40. History as Entertainment

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode explores history as entertainment through reenactments, theme parks, board games, and video games. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook argue that games and spectacles make the past vivid, but they also simplify, politicize, and sometimes distort it. They trace how historical play ranges from Roman gladiatorial shows to Monopoly, Risk, and Assassin’s Creed, asking where fun ends and taste, ideology, or propaganda begins.

Main Topics: Historical reenactment as entertainment (Priority: 5/5): The hosts discuss how reenactments have long been used to stage the past, from Roman spectacles and medieval tournaments to modern living-history events. They argue that reenactment is both educational and theatrical, and often aims to recreate glamour, martial values, or lost worlds. Monopoly and the political reinvention of games (Priority: 5/5): Monopoly is presented as a historically rooted game that began as an anti-landlord, Georgist critique and was later transformed into a capitalist success story. The hosts use it to show how games can be reinterpreted across political eras. Board games, conquest, and empire (Priority: 5/5): Risk, Diplomacy, Kingmaker, and similar games are discussed as systems built around conquest, statecraft, and strategic domination. The hosts note that these games often mirror imperial logic and reward players for painting the map one color. Video games as immersive history (Priority: 5/5): The conversation turns to Civilization, Europa Universalis, Assassin’s Creed, and Call of Duty as interactive historical worlds. These games are praised for immersion and strategic insight, but criticized for determinism, Eurocentrism, and simplification. Politics, ideology, and historical taste (Priority: 4/5): The hosts debate whether reenactment and historical entertainment are inherently conservative, and where the line lies for morally charged subjects like Confederate reenactments, Nazi uniforms, slavery, and the Vikings. They emphasize that historical entertainment is never politically neutral. Theme parks and curated national myths (Priority: 4/5): Puy du Fou is used as an example of a hugely successful history theme park that packages a nationalist, battle-and-king-centered version of the past. The hosts contrast this with the possibility of a left-wing historical theme park and note the political framing of heritage. The appeal and limits of historical immersion (Priority: 4/5): The episode closes by reflecting on why people want to inhabit the past, whether through books, games, or live events. The hosts suggest that the appeal lies in both familiarity and estrangement: history is fun because it is structured, but also because it lets us imagine alternatives.

Key Arguments: History has always been entertainment as well as scholarship; from Herodotus onward, people have consumed the past because it is enjoyable. Reenactments are a form of controlled history-making: they can educate, but they also stage desired outcomes and political narratives. Monopoly’s origins show that games can shift ideological meaning over time, from anti-capitalist critique to capitalist celebration. Most historical board games reward conquest because conquest is the core pleasure of many games, but that also mirrors imperial and military history. Video games like Civilization and Europa Universalis are useful because they model strategic constraints, but they also flatten history into variables and funnel players toward Eurocentric outcomes. Historical entertainment becomes ethically fraught when it glamorizes slavery, Nazism, or other atrocities; taste and politics matter in deciding what can be safely reenacted. Immersive historical media can be more vivid than academic writing because they let users role-play decisions and experience strategic dilemmas firsthand.

Data Points: Monopoly origin date: 1903 - Dominic says Monopoly began as a Georgist, anti-landlord game around 1903. Medieval Warfare tournament size: 100 on 100 - Tom describes the climax of a live medieval combat event in Spain as a 100-versus-100 battle. Campaign for North Africa playtime: 1,500 hours - The hosts cite the famously complex board game’s estimated time to complete. Campaign for North Africa duration in days: 62 days - They convert the 1,500-hour estimate into roughly 62 days of continuous play. Campaign for North Africa recommended players per side: 5 per side - The game’s manual recommends five players on each side, including commanders and subordinates. Puy du Fou ranking in France: 2nd most visited theme park after Disneyland - Dominic notes the park’s extraordinary popularity. Assassin’s Creed age rating: 18+ / 10K18 certificate - Tom references the game’s adult rating when explaining why he avoids playing it. Tom’s son’s age: 9 - Used in a Jack the Ripper anecdote and to illustrate family gaming interest.

Pivotal Quotes: "history is entertainment" — Dominic Sandbrook: He frames the whole episode around the idea that history is consumed for fun as well as instruction. "the better your armor, the better you are able to stand up" — Tom Holland: Tom explains the educational logic behind the medieval combat reenactment he attended in Spain. "the world is being controlled by the Templars and stuff" — Dominic Sandbrook: He describes the conspiracy-framework underlying many historical video games, especially Assassin’s Creed.

Implications: Historical entertainment will keep growing because it is immersive and profitable, but creators must balance accuracy, fun, and ethical responsibility. The more vivid the past becomes, the more contested its politics and moral framing will be.