Category: Special Collections

Archives on Screen: ODU MLIS students explore the impact of archives in creative media

by Jessica Ritchie, Head of Special Collections and University Archives

Loki and Mobius search for answers in the TVA archives in Season 1 of Loki

For the past several years, I have had the pleasure of developing and teaching courses about archives, special collections, and preservation management for ODU’s Master in Library and Information Science program. Last summer, I incorporated a new project in my LIBS:610 Seminar in Archives and Special Collections that was focused on the use of archives in creative media. Students were asked to write a short opinion paper describing and analyzing the use of archival materials and/or rare books in a creative media production of their choice, including feature films, television series, documentaries, podcasts, video games, novels, or other programs intended for a national audience.

I was delighted that the students seemed to really enjoy the assignment, with several of them saying it was their favorite assignment of the course. Given that this was an opinion paper and not a research paper, I was very impressed by the thoughtfulness of their work and their ability to take on some of the more challenging aspects of the texts they selected.

Scene set in the archives in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

I found it interesting that the students shared very similar takeaways from their exploration of archives in creative media, despite the genre and format they selected. Students exploring fictional storytelling reported being surprised how often primary sources featured in film and television productions. In many feature films, regardless of genre, characters engage with primary sources to learn critical information that advances the narrative, contributes to character development, or uncovers hidden truths that are central to the story. In her essay on Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Adrian Mohr notes that archival documents, while incomplete, play a fundamental role in advancing the film’s plot:

“Due to their incompletion or mutability, the archives fail the movie’s protagonist at various times. Nonetheless, they play an essential role in his investigation and uncovering a conspiracy threatening the entire galaxy.”

Adrian Mohr

In addition to advancing the narrative, students pointed out that archives are critical for developing the visual storytelling and authenticity of create media productions. Filmmakers often rely on archival video footage, photographs, and primary sources documents to develop the visual style of a film, including creating sets, costumes, props, and other visual elements that create an authentic sense of time and place. In this way, archival materials develop a sense of immersive visual storytelling that is critical to the authenticity of films, television, and even video games. Archives are also used to construct authentic concepts of identity, which are fundamental to character development and the societies in which the characters live. In his essay on the game Stardew Valley, Donovan O’Daniel explores how “memory institutions of Stardew Valley reflect the purposes and struggles of their real-world counterparts.” In order to rebuild the society of Stardew Valley, the player of the game has to rebuild the collection of books and artifacts central to establishing the town’s identity. The player is required to take on the role of a curator and approach collection development from both a nostalgic and forward-focused viewpoint.

Players of the game Stardew Valley have to help the new curator rebuild the stolen collections of their towns’ memory institutions.

In documentary films and podcasts, students noted that archival materials often play a critical evidentiary role by reinforcing the authenticity of the story. In addition to visually or auditorily telling a story, archival materials are sometimes utilized by documentary filmmakers to credibly challenge an accepted narrative of an event, person, or entity. They are also critical resources for interrogating and contextualizing memory, including negotiating and renegotiating complex identities. In her essay on the documentary Saigon, USA Linh Nguyen explores how archival materials contribute to establishing authentic and nuanced experiences of Vietnamese Americans:

“Archival materials significantly enhance the storytelling of this documentary by providing a rich, authentic backdrop that contextualizes the narrative of many perspectives- the old and young generations. By incorporating footage, photographs, and documents, the documentary can vividly illustrate the lived experiences of Vietnamese refugees, their journey to America, the younger generation’s point of view of Vietnamese, Vietnamese Americans, and Americans, as well as protests and rallies.”

Linh Nguyen

In addition to developing students’ skills in media literacy and archival theory, the exercise helped students explore more nuanced aspects of how archives operate in society through the lens of creative media. Even fictional stories invite us to make important connections to the real world. In his essay on Blade Runner 2049, Caleb Lane explains how the protagonists’ visit to the fictional archive of a science fiction film is similar to what we experience in our reality, where the histories of marginalized communities are often unaccounted for or difficult to locate:

“When K arrives at the Wallace Corporation Archives, he gives the File Clerk the replicant’s serial number as well as the lock of hair discovered inside of the buried box. The Clerk then places it inside a scanner, which then provides him with a small amount of information. If the viewer is paying attention to the details of the scene, the File Clerk obtains the record’s shelf location. This shows that the workers of the Wallace Corporation Archives took the time to organize each record in way that is accessible to staff and visitors. The File Clerk informs K that the hair belonged to a ‘pre-blackout’ replicant, which makes finding any information on her difficult. This idea of fragmented information as a result of an event or marginalization of a group of people is a reality that we face in the real world.”

