Just as a side not, specific to the point of "Master and Commander:" a
friend of mine has crewed historic tall ships for years, and he rolled his
eyes at "M&C" the same way many of us do (yes, even me) when confronted with
historical inaccuracy on film.  Evidently, while he thought the material
culture was quite well done, the actual crewing and sailing of the ship left
a great deal to be desired.

I wish I had had more of a chance to find out what he saw specifically, but
he was on his way to crew a ship in Seattle.

I just chuckle to think that even when the work is put in, it may perhaps be
impossible to really get everything right.  I think it would make for a
great study in a program such as the Virginia Forum mentioned recently--to
*really* slice up a film and examine it from all these angles: raw
historical facts, material culture, costume, social structure, patterns of
speech, etc.

Cheers,

--Eric

Eric D. M. Johnson
Proprietor
The Village Factsmith Historical Research & Consulting
http://www.factsmith.com/
[log in to unmask]

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html