For my final project for my American History class, we had to create our own Spaceship Earth scene using content within the course. We had to explain why we thought the scene was significant and why we thought people should be aware of the scene.
We also did not have to tie into Spaceship Earth‘s theme of communication, and we were allowed to make the scene PG-13. I did my project on tar and feathering, and without further ado, here is my project, posted with permission of my professor:
Setting:
The scene is on the left side of the track, after the Renaissance/Sistine Chapel scenes and before the Civil War/20th Century scenes. The scene portrays a shipyard, with various barrels and crates strewn about. Writing on the crates indicates they are arriving at Boston Harbor. In the background is the ocean, with a large wooden ship docked. The dock is elevated from the ground. It appears this ship was in the middle of unloading when the tar and feathering occurs.
Characters:
The Loyalist, partially covered in tar and feathers, being paraded atop the elevated dock. He is stripped naked and is able to be identified as a Loyalist due to his red coat on the ground beside him. There are papers on the dock beside him, implied to be customs papers.
A man on the dock tarring the Loyalist, who is a civilian in plain clothes.
The Loyalist’s daughter, who is identified by her fervor to reach her father and calling for
him.
A crowd of civilians yelling, surrounding the dock, along with other civilians on the side,
watching the tar and feathering.
A child by the Loyalist, throwing feathers onto him.
Action:
The Loyalist is sniffling, bent over into himself, entire body scrunched up and partially covered in tar and feathers, trying to reach for his daughter. The daughter, who is on the ground, is yelling for them to stop, calling for her father and is trying to reach him, but she can’t get through the crowd.
The man tarring the Loyalist is reaching into a barrel of tar and is about to hurl another glob at him. Two other civilians on the dock are restraining the Loyalist. The crowd is yelling to “Tar the Tory!” and “Tar him!”, raising their fists and acting in a fervor.
The civilians watching the tarring mutter, “some nerve of these Tories” and “he had it coming.” The child, who has climbed up on the dock, is yelling along with them to tar him, along with throwing feathers.
Sounds/Smells:
There is the smell of tar, which is acidic and smoky, mixed with the smell of salt from the seawater.
Narration:
“As our civilization prospered, it unfortunately led to intense, and occasionally violent, disagreement about how we should be governed. This led to fault lines that threatened the very structure of everything we had worked for. Nonetheless, we went on, realizing our strengths lie in unity rather than division.”
Significance:
This scene is important due to the fact it mirrors our current political and social climate. When I was originally reading the material on tar and feathering, I was struck by the similarities to the internet practice of “cancelling”, which is when someone (generally a public figure or someone
in a position of power) is ostracized for having a damaging (or sometimes just different) stance on an issue, or an commits an action that is perceived to be problematic. While some people, such as neo-Nazis and sexual abusers, should be ostracized, the practice frequently targets people who may have committed one misdeed and are genuinely apologetic, or people who are not extremist but may have beliefs contrary to popular opinion. The attitude is very “if you aren’t with us, you’re against us,” and in order to avoid the wrath of the mob, you are forced to share their beliefs or you are just as bad as the person that is being cancelled.
Branching off of this, those who cancel others generally will never hear any arguments to the contrary of their opinion. It is a true tyranny of the majority and is not conductive to productive debate. For a democracy to work, there must be give and take on both sides.
This scene occurs after the Renaissance scenes due to the tone- the Renaissance is a blossoming high after the burning of the library of Alexandria, followed by the low of tar and feathering. Directly after the tar and feathering scene, there is the proclamation that the Civil War is over. While these scenes concern two different wars, the implication from the narration is that differences were resolved, and we eventually found peace within unity.
The setting, a Boston harbor, was chosen due to a significant amount of tar and feathering happening there. The Loyalist is implied to be a customs official coming to inspect cargo on a merchant’s ship, and when the Loyalist implies the cargo is smuggled, the crowd turns against him and the tar and feathering begins. These goods would have been smuggled due to various acts placing duties on imported British goods, so it was cheaper to smuggle items, like sugar, from other countries.
The Loyalist’s daughter was included to show that the people we attack do not exist in a vacuum, and do not exist purely to spite our beliefs.
While many would agree that the Loyalist was on the wrong side of history, he also had a family, did he not? It serves to remind the viewer of the humanity of those we disagree with.
The boy is included to show that our actions reflect upon the younger generation. If a small child sees an adult doing something, they are more inclined to believe it is acceptable to behave that way. While I am unsure if children participated in the act of tar and feathering, it would not be surprising. The young boy participating and echoing the voices of the crowd would help the viewer wonder if they would want a child to mimic their actions.
Cancelling is simply the new tar and feathering. There is the person in a position of power (in this case, the Loyalist) being “taken down a peg” and cancelled (tar and feathered) due to his loyalty, and actions on behalf of, the “enemy” (the British crown). The result is humiliation, and the message that if you do not want to end up like the Loyalist, then do not be loyal to the British crown. If this scene were incorporated, it would hopefully teach that black and white politics help no one, and only leads to both parties digging in their heels. The reality is that we all exist in shades of gray, and we must learn to coexist.
