| Thanks! I have Civilisation in hardcopy, so that sounds like a perfect example. (unfortunately I'm on holiday atm so my reply will come much later) Bron's father's prose from Brideshead rather sums up (with the necessary change in brackets) why I may come across as oikophobic at times: > ...we had been through it together, the [Old Country] and I ... until now, when nothing remained to us except the chill bonds of law and duty and custom. I had played every scene in the domestic tragedy, had found the early tiffs become more frequent, the tears less affecting, the reconciliations less sweet, till they engendered a mood of aloofness and cool criticism, and the growing conviction that it was not myself but the loved one who was at fault. I caught the false notes in her voice and learned to listen for them apprehensively ... I learned ... the routine and mechanism of her charm, her jealousy and self-seeking, and her nervous trick with the fingers when she was lying. (it is reassuring to see in WP that the elder Waugh's second marriage, like his second confession —despite Vatican II?—, stuck for life) EDIT: looks like many "BBC Four Classic Documentaries Collection" programs of the last century get the same treatment, from: (1961) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lgzyl to: (1995) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05tjt61 > Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current BBC editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required. I'd assume nudity wouldn't be a problem in context, either then or now, but transverberation content like The Ecstasy of St. Teresa may run afoul of contemporary self-harm guidelines? |
Fair enough, it may be that the warning is just a generic one slapped on all their old repeats, but I do think that commissioning a new ten minute introduction from Mary Beard is going above and beyond. I haven't seen it so didn't want to speak too much on it, but from what I gathered it's a mixture of measured praise and blame for Clarke's eurocentrism.
>I have Civilisation in hardcopy
It's a good series, I would recommend it if you haven't already seen it. (My biggest gripe with the BBC rebroadcasting it is that it prompted them to take down from youtube the copy I was in the middle of watching!) By the way, for a more xenophilic production of similar scope, you might wish to take a look at The Silk Road[0].
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silk_Road_(Japanese_TV_ser...