History Assessment Transcript 1

History Assessment
Motivation Good/Bad Perspectives Legacy Che Guevaras influence in modern society can still be strongly felt all over the world. His legacy remains strong, and over time he has been perceived in many different lights, with his symbollic image enduring as a chic character of revolution and general dissidence towards society. His legacy can be described in five different ways. Firstly, Che left behind an extensive collection of written works including intellectual writings on

radical Marxist and social politics, military/guerilla strategy, books, speeches, letters, poetry and diaries, as well as official documents. Che's work has had a profound political impact around the globe, where revolutionary and anti-colonial uprisings were inspired by his thought and example. His writings have been translated into hundreds of languages. Secondly, through his dramatic and glorified death, Che is a perfect example of a character who achieved martyrdom status and a level of sanctification through death. After his death, and the release of images of his dead body, large catholic mass gathering were held in honour of him, and all over the world he was hailed. Consequently, the many atrocities he committed and his supremely dangerous beliefs were ignored, and instead his legacy has been sanctified. Thirdly, Che has also become a potent symbol of social rebellion, and revolutionary change. In the 1960s students protesting against the Vietnam war, donned Che t-shirts, and Arab guerillas have been seen wearing his signature beret. As Trisha Ziff, producer of the documentary Chevolution says Ches significance in todays society is less about the man and more about changing society for its betterment. Fourthly, the interpretation of Ches legacy often falls on partisan lines between the U.S. and Cuba. In Cuba all children start the day with the pledge we will be like Che. He can be seen on Cubas banknote cutting sugar cane, as a symbol of their nation. And in many places he holds a Saint-like status. Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, has also glorified his legacy having fought alongside Che saying that Che was a flower prematurely cut from its stem. However as Paul Bernan says "The cult of Ernesto Che Guevara is an episode in the moral callousness of our time. Che was a totalitarian. He achieved nothing but disaster ... The present-day cult of Che - the t-shirts, the bars, the posters has succeeded in obscuring this dreadful reality." This can also be shown by Jonathan Haris statement that Che Guevara is not a free-floating icon of rebellion. He was an actual person who supported an actual system of tyranny, one that murdered millions more actual people."

History Assessment Transcript 2

However, undoubtedly the majority of Ches legacy lies in the cult of Che. The cult of Che as
it is commonly referred to still remains strong, with his face and image being easily recognized, and his image being used as a powerful marketing tool in many facets of popular culture. Examples of his popular culture influence include the the Magnum brand of ice-cream called Cherry Guevara, Irish artist Jim Fitzpatricks famous adaptation which was later used to influence Obamas image. Famous novels like Persepolis make reference to Che, as is the entire movie Motorcycle Diaries a popular account movie of his heroic life. Many celebrities wear his t-shirts such as rapper Jay-Z, and the entire play Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber is based on events in his life. And therefore, his image is one synonymous with positive revolution and change, which is ironic as the capitalists selling his t-shirts was who Che hated the most.

An evaluation of how History has judged them