(no subject)
My ratings for Historical Re-enactment, by period.
Ancient Greek
This seems to be one of the oldest periods re-enacted. Unfortunately, the period includes a well known "elite" group and re-enactors flock to those. During the classical period, there were about 1000 Greek city-states, but does anybody want to be a hoplite from Magara, Corinth or Potidaea? Oh no... they all want to strut around with a red cloak and a shield with Λ on it. Possibly they occasionally yell "Tonight, we dine in hell", or have elevenses in purgatory or something.
In the plus side, the Mediterranean diet is healthy, assuming they authentically reenact that, and Linothorax armour doesn't need to be polished. Though it's likely one-hundred percent inauthentic as nobody knows how they were actually made. If doing ancient-Greek involves playing kottabos, I might be interested in giving it a go.
Rating C+ (assuming they draw the line at reenacting the pederasty).
Roman
This likely appeals to people who generally like right-angles and straight lines and have a touch of the anal-retentive. Doubtless there is a Marius's Mule lurking somewhere in the heart of every actuary. On the plus side, you get to play with big catapults, on the minus, a lorica segmentata is a lot of metal to keep polished. Also, I'd imagine there's a lot of ditch digging.
Rating B-
English Civil War
The grand-daddy of them all. The period that started all this re-enactment stuff. Generally, it seems to be all about bearded, middle-aged men who hit each other with sticks throughout a summer, weekend afternoon, then head off as fast as possible, to get bladdered at the nearest pub with a decent reputation for real-ale. Thus, it's much like Morris Dancing, but with matchlock muskets instead of bells. Fantastic.
Rating A+
18th Century
This period has the advantage that most people knows nothing about it. People know the American Revolution happened, but know none of the details. The War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War are blanks. As long as you've got some kind of red jacket, a tricorn hat and aren't wearing a Casio, nobody will call you out for getting things wrong. Oddly, revolutionary-period British is popular amongst Americans. Nobody does French, perhaps the all-white Ancien Régime uniforms are tough to launder.
An advantage shared with Napoleonic is that you can legally get a proper, working flintlock musket as British law confuses them with shotguns. In the end, the difference between the two is whether you prefer tricorns to tall shackos. Although I will allow that Lilliburlero is a pretty ripping tune and so adds to the overall rating.
Rating B+
Napoleonic
This shares with Ancient Greek the problem of an easily-recognised, elite group everybody wants to be in, having seen it on TV. Thus re-enactors give one the impression the 95th Rifles were about... 95% of the army fighting Napoleon.
Rating C-
American Civil War
The uniforms and equipment are freakishly authentic. The people wearing them, however, are a decidedly inauthentic 6 inches too tall, 40 pounds too heavy and 20 years too old.
Rating D+
World War II
British World War II has, to me, an air of tweedy, good-natured, amateurism. I guess this is because of too much Dad's Army exposure. Although British World War 2 helmets do look slightly ridiculous.
But then we have the people pretending to be on the other side. Well, I'm not saying that if somebody spends their weekends pretending to be in the SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich, it therefore follows they must have... non-mainstream political opinions. And possibly the Horst-Wessel-Lied as their phone ring-tone. But it does make you think. And slowly back-away several steps, from them.
Rating C+ or E-, depending on nationality.
Modern
This dumfounds me; they've taken away the "Historic" bit. Why do this? If you actually join up, you get the uniforms free, a rifle that really shoots, you get paid, you get deserved respect and, unlike this trio, you avoid looking like a complete arsehole, in a strangely green and grassy part of "Iraq". Though you do get shot at which is possibly the deterrent.
Rating E-
Crossposted from Dreamwidth.
http://katsmeat.dreamwidth.org/203800.html#comments
Ancient Greek
This seems to be one of the oldest periods re-enacted. Unfortunately, the period includes a well known "elite" group and re-enactors flock to those. During the classical period, there were about 1000 Greek city-states, but does anybody want to be a hoplite from Magara, Corinth or Potidaea? Oh no... they all want to strut around with a red cloak and a shield with Λ on it. Possibly they occasionally yell "Tonight, we dine in hell", or have elevenses in purgatory or something.
In the plus side, the Mediterranean diet is healthy, assuming they authentically reenact that, and Linothorax armour doesn't need to be polished. Though it's likely one-hundred percent inauthentic as nobody knows how they were actually made. If doing ancient-Greek involves playing kottabos, I might be interested in giving it a go.
Rating C+ (assuming they draw the line at reenacting the pederasty).
Roman
This likely appeals to people who generally like right-angles and straight lines and have a touch of the anal-retentive. Doubtless there is a Marius's Mule lurking somewhere in the heart of every actuary. On the plus side, you get to play with big catapults, on the minus, a lorica segmentata is a lot of metal to keep polished. Also, I'd imagine there's a lot of ditch digging.
Rating B-
English Civil War
The grand-daddy of them all. The period that started all this re-enactment stuff. Generally, it seems to be all about bearded, middle-aged men who hit each other with sticks throughout a summer, weekend afternoon, then head off as fast as possible, to get bladdered at the nearest pub with a decent reputation for real-ale. Thus, it's much like Morris Dancing, but with matchlock muskets instead of bells. Fantastic.
Rating A+
18th Century
This period has the advantage that most people knows nothing about it. People know the American Revolution happened, but know none of the details. The War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War are blanks. As long as you've got some kind of red jacket, a tricorn hat and aren't wearing a Casio, nobody will call you out for getting things wrong. Oddly, revolutionary-period British is popular amongst Americans. Nobody does French, perhaps the all-white Ancien Régime uniforms are tough to launder.
An advantage shared with Napoleonic is that you can legally get a proper, working flintlock musket as British law confuses them with shotguns. In the end, the difference between the two is whether you prefer tricorns to tall shackos. Although I will allow that Lilliburlero is a pretty ripping tune and so adds to the overall rating.
Rating B+
Napoleonic
This shares with Ancient Greek the problem of an easily-recognised, elite group everybody wants to be in, having seen it on TV. Thus re-enactors give one the impression the 95th Rifles were about... 95% of the army fighting Napoleon.
Rating C-
American Civil War
The uniforms and equipment are freakishly authentic. The people wearing them, however, are a decidedly inauthentic 6 inches too tall, 40 pounds too heavy and 20 years too old.
Rating D+
World War II
British World War II has, to me, an air of tweedy, good-natured, amateurism. I guess this is because of too much Dad's Army exposure. Although British World War 2 helmets do look slightly ridiculous.
But then we have the people pretending to be on the other side. Well, I'm not saying that if somebody spends their weekends pretending to be in the SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich, it therefore follows they must have... non-mainstream political opinions. And possibly the Horst-Wessel-Lied as their phone ring-tone. But it does make you think. And slowly back-away several steps, from them.
Rating C+ or E-, depending on nationality.
Modern
This dumfounds me; they've taken away the "Historic" bit. Why do this? If you actually join up, you get the uniforms free, a rifle that really shoots, you get paid, you get deserved respect and, unlike this trio, you avoid looking like a complete arsehole, in a strangely green and grassy part of "Iraq". Though you do get shot at which is possibly the deterrent.
Rating E-
Crossposted from Dreamwidth.
http://katsmeat.dreamwidth.org/203800.html#comments