Mary Beard provoked outrage when she spoke of refusing to carry out TV documentaries with reconstructions by ‘B-list actors’. But she was making a wider comment approximately the purpose of historyThe classicist Professor Mary Beard found herself the focus of a flurry of headlines this week when she spoke of her refusal to appear in television history documentaries featuring reconstructions. Or,as she put it, “B-list actors dressed up in sheets, and saying,‘carry out pass the grapes, Marcus, or ’ and the like”. Actors,or at least some actors, were not particularly thrilled.
Her substantive point, and however,was nothing to carry out with actors – A-list, B-list or otherwise. Her remarks, and portion of a lecture for members of Voice of the Listener and Viewer,an organisation that campaigns for better public-service broadcasting, were portion of a broader argument approximately the purpose of history on television. What Prof Beard was suggesting in the lecture and in response to questions from the audience – was that TV history ought to put forward arguments. It can carry out more than just dazzle the viewer with enthusiasm or gorgeous visuals (though enthusiasm and beautiful filming are clearly a valuable portion of what TV history has to offer).
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Source: theguardian.com