REENACTMENT. Via Dana, it looks like the New York Times has discovered the wacky phenomenon of historical reenactors. But this time, they’re in Europe! “In Belgium, a country of 10 million, there are at least two dozen groups re-enacting the Middle Ages, rubbing stones together to make fire, eating their dinners out of caldrons, re-enacting heroic battles and staging mock hangings.”
My goodness, assuming 15 members and 30 groups, that’s, like, four one-thousandths of the population! It’s a trend! “The desire to escape into the past may reflect fears in the Belgian psyche about national unity in contemporary Belgium [blah blah blah].” I hate to burst any bubbles, but the multicultural wonderland that is the US has quite a reenactment scene, encompassing everything from Rennaissance fairs to the Civil War to the increasingly popular French and Indian War. And yes, maybe it’s all heavy with psycho-sexual, vaguely primitivist, and occasionally racist undertones, but honestly, I’m less worried about the folks playing make believe than the mega-successful radio jocks who aren’t.
–Ezra Klein
