, I decided to make an online digital exhibition that complimented another research project that I have been working on. The paper, titled “Leave it to Caesar: Gender, Antiquity, and Cold War Cinema” explores how the specific portrayal of women in Roman historical films of the 1950s and 1960s was used to push anti-Communist propaganda and recreate the ideal woman for American culture. While the paper focuses on these specifics, I wanted the digital project to be a branched-out version of the paper and instead focus on the use of religion in the film Quo Vadis and how that was used as another form of propaganda.
The exhibition takes viewers through a basic understanding of what propaganda means, some examples, and the cultural consequences of propaganda. The next page is where the fun begins: a summary of Quo Vadis is explained for those who might not have seen the movie, followed by some key characters and examples of how religion is shown in the movie. Religion is often tied to the portrayal of a specific character – for instance, Ursus who is physically strong and overall looks like a Roman, though does not take part in traditional Roman activities because of his Christian faith. During the Red Scare in the United States in the 1950s people often equated being pious with being American, which would automatically take any suspicion off of an individual. Studies have shown that religious organization affiliations have increased dramatically during this time and those can be linked to historical or biblical film. For Americans, the patriotic duty was to believe in a higher being.
Instead of citing my sources like a traditional paper would, I thought it best to incorporate a bibliography page at the end of the exhibit for those who might want to consult. Additionally, because this is in tandem with the paper mentioned above, viewers are more than welcome to look through that paper for a more meticulously cited argument.
The reason I wanted to make a digital exhibition instead of another medium was because I felt that this would showcase the research as well as the images better than anything else. Omeka is a program that I have used before in previous classes, so some of my decision was based on familiarity with the medium. I was toying around with the idea of a podcast because that is also something I have done before, though I felt that because there would be no visuals it would not be the most viable option. Overall, I really enjoyed the process of creating an exhibit again and found it rather fun.
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