Tag Archives: Film

Ronald Ray Gun? ‘Star Wars’ and Reagan’s U.S. Presidency in historical perspective

Posted on February 4, 2024 by historyatkingston

Did American Republican President Ronald Reagan allow his deep love of movies to shape his perceptions of domestic and world politics? During his time in the White House, Reagan often peppered his speeches with references to the ‘Rambo’ and ‘Dirty … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, History of war, Media history, Public History, Research, Teaching, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Spy Who Lied: Another look at the Kim Philby story

Posted on January 28, 2024 by historyatkingston

A recent television drama series about the life of Kim Philby, the British Intelligence officer who engaged in treachery, attracted good reviews and enthusiastic viewers when it was screened, but contained few surprises for historians of the secret state. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British history, European History, Historiography, Public History, Research, Russian History, Secret State, The National Archives, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lawrence of Arabia in Surbiton and the first ‘multi-media’ show

Posted on May 29, 2023 by historyatkingston

Many people with an interest in British imperial history are familiar with the life and wartime career of T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935), mainly through the famous epic feature film Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The smash-hit and critically acclaimed movie starred the late … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, British Empire, British history, History of war, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Middle East, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ronald Ray Gun? ‘Star Wars’ and the U.S. Presidency in historical perspective

Posted on September 14, 2021 by historyatkingston

Did American Republican President Ronald Reagan allow his deep love of movies to shape his perceptions of domestic and world politics? During his time in the White House, Reagan often peppered his speeches with references to the ‘Rambo’ and ‘Dirty … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, History of war, Media history, Public History, Research, Teaching, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Women versus Women: The anti-Suffragists in South-West London

Posted on March 3, 2021 by historyatkingston

As part of Women’s History Month, I thought I would share again some research I conducted in 2014-2015 on a still relatively under-researched aspect of women’s history, the anti-Suffrage groups that had emerged in Edwardian Britain. Back in 2015, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British Empire, British history, Gender History, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Richmond history, Surrey, Uncategorized, Women's history | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lawrence of Arabia in Surbiton and the first ‘multi-media’ show

Posted on February 14, 2021 by historyatkingston

Many people with an interest in British imperial history are familiar with the life and wartime career of T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935), mainly through the famous epic feature film Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The smash-hit and critically acclaimed movie starred the late … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, British Empire, British history, History of war, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rewriting history: Russia’s invention of an alternative Chernobyl story

Posted on August 4, 2020 by historyatkingston

It was a real pleasure to see the TV drama Chernobyl pick up a number of BAFTA 2020 TV awards last Friday, including one for Jared Harris, one of the lead actors in the series. The drama was arguably one … Continue reading →

Posted in Conspiracy theory, European History, History skills, London history, Media history, Public History, Russian History, Teaching, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spies and Lies: Another look at the Kim Philby story

Posted on July 15, 2020 by historyatkingston

The news that a major new television drama will be produced about the life of Kim Philby, the British Intelligence officer who engaged in treachery, will come as no surprise to historians of the secret state. The new production, A … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British history, European History, Public History, Research, Russian History, Secret State, The National Archives, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Subverting the Subversives: Did MI5 infiltrate the British entertainment industry?

Posted on May 20, 2020 by historyatkingston

In 2018 some revealing new claims were put forward that the British domestic Security Service, MI5, was not just involved with monitoring and collecting intelligence on political movements and individuals deemed as potential threats to the state in the post-war … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British history, Gender History, History skills, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Secret State, The National Archives, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment