A Film and video, especially as broadcast on television, are probably the major influence on the public’s consciousness of history, as they see film of events of fifty or a hundred years ago, events they had previously only read about.
B Many schools produce video yearbooks. All these visual records may well prove to be invaluable sources of information for future historians.
C The use of moving images to record current events for the benefit of future historians does not even have a commonly agreed name.
D Now, with moving images, people are reminded that oral communication is not limited to words: it also includes body language, expression and tone, and is embedded in a context. Little of this is evident in a written transcript.
E A further effect of video and film is that the narrator gives up some control and has less need to give explanations, while the viewer becomes involved in the process of interpreting and understanding history.
Questions
1. a reference to some differences between oral and written communication
2. how most citizens today gain an understanding of history
3. how current student events are sometimes captured for future audiences
4. the claim that there is no official title for film-based historical work
5. reference to the active role the audience plays when watching films