
In Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” the film’s protagonist finds himself transported back in time to the Paris of the 1920s, where he rubs shoulders with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and Picasso. Thrilling, right? Who wouldn’t love traveling into the past, and meeting one’s heroes? In truth, you’re much better off not meeting your idols from past decades or centuries — for the simple reason that, in all likelihood, they were probably assholes. More precisely: Your historical heroes would have seen the world very differently from you and me. In particular, they probably harbored an array of unpleasant prejudices: Idolize Winston Churchill for standing up to Nazi Germany? Great, but best to ignore his views on those further to the east: “I hate Indians,” he wrote. “They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” Virginia Woolf is a literary hero – but better not dwell […] Read More