We also did not have to tie into Spaceship Earth‘s theme of communication, and we were allowed to make the scene PG-13. I did my project on tar and feathering, and without further ado, here is my project, posted with permission of my professor:
Setting:
The scene is on the left side of the track, after the Renaissance/Sistine Chapel scenes and before the Civil War/20th Century scenes. The scene portrays a shipyard, with various barrels and crates strewn about. Writing on the crates indicates they are arriving at Boston Harbor. In the background is the ocean, with a large wooden ship docked. The dock is elevated from the ground. It appears this ship was in the middle of unloading when the tar and feathering occurs.
Characters:
The Loyalist, partially covered in tar and feathers, being paraded atop the elevated dock. He is stripped naked and is able to be identified as a Loyalist due to his red coat on the ground beside him. There are papers on the dock beside him, implied to be customs papers.
A man on the dock tarring the Loyalist, who is a civilian in plain clothes.
The Loyalist’s daughter, who is identified by her fervor to reach her father and calling for
him.
A crowd of civilians yelling, surrounding the dock, along with other civilians on the side,
watching the tar and feathering.
A child by the Loyalist, throwing feathers onto him.
Action:
The Loyalist is sniffling, bent over into himself, entire body scrunched up and partially covered in tar and feathers, trying to reach for his daughter. The daughter, who is on the ground, is yelling for them to stop, calling for her father and is trying to reach him, but she can’t get through the crowd.
The man tarring the Loyalist is reaching into a barrel of tar and is about to hurl another glob at him. Two other civilians on the dock are restraining the Loyalist. The crowd is yelling to “Tar the Tory!” and “Tar him!”, raising their fists and acting in a fervor.
The civilians watching the tarring mutter, “some nerve of these Tories” and “he had it coming.” The child, who has climbed up on the dock, is yelling along with them to tar him, along with throwing feathers.
Sounds/Smells:
There is the smell of tar, which is acidic and smoky, mixed with the smell of salt from the seawater.
Narration:
“As our civilization prospered, it unfortunately led to intense, and occasionally violent, disagreement about how we should be governed. This led to fault lines that threatened the very structure of everything we had worked for. Nonetheless, we went on, realizing our strengths lie in unity rather than division.”
Significance:
This scene is important due to the fact it mirrors our current political and social climate. When I was originally reading the material on tar and feathering, I was struck by the similarities to the internet practice of “cancelling”, which is when someone (generally a public figure or someone
in a position of power) is ostracized for having a damaging (or sometimes just different) stance on an issue, or an commits an action that is perceived to be problematic. While some people, such as neo-Nazis and sexual abusers, should be ostracized, the practice frequently targets people who may have committed one misdeed and are genuinely apologetic, or people who are not extremist but may have beliefs contrary to popular opinion. The attitude is very “if you aren’t with us, you’re against us,” and in order to avoid the wrath of the mob, you are forced to share their beliefs or you are just as bad as the person that is being cancelled.
Branching off of this, those who cancel others generally will never hear any arguments to the contrary of their opinion. It is a true tyranny of the majority and is not conductive to productive debate. For a democracy to work, there must be give and take on both sides.
This scene occurs after the Renaissance scenes due to the tone- the Renaissance is a blossoming high after the burning of the library of Alexandria, followed by the low of tar and feathering. Directly after the tar and feathering scene, there is the proclamation that the Civil War is over. While these scenes concern two different wars, the implication from the narration is that differences were resolved, and we eventually found peace within unity.
The setting, a Boston harbor, was chosen due to a significant amount of tar and feathering happening there. The Loyalist is implied to be a customs official coming to inspect cargo on a merchant’s ship, and when the Loyalist implies the cargo is smuggled, the crowd turns against him and the tar and feathering begins. These goods would have been smuggled due to various acts placing duties on imported British goods, so it was cheaper to smuggle items, like sugar, from other countries.
The Loyalist’s daughter was included to show that the people we attack do not exist in a vacuum, and do not exist purely to spite our beliefs.
While many would agree that the Loyalist was on the wrong side of history, he also had a family, did he not? It serves to remind the viewer of the humanity of those we disagree with.
The boy is included to show that our actions reflect upon the younger generation. If a small child sees an adult doing something, they are more inclined to believe it is acceptable to behave that way. While I am unsure if children participated in the act of tar and feathering, it would not be surprising. The young boy participating and echoing the voices of the crowd would help the viewer wonder if they would want a child to mimic their actions.
Cancelling is simply the new tar and feathering. There is the person in a position of power (in this case, the Loyalist) being “taken down a peg” and cancelled (tar and feathered) due to his loyalty, and actions on behalf of, the “enemy” (the British crown). The result is humiliation, and the message that if you do not want to end up like the Loyalist, then do not be loyal to the British crown. If this scene were incorporated, it would hopefully teach that black and white politics help no one, and only leads to both parties digging in their heels. The reality is that we all exist in shades of gray, and we must learn to coexist.
