I normally don’t comment on such articles because they tend to be the equivalent of picking low hanging fruit but this one needed a rebuttal. The author is completely clueless to not only her own history but of the history being taught in the American education system. Firstly the fact that the author had no knowledge that the school district she attended was segregated is a testament to her own failings. Any person who truly loves history especially local history would know these things. The fact that your school was white-only for a period of time should not have to be spoon fed to you. This is the overarching message of the author though: spoon feeding history.
Its true that history often omits people and events because the classes in school are only able to cover certain amounts of material effectively.This is why students typically learn local history, national history, along with courses on American government. The idea that black or “poc” individuals are being left out on purpose for nefarious reasons is preposterous. Take the women in this movie for example. They provide an interesting and but largely behind the scenes part of the history of the space program. In schools they will not likely be talked about unless there’s being a concerted effort to include black stories just for the sake of including black stories. Did you learn any of the people in the programs name during history classes besides John Glenn? I would bet you didn’t.
The author’s main problem is that she does not love history for histories sake but instead simply wants the history she prefers spoon fed to her and others through the education system. This does not take into account the intense pressure to cover the basic materials pertinent for individuals who seek higher education in the US. Furthermore it can’t be expected that the school courses will cover all aspects that you desire. I for example love to study particular periods that are hardly covered especially in American history classes such as the Crusades, Ancient Chinese dynasties, Ancient Rome, etc.
Finally I feel the author is simply being disingenuous and seeing only from her narrow perspective. She claims that her school did not mention such icons like Nat Turner and Fredrick Douglass which is absurd unless she paid zero attention during her elementary history classes which were largely geared toward the Virginia SOL test. Nat Turner’s rebellion took place in Virginia so of course its mentioned in the curriculum and as someone who has taken the courses myself I can attest to his rebellion being mentioned.
What the author fails to realize is that not everyone will get their name in the history books, even those deserving. Not everyone can be mentioned because there’s simply not enough time. However, you are more than welcome to indulge in your fascination of the obscure historical happenings at your leisure like every other lover of history does.
In short the answer is no. The Young Pope is a miniseries set in modern times in Vatican City. A young American named Belardo is entrusted post-conclave with the new leadership of the Catholic Church. The ensuing episodes display his reign as the youngest and first American Pope. So why is the show poor you might be wondering? For starters the story and writing is quite poor. The motivations of the various players within the Vatican are made pretty clear from the start rather than slowly revealed over time. Furthermore those motivations are not very strong nor provide any serious conflict between the various characters.
The Pope rather than coming across as the complex character torn between the desire to be loved and the desire to be self reliant comes across as simply a petulant child with parent issues due to abandonment. He seems hellbent on destroying the foundations of the Church while placing himself in a place of absolute control. Belardo seems content with going on and on about some conceived plan but having witnessed half of the first season thus far I have yet to understand any semblance of a plan being formed. He appears to like the idea of being mysterious though which he presumes will give him more control and cement his authority over the Church. The show could be summed up in the following dialogue breakdown of essentially various Cardinals stating particular tasks that need to be attended to with Belardo declaring that it will be taken care of later.
I was pretty excited for the prospect of the show. The camera work and dialogue are actually pretty well written. The fact that it takes place in Vatican City which brings back my own memories of my time living in Rome around the corner from the Basilica is a wonderful treat. But questions and dogmatic discourse are essentially not even being covered which is deeply disappointing and in my opinion its a missed opportunity. Would people really rather see a random naked woman praying in her room than address the questions of faith, salvation, and Catholicism today? I find that hard to believe.
The final nail in the coffin for me was the lack of a decent story. The dynamics of the main characters and behavior of Belardo could easily be substituted into another setting and the show renamed The Young CEO or something.
Acerbity [əˈsɜːbɪtɪ] 