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| Article |
| Myth in Restorative Justice History |
| Douglas Sylvester |
| 2003 Utah L. Rev. 471 (2003) |
| Open Access | Library Access |
|
Abstract: Historians have long bemoaned the loose history that lawyers employ to win arguments. At the center of these debates are historians claims that history should not be used for forensic ends, that it should be accurate and set in proper context. Restorative justice literature has not been immune from these critiques. Oddly enough, no historian has yet to excoriate restorative justice scholars? apparent historical abuses; the attacks have come from within. Those pushing restorative justice narratives are not historians, and their methodologies are suspect, both in their choice of evidence and interpretation. Indeed, they use the past in fanciful ways, selectively arranging data and characterizing the relevant actors and cultures as imbued with profound powers of forgiveness and mercy. This Article draws important lessons from Hollywood?s uses of history. In particular, by looking at the narrative uses of history in film, it is possible to see that an all-too rigid adherence to historical accuracy renders history too cumbersome to have value in shaping present-day ideologies and institutions. As Hollywood has long understood, bending history is sometimes necessary if the goal is to entertain, educate, or influence. Yet, as everyone who watches movies has also noted, Hollywood can sometimes go too farRestorative Justice, History, Anthropology |
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