This week, Jamie and Sofia mix it up with Possession, a dual timeline story about 19th-century poets and the baffling behavior of the 21st-century academics who research them. Join them in this first part and hear about stolen historical sources, the unspeakable horror of 19th-century dolls, and more!

Sources:

Film Background:

Roger Ebert's Review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/possession-2002

Jamie Russell's Review: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/10/08/possession_2002_review.shtml

Todd McCarthy's Review: https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/possession-3-1200546884/

Wikipedia Page, Possession: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_(2002_film)

Stealing Sources:

Philip P. Mason, "Archival Security: New Solutions to an Old Problem" The American Archivist (October 1975)

"Historian Pleads Guilty to Stealing Items from the National Archives," Available at https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2018/01/historian-pleads-guilty-stealing-items-national-archives-site-md/

"Britain Destroyed Records of Colonial Crimes," Available at https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/18/britain-destroyed-records-colonial-crimes#:~:text=Thousands%20of%20documents%20detailing%20some,an%20official%20review%20has%20concluded.

"Erasing History: The National Archives is Destroying Records About Victims of Trump's ICE Policies," Available at https://www.democracynow.org/2020/2/6/national_archives_record_retention_matthew_connelly

"Notable Thefts from the National Archives," Available at https://www.archives.gov/research/recover/notable-thefts.html

"Sandy Berger, Former National Security Advisor, Dies," Available at https://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/sandy-berger-national-security-adviser-216344

"The Photo Book That Captured the Truth of How the Soviet Regime Made the Truth Disappear," Available at https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-photo-book-that-captured-how-the-soviet-regime-made-the-truth-disappear

"Meet the Guys Who Tape Trump's Papers Back Together," Available at https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/10/trump-papers-filing-system-635164

"Why You May Never Learn the Truth About ICE," Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/opinion/archives-document-destruction.html

Dolls:

John Plotz, Portable Property: Victorian Culture on the Move. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Miriam Formanek-Brunell, Made to Play House: Dolls and the Commercialization of American Girlhood, 1830-1930. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.

Image: Creeping Baby Doll Patent Model, Smithsonian Institute. Available at https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_856663