[MR] Authenticity - the view from other organizations

[Betty Eyer]

I have done re-enactment in other venues and have
rubbed shoulders over the years with people who are
very serious about living history and re-enactment,
including professionals and competing amateurs. What
follows is my opinion.  

All re-enactment including the SCA is to some extent
game and an approximation designed to teach history. 
Civil War re-enactors are just playing a different
game.  I think that game is weird (who wants to
deliberately be uncomfortable and bored in order to
re-enact a battle that you know you are going to
lose???).  And they think that I am inaccurate.  Ok,
who cares?

No one, but no one is doing 100% accurate, because
100% accuracy 1) cannot be defined - historians live
for argument and 2) some of the materials needed do
not exist or are absurdly costly in either time or
materials.  So everyone, but everyone makes
accomodations.  Williamsburg does it, Shrewesbury does
it, everybody does it.  They guess, they approximate,
they make reasonable substitutions to meet their
goals.

For instance, the "Robert the Bruce Army", a
re-enactment group out of Williamsburg, have camped
right next to me at Celtic Festival for years running.
 They hold the SCA in the utmost contempt.  Most of
them were at one time members of the SCA, which might
explain that.  And yet, they were using bamboo for
"staves" to demonstrate Scottish battle techniques.
Bamboo. Why? Because it was cheap and labor free and
easy to get.  They tried carving their own staves, but
they break and get lost and they were having trouble
retaining enough members to stage regular demos if
they required hand carved oaken staves.  So they
accomodated.  And the modern audience watches them
marching around using bamboo and no one says anything
about the bamboo. 

Getting and keeping members is a big problem for them.
 They estimated that it takes 18 months to two years
for the average commited newby to get together an
acceptable kit and 3 years to look really good.  And
you are not allowed to be in demos until you have
achieved "acceptable" level as defined by the demo
team captains.  They seemed dismayed that people don't
want to come to meetings for two years before they are
allowed to have any fun.  

Many of the people in these re-enactment groups had
fun in the SCA while developing an understanding of
what they were interested in and then developing their
"kit".  By then, they had friends and family in the
SCA and were not interested in quiting.  So many of
the people doing "serious" re-enactment are also at
big kingdom events and wars so that they can see their
friends and let their hair down a bit.  

Another point - we all know of or have experienced
personally some "authenticity police" who are rude to
newcomers and scare them away.  What if that type of
behavior were encouraged by the organization? What if
it were the most common point of conversations? You
think WE have politics? Some of these re-enactment
groups have incredible infighting over types of
buttons that can be worn.   

Folks, it is not always greener on the other side of
the fence.  I choose to be tolerant of others, visit
with my old and dear friends and indulge in
authenticity as my interest and energy allows, right
here in the SCA with its weird set of rules.  At some
events, I just want to wear a tunic, pirate pants and
walmart boots and sit in a lawn chair in camp and some
days I want to teach a University Class in my best
garb.  And I am glad that the SCA lets me do both.  

=====
Magdalena de Hazebrouck-Purpure, a fess fusilly argent between three torches or. 
"There are two types of music.  The Blues and Zippity Doo Dah." Townes Van Zandt

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears
http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/