Today’s video is not educational so much as it is historic. This simple video shows how the man who led a nation was mourned by his people.
But stepping away from the tragedy itself, I like how this video represents a certain window of time. When thousands of years from now people are learning about how technology developed through the years, videos like this will represent a very unique time period where we have the technology, but just barely.
It makes me think of Michael Jackson’s funeral. Not to say the broadcasters didn’t handle it with as much respect as they could, but the whole thing seems heavy-handed in comparison. You’ve got the 3D news graphics, the little network watermark in the corner, the constant reminder that it was indeed being broadcast live. Once again, I’m not saying it was covered incorrectly, they were just following the standards that have been set for years. But you have to admit, Churchill’s does seem a bit more graceful.
Now this may all just be a matter of perception. People 50 years from now could be looking back at Jackson’s funeral thinking about how quaint it was. I still believe though that this era represented by the Churchill film will be known for producing some of the purest and most genuine representations of history we’ll ever see.