Period Correctness and Entertainment

To many people the ideals of "period correctness" and "entertainment value" seem to be mutually exclusive. They are not. Many reenactment organizations can fall into the trap of putting these two ideals on the opposite sides a a spectrum. This sort of classification is a very sad thing to me. It is true that focusing too much on one of these ideals can cause you to loose sight of the other, however if you try to maintain an appropriate amount of both, you can have both in large quantities. While they may not be mutually exclusive, having the right balance of each in proportion to your organization is very important. The balance that you prefer should also relate back to the "fit" of whichever organization you choose to pursue.
To illustrate this I would like to take a little trip into some of the good and bad aspects that I have experienced with these two ideals during my life. Quite often issues of "period correctness" can become something that a group is very proud of. This, in itself is not a bad thing and I have a lot of respect for people you work very hard to try and gather as much research as they can in an effort to be historically accurate. The problem with this ideal occurs when those individuals try to define themselves by their level of accuracy relative to other groups. Reenactors need to always remember that their understanding of history is based off of the source material that they use. Different groups use different sources. A reenactor should always remember to respect the level of commitment of a particular group to the source that they choose rather than to disrespect the source. If you don't agree with the source, please always try to remember that the quality of a reenactor's accuracy is not in the source that they choose, but in their commitment to trying to improve through the research of those sources.
When I was younger, I wore a cape that looked more like it belonged on Batman than on a person in Elizabethan England. A member of St. George got into a conversation with me and while responding to my enthusiasm for my horribly inaccurate outfit, pointed out that the "new" fashion was to wear the capes over only one shoulder instead of both, thus making it into a demi-cape. I was astonished and immediately made the change. Looking back, I feel that this was the start of my love of historical accuracy in reenactment clothing. I now know this individual as one of my co-actors at the faire and given his deep knowledge of the period, he could have easily torn my outfit apart verbally, but he didn't! And this is my point. Rather than pure critique, offer options as though you are sharing the joy, rather than judging it.
When we look closer at the power of Entertainment we need to look at how and why Reenactment exists. We as reenactors may enjoy the process of simply participating in the reenactment. Not everyone can. Reenactment can take a lot of time, effort and money depending on the extent to which you participate. Not everyone has those resources to give. Many reenactment groups operate for a higher function or goal such as education, entertainment, or simply in memory of an event. In every one of these cases there is an audience at some point. Sometimes that audience is participatory. Reenactment cannot survive in a bubble. Some groups, including many Renaissance Faires focus on the Entertainment value of those who are participating. This isn't something to scoff at. Renaissance Faires are a sort of "collective business", by this I mean that they are a business that is built around the direct and collective participation of those you attend as patrons. If the patrons aren't entertained, they don't come. If they don't come, there is no faire. Without the faire, their is often no forum for the Reenactors.
History can be something you live. This is the fundamental attribute of reenactment. Everyone lives history in their own way and we as reenactors should be appreciative of that fact alone. We should all try very hard never to let our pride in historical accuracy overshadow the joy of what we do, but we should always be trying to learn and improve what we do.

When joining a group of reenactors, it is important to weigh "period correctness/historical accuracy" along with "entertainment value" and find a group that offers both in amounts that you agree with.