Professor David Peimer
Nixon and Lincoln on Film: Heroes and Villains?
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Summary
We will look at how Nixon and Lincoln have been portrayed in certain films, asking what kinds of heroes/villains they were. Although based on historical fact, looking at the characters through fictional eyes inevitably shapes a specific and fascinating perspective that influences so much of our modern perceptions of them. In this presentation, we will also explore how fiction frames historical stories to become foundational myths in a society.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a professor of theatre and performance studies in the UK. He has taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and New York University (Global Division), and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing. He has written eleven plays and directed forty in places like South Africa, New York, Brussels, London, Berlin, Zulu Kingdom, Athens, and more. His writing has been published widely and he is the editor of Armed Response: Plays from South Africa (2009) and the interactive digital book Theatre in the Camps (2012). He is on the board of the Pinter Centre in London.