Sheer horror... A Trooper helmet collection...

[Matthew Amt]

This is to Matt who completely misunderstood the tone of my post.

My apologies if I did, but as folks around here know, the Authenticity Button really lights me up.

I am not going to belabor the issue further but in the world we live in its not quality its quantity. Do you really think Matt, that ten Romans in proper gear is more impressive than just 50 Romans no matter what they are wearing.

YES. I teach to people who want to learn. Those who simply want "awsome" are free to sit in front of the boob tube watching and eating junk. Along the way, I also manage to impress a few folks who didn't know what to expect. That's what I do.

Yes, to you and me, the proper Romans are desirable but to people at an event its the other way around. Small groups that have an officer and three legionaries are ridiculous no matter how excellent their kit is when in public.

These days my group is lucky to turn out 3 legionaries, sometimes with an optio or signifer. And no spectator has ever call us ridiculous. They are generally very impressed and gratified to see us.

So don't tell me that the norm look for quality, they don't. People want a good show.

Well, if the "norm" doesn't want quality, tough. They'll just have to put up with a good show anyway.

And No I am not saying that people should just stay ignorant and believe Hollywood. All I am saying is that we represent a small closed minority and that we will not really change the majority of what people will see since WE ARE NOT IN THE MOVIES or on the HISTORY CHANNEL. Even on the HC, things are really screwed up but who are people going to believe.

Actually, the only person I can remember who was convinced that Hollywood was more accurate than reenactors was our own Woadwarrior! We just couldn't convince him that it was all makeup and movie magic.

I also think that generally many people at an event come for purposes of curiosity not because they are interested in history. Again, they come to look at a show. Do you really think that telling them "Hey the real neckguard is round while the crappy one is like a lobster tail" is going to change that persons general perception. I think Matt, that you have TOO much faith in people.

And I think you haven't been to enough reenactments! Events like Marching Through Time and Roman Days attract ONLY people who are interested in history! They come to see US and to learn from us, and yes, sometimes they are interested in stupid little details. Heck, sometimes they have quite a bit of detailed knowledge and can hold some startlingly technical discussions with us.

I do agree that it is our duty as people who like history to make sure that what WE do is the best we can. But believe me it goes under appreciated and barely noticed IMHO.

I'm not trying to compete with Hollywood. I'm just trying to do what I like to do, the way I want to do it. And I DO think that it is worthwhile, and that it makes a difference. Ask the hundreds of school kids I've done demos for, for starters.

You really want to talk about inaccuracies, Matt? How about reenactors here in the US that look like they belong on a pro American football team. Should they go home too? I am sure that there were many 6'0 tall if not taller soldiers all weighing in at 250lbs and higher....

Don't even start that with me, you know me better than that! It's the silly argument of "Well, if you can't be PERFECT then why bother, and why complain about other little things that no one notices?" Completely specious, nothing more than a smokescreen. My Legio XX website states my position quite clearly.

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/bylaws.html
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/hndbk.html

Also, I forgot to mention in my other post that the Roman army was not really homogenous. Does anyone actually think that ALL the helmets were the same or that the swords were all the same type. These things we are only making an assumption because as far as I know, there are no sources that say what everyone exactly looked like at X, Y, Z time.

Sorry? I might have missed something, but no one here on RAT has ever tried to claim strict uniformity, that I know of. And we DO have at least a good working idea of what they looked like in most eras from artwork and archeology. My point was that if that Italian show group allowed some diversity, they could save some money.

For the rest of the discussion, sure I know what reenactors of most any era looked like when their part of the hobby got started. So what? Overall we've come a long way since then, and that just proves that we are making progress. People just getting started now have a HUGE advantage, and resources that we never dreamed of 20 years ago. Yeah, it takes some caution and a little more research than just a Google search. You may think we can't do anything about Italy's cultural obsession with show groups, but WE ALREADY HAVE. Look at Luca's group and the other good ones--they learned from US!

So don't expect me to accept any thought of rolling over to "what the public wants", because I don't think that's true, and I know that we are making a difference.

In other words, my side is winning, slowly but surely, outnumbered as we may be. And we are not giving up.

Valete,

Matthew