Caleb Mohr

An archivist helps the protagonist access information in the archives in Blade Runner 2049

Finally, while many creative media productions rely on archives and/or archival institutions to their stories, students discovered that they rarely show or reference the archivist caring for the materials. This is true across all media, including documentaries and podcasts, where archivists are key contributors of content to the production. Students proposed several theories that explain phenomenon, including the idea that revealing the archivist would disrupt the immersive aspect of the media production. Some students felt that the nature of archival labor is inherently “behind the scenes,” while other students were unhappy that the archivist was obscured in the process.  In my personal opinion, the invisibility of archival labor is a contributing factor to the chronic underfunding and devaluation of the profession, despite our critical contributions to creative media output and the economy it sustains. In her essay on episodes “695BGK” and “39 Shots” of the Criminal podcast, Stephanie Hernandez explores the paradox of invisible archival labor:

In Criminal, the archivist who cares for the materials used is not seen or mentioned. However, this absence emphasizes archivists’ often invisible yet critical role in preserving and providing access to historical records and documents. Archivists’ work is fundamental to creating these podcast episodes, as they rely on these archival materials to tell accurate and compelling stories. The detailed reports, testimonies, photographs, and official records used in the episodes are all products of archival work.

Stephanie Hernandez

Interested in learning more? Many of the productions are available at the ODU Libraries or can be streamed/purchased online. In celebration of National Archives Month, we have partnered with our colleagues in charge of the Naro Video Collection to curate a special shelf featuring several of the productions that were selected by the students! Stop by the first floor of Perry Library to browse the shelf, which includes the student recommendations and other films selected by Special Collections and University Archives Staff.

Here is a complete list of the texts selected by the students:

Feature Films

  • The Mummy
  • The Monuments Men
  • Blade Runner 2049
  • The Wave (Norway)
  • The Batman
  • The Sentinel
  • The Da Vinci Code
  • The Da Vinci Code: Angels and Demons
  • Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Documentaries

  • Federer: 12 Final Days
  • Scandalous: The True Story of the National Enquirer
  • Saigon, USA
  • Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
  • A Revolution on Canvas
  • Mickey: The Story of a Mouse
  • “The 3 Sailors Trapped in the USS West Virginia” by the YouTube channel Real Horror

Television Series and Mini-series

  • The Interpreter of Silence (Germany)
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender

Podcasts

  • Criminal
  • Red Valley
  • The Magnus Archives
  • In the Dark

Video Games

  • Stardew Valley
  • Honkai: Star Rail
  • Valiant Hearts: The Great War.

Novels

  • The Selection, a series of five young adult novels written by Kierra Cass

Desire, Demons, and Diplomats: Poetry in the Special Collections

By Special Collections and HIST 368 Intern, Daniel Conner

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Rare poetry books in ODU Libraries Special Collections

The Story of C.3.3.

Upon beginning my research for National Poetry Month, I stumbled upon a rather interesting author in the Special Collection; someone by the name of C.3.3. I assumed such a tag could be nothing more than a stage name, but after finishing the ballad and conducting some light research, I came across quite the little discovery. C.3.3. was a cell number, and the work that was born from that cell, the Ballad of Reading Gaol (pronounced ‘redding jail’), was explicit, enthralling, and excruciatingly visual. 

C.3.3. a.k.a Oscar Wilde was one of, if not the most well known and respected, Irish writers of the late 19th century. However, he was eventually arrested for homosexual conduct and placed in cell C.3.3. of Reading Gaol. Wilde composed plays, novels, and poems that are still considered to be masterpieces today, such as The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Salome. Nevertheless, none of these pieces compare to the dreading reality of Reading Gaol. Within 109 stanzas, Wilde managed to fluidly compact the maddening conditions of a 19th century prison, a description of a murder’s emotions during the act of taking their lover’s life, and the eeriness of near daily capital punishment. Wilde himself experienced the execution of C.T.W., a man who murdered his own wife in a fit of rage before being sentenced to capital punishment. Through the color red, and the feelings of overwhelming love and fear, Wilde managed to portray his understanding of C.T.W. and paint his psyche in a way any reader could comprehend. Furthermore, Wilde wrote on the awful conditions of prison and how any prisoner would certainly become maddened by the end of their sentence if fortunate enough, or perhaps unfortunate enough to live. To list some of the harsh conditions: in the 19th century, anyone from the age of 10 onward could be found in Reading Gaol and the prisoners were forced to wear hoods that covered their eyes when outside of their cells. Meaning, the prisoners were not provided an environment where they could have any true social interaction. The ballad is horrifically real, which is exactly why it’s a terrific read. If you want to read C.3.3.’s short ballad for yourself, ODU’s Perry Library has a later copy on the fourth floor (1971) in addition to the copy in the Special Collections on the third floor (1896). 

