Word of mouth
May. 3rd, 2014 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swehSo I just rewatched "Hudson Hawk". This has an actress in it called "Sandra Bernhard". Which brought to mind a saying of my mother's; "Who do you think you are; Sarah Bernhardt?" (No relation; just a similarity in names).
Now Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress from the 1890s through to the early 1920s. It's likely that my mum's mum (my grandmother) had seen her in the cinema. It's not likely that she was relevant in my mother's lifetime (born 1942).
So here we have a phrase that I know well that's been handed down via 2 generations.
If we only went by word out mouth then I'd really have no idea who or what she was. Sure, from context "actress" would be a reasonable guess. But it'd be a guess; I'd have no real data.
It's no wonder that pre-writing mankind's history is blurred; "oral history" is extremely unreliable!
If the internet has one saving grace, it's that looking up this information is simple, free and takes seconds. A quick "google", a read of the wikipedia page, a couple of other references... and you know more than many other people who haven't spent those few minutes. Prior to the internet you need to buy a book (or get it from the library). Which may have given you more depth of knowledge... but was also a barrier to entry. I'd never have got a book on Bernhardt on a whim; but wikipedia? No probs!
Now Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress from the 1890s through to the early 1920s. It's likely that my mum's mum (my grandmother) had seen her in the cinema. It's not likely that she was relevant in my mother's lifetime (born 1942).
So here we have a phrase that I know well that's been handed down via 2 generations.
If we only went by word out mouth then I'd really have no idea who or what she was. Sure, from context "actress" would be a reasonable guess. But it'd be a guess; I'd have no real data.
It's no wonder that pre-writing mankind's history is blurred; "oral history" is extremely unreliable!
If the internet has one saving grace, it's that looking up this information is simple, free and takes seconds. A quick "google", a read of the wikipedia page, a couple of other references... and you know more than many other people who haven't spent those few minutes. Prior to the internet you need to buy a book (or get it from the library). Which may have given you more depth of knowledge... but was also a barrier to entry. I'd never have got a book on Bernhardt on a whim; but wikipedia? No probs!
