ABSTRACT

This article examines the way in which alternate history narratives have the potential to teach a different kind of historical consciousness. The author argues that the way in which films such as Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained rupture from widely accepted narratives of the past can create the potential for challenges to the historical imaginary, shape new ways of relating to the past, and make visible contemporary viewers’ role as historical subjects. The historical imaginary is a culturally shared popular understanding of the past created by discourses of entertainment, politics, and education, and its narratives are highly resistant to challenges from traditional methods of history. The author examines the way each of Quentin Tarantino’s alternate history films uses form, aesthetic, and plot to challenge widely accepted narratives of World War II and the history of slavery in the United States. Both films serve as examinations of the role of collaborators or passive bystanders in enabling atrocities of the past, and potentially create space for audiences to consider their own culpability in contemporary state violence. Finally, this article argues that works of alternate history have the potential to foment a new kind of historical consciousness.

摘要

本文探讨了替代性的历史叙事有可能教授另一种历史意识的方式。作者认为，像《无耻混蛋》和《Django Unchained》这样的电影的方式广泛接受的过去叙事的破裂可能会给历史想象带来挑战的可能，塑造与过去的联系的新方式，并使可见的当代观众成为历史主体。历史想象是娱乐，政治和教育话语在文化上对过去的普遍理解，并且其叙述对传统历史方法的挑战具有高度抵抗力。作者研究了昆汀·塔伦蒂诺（Quentin Tarantino）的每部候补历史片中的每一种形式，美学和情节如何挑战第二次世界大战和美国奴隶制历史的广泛叙述。这两部电影都考察了协作者或被动旁观者在促成过去暴行中的作用，并可能为观众创造空间，让他们考虑自己在当代国家暴力中应负的责任。最后，本文认为替代历史的作品有可能激发一种新型的历史意识。