There comes a time in a new medium when it begins to show its power, when it shows that it can do something that no other medium can do. The Civil War photographs of Matthew Brady bring a sense of reality to that war that no earlier war has. Earlier wars are captured in words and in paintings, filtered through the sensibilities of the writers and artists. Brady's photos give us a heightened sensibility of reality. The Viet Nam War was shown to the United States on television at home and brought an immediacy to it that, in retrospect, is a defining moment of television.
Although films showed wars earlier -- there are several films of the Spanish-American War -- those films were restagings of actual battles, all "fought" in New Jersey. This particular film, showing the actual funeral cortege of President McKinlay, is shocking in its immediacy. McKinlay's assassination was a shock, but there had been other assassination, from Caesar to Lincoln. This solemn film, filled with fidgeting people and restive horses, must have brought it home to its audiences that all of this was real in a way that nothing had been before.
Although films showed wars earlier -- there are several films of the Spanish-American War -- those films were restagings of actual battles, all "fought" in New Jersey. This particular film, showing the actual funeral cortege of President McKinlay, is shocking in its immediacy. McKinlay's assassination was a shock, but there had been other assassination, from Caesar to Lincoln. This solemn film, filled with fidgeting people and restive horses, must have brought it home to its audiences that all of this was real in a way that nothing had been before.