“He did not wear his scarlet coat,
     For blood and wine are red,
And blood and wine were on his hands
     When they found him with the dead
The poor dead woman whom he loved,
     And murdered in her bed…

The man had killed the thing he loved,
     And so he had to die….

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
      By each let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look,
     Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
     The brave man with a sword!”

  -C.3.3. The Ballad of Reading Gaol
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Milton and Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost, John Milton’s iconic poem in 12 books, has sustained its relevance through centuries of controversiality based on a diverse set of historical, political, and religious interpretations. Scholars have analyzed Milton’s intentions and motivations over the past 340 years, but in recent times the appreciation for the religious epic has been in a downward trend. While I could write thousands of words as to why we should value Milton’s work; plenty of volumes of that have already been written and can be found on Perry’s fourth floor. Instead, we can appreciate the beautiful illustrations of SCUA’s 1691 version of Paradise Lost. Two volumes of the epic have been preserved by SCUA, but the 19th century edition, though it features a regal and brightly-colored cover, lacks the imagery of its older counterpart. While not officially credited in this publication, Helen Gardener’s study of the 1688 and 1691 versions of Paradise Lost have attributed the stunning artworks to John Baptist de Medina.The Flemish-Spanish painter’s fluidity, but subtle contrasts between man, demon, and angel perfectly encapsulate the complexity of Milton’s characters. Many readers find themselves sympathizing with Satan and consider him to be the protagonist or hero of the epic. Meanwhile, some may view Satan as pathetic and consider Adam and Eve to be the moral heroes of the story. At the same time, another reader may not consider any of those characters as heroic, and instead rely on the archangel Michael to serve as the loyal, moral being of Paradise Lost. If you’d like to get your hands on Milton’s works and see where you stand within Milton’s battle for heaven, then look no further than the 3rd floor of Perry Library or SCUA’s rare book collection.

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Matthew Prior’s Spellbook of Poems

The gleaming golden engravings on the spine of Matthew Prior’s Poems on Several Occasions immediately drew my attention. Upon feeling the rough leather and studying the beautiful, oversized font, I knew this was a rare book I had to research. Prior, a British diplomat to Louis XIV’s court and the plenipotentiary of  Britain’s peace treaty with France during the Spanish War of Succession. Prior had proven proficiencies in foreign language and diplomacy through his experience as a British diplomat to Louis XIV’s court from 1711 until in France. Most notably, he was plenipotentiary of Britain’s peace treaty with France during the Spanish War of Succession, dubbed the Peace of Utrecht. However, what made Prior stand out most from his peers was his special way of composing wit into his writing. Though poetry was more of a hobby than an occupation for Prior, he still excelled as one of the top earning poets of his time. 

Before his success abroad, he had 3 volumes of poetry published, two of which were essentially the same. Funnily enough, Prior’s second publication was a pirated version of Poems on Several Occasions. When Prior became aware of the pirated materials though, he expressed his annoyance with the inaccuracies of the volumes, as other authors’ works mistakenly made it into the published volume as well. To adjust the volumes to a standard Prior could appreciate, he re-released his own volume of Poems on Several Occasions two years later in 1709. 

After Prior returned from his diplomatic endeavors, he was sentenced to a year in prison based on conspiracies concerning his political party, the Tory party. Due to his imprisonment, his political renown and funds had essentially gone to the wayside. Thus, his friends, including the famous poet Alexander Pope, compiled volumes of Prior’s writings to sell to his fan-base on a consistent basis. The subscribers of his works would be credited at the end of  each subscription volume as a show of thanks, similarly to how modern content creators list out their subscribers in the credits of a content piece. Due to Prior’s arrest, his political career was over. Regardless, the ex-diplomat managed to continue to express his views through rhetoric. Thanks to his prowess in sarcasm and massive following, Prior was able to become the first poet to achieve mainstream success through a subscription based publication. If you’re interested in Prior, multiple volumes of his poems are available both on the 4th floor of the Perry Library and in SCUA on the Third Floor.

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