re-enactor

a person who wishes to recreate a specific time period in history, often with the intent of educating the general public. some may have family members who took part in a historical event, and choose to re-enact in order to gain a greater understanding of their family member’s experiences.

in the u.s., civil war re-enacting and world war ii re-enacting are considered the most popular, though other forms of re-enacting such as the renaissance, the american revolution, and even vietnam war re-enacting are also in existence.

re-enactors specialize in a form of history education known as “living history,” which seeks to bring historical events mentioned in books “to life” so that those wishing to learn can get an up-close-and-personal experience.

historically accurate clothing and accessories are a requirement to be a re-enactor, and many usually conduct their own extensive research to ensure that their historical alter egos are displayed properly.

re-enactors are often criticized as “nerds” or “geeks” because they “dress up and run around in funny clothes and think they’re cool.” also, some re-enactors are criticized because they tend to recreate military units noted as “legendary” (such as the 20th maine in civil war re-enacting or the 101st airborne in wwii re-enacting) while ignoring more “average” soldiers. more simply, some people just cannot understand why re-enactors do what they do.

still, it is worth noting that without re-enactors, the cast of historical films such as “gettysburg” would be extremely sp-rs-. you can’t make a war movie without soldiers after all.
“my grandfather was in world war ii, so i re-enact to get a better understanding of what he went through.”

“look at those re-enactors! haha! what nerds!”

“if you didn’t have re-enactors, the pickett’s charge scene in ‘gettysburg’ would have a cast of five people.”
the c-cl-ss actors they get to reenact dramatic scenes in made-for-tv specials.
the actors seen in “blood in the water,” a reenactment of the real-life jaws were definitely reenactors.
a really stupid living history person who thinks they fought the civil war.
hey, did you see that reenactor? what a douche bag, he weighs 500 pounds, is 60 years old, and thinks he’s an 18 year old confederate. plus he can’t follow the black powder regulations to save his life.