Since just about everyone in the world has a device in their pocket that acts as a phone, a camera and a portal to endless knowledge, we’re living in the first time in recorded history that almost every important event will actually be recorded.For this week’s ChicagoNow writing exercise, we’re challenged to write about a never-before-seen event from history that we wish was caught on video. Since we’ve got all of human history except for the last hundred years or so to choose from, I had to give it some thought.Some things come to mind right away. I’m sure Jesus Christ’s birth was quite a show. Columbus landing in the “New World.” Paul Revere’s ride. Footage of the Constitutional Convention would be incredible, and I’d love to hear the Wright Brothers exclaim “Holy shit, it worked!” when their plane got off the ground for the first time.
Of course I have some morbid thoughts, too.Abe Lincoln’s assassination was both public and private at the same time, and even though I’m sure it would be disturbing footage, the magnitude of the event justifies viewing the footage, in my opinion.I would have loved to see Hitler freaking out in his bunker near the end of World War II when it became clear to him that his time was up. I’m certain he probably uttered the German equivalent of “Oh no!”And can you imagine the show when that meteor fell to earth and signaled the beginning of the end for the dinosaurs?The irony of video footage is that even though we often assign meaning to phrases like, “Seeing is believing,” and “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” there’s a certain segment of the population for whom video footage doesn’t necessarily equate with truth. I’m thinking of moon landing deniers, and 9/11 conspiracy theorists. We have video footage documenting those events, yet some people don’t believe what they’re seeing.What accounts for that? Perhaps those people are just employing the most genuine and authentic use of an overused word: unbelievable. If you won’t believe something even when you see it, then what do you believe?A modern day miracle of video footage is its pervasiveness. Harrison Ford crashed his plane yesterday, and this morning I’ve come across three or four different videos of him just before takeoff, then gliding through the air, then moments after he crashed.If James Dean crashed his Porsche in central California today, there’d probably be footage of the accident on YouTube before sunset.Celebrities aren’t the only people whose lives are being chronicled on video though. Go to YouTube and do a search for “Me eating pizza” and you’ll have 263,000 results. Most of the results on the first page really are just videos of different people eating pizza. One of them has 81,000 views. If I want to watch some yahoo eat pizza, I’ll go to a restaurant so I can eat some pizza while I’m doing it.But what does it mean when there are 300 hours of content uploaded to YouTube every single minute?It means that we’re sort of creating a world that will never be history. It will never be past. If I want to see what the streets of Chicago looked like in the 1890s, I might be able to find some photographs, but there won’t be any video. But 120 years from now, some dude will presumably be able to go to YouTube (or whatever technological invention replaces it, computers, and the Internet), and see video of the streets of Chicago from 2015.This may not seem like a big deal to us, but I assure you that it would be mind-boggling for the billions of people who lived before the invention of photography and the Internet.I’ve veered away from the intended purpose of the writing exercise though. Back to it. What never-before-seen event from history do I wish I could see footage of?The Aaron Burr – Alexander Hamilton duel. Burr, the vice president of the United States, shot and killed Hamilton on an early July morning in 1804. Some paintings and drawings of the duel exist, but obviously no video footage.Unless maybe I just haven’t searched deep enough on YouTube.PREVIOUS POST: Saints and Demons, or The Cubs and Every Other TeamIF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Interesting Elections from American History+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Hey, did you like reading this? If so, you should Share it on Facebook so you can bring joy to others. You can also find tons of other posts by me here. And you can like my Facebook page, Brett Baker Writes. Please.
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