Reel Vs Real conducted by The History Society

The History Society conducted its second online event called Reel vs. Real between 24th April, 2020 and 5th May, 2020.

Participants were challenged to write an essay about a movie that, in their opinion, either accurately or inaccurately depicted a historical event/period/figure. They had to specifically address how and why the movie succeeded or failed according to them.

The event saw great response from the students and garnered numerous entries. Submissions covered a range of movies, from Manikarnika to Manto, Pather Panchali to Padmavat, Schindler’s List to King’s Speech, and many more.

Ultimately, the judges picked their top five submissions:

1. Banan Irfan (1st Yr, His. Hons)
2. Shivangi Bose (1st Yr, His. Hons)
3. Sharmistha Dey (3rd Yr, Eng Hons)
4. Atreyee Chaudhuri (1st Yr, His. Hons)
5. Iesha Tandon (2nd Yr, Eco Hons)

The event was majorly successful and in order to further the enriching experience, it was followed up by an online live discussion on the same topic on 27th May, 2020.

The participants discussed historical themes in films and where they fell short or succeeded, with examples like Little Women, Sound of Music, etc. It was a great exchange of ideas, and the participants shed light on different aspects of historical films and what characterised a movie as such. The entire event was a successful effort with numerous participants in both phases.