Editing out Mary Beard? It’s just not the civilised thing to do
How dare the Americans edit out our very own Prof Mary Beard from
Civilisations? It is one of the most uncivilised acts of wilful destruction since the Boston Tea Party.
Presumably, the highly respected Beard wasn’t prom queen enough to pass muster. Worse, the 63-year-old could have frightened/upset/ outraged audiences by having the temerity to not be Holly Willoughby.
Much of her presentation footage was airbrushed out.
Her voice-overs were replaced. And, frankly, I think the BBC should take back the series and keep the moolah.
Whatever one thinks of Simon Schama’s orgasmic raptures over – well, pretty much everything – this is a programme of high production values and even higher philosophical ambitions.
To allow the philistines across the pond to tinker with it is nothing short of shameful. But we can take pride (for once) in the fact that, here on British television, we respect expert academics regardless of their
dentistry. Beard is a
national treasure; a wise, warm, witty woman who not only knows her stuff, but grasps how to communicate it to those of us who couldn’t tell a vestal virgin from an ordinary one.
This late blossoming classics don and mother-of-two may be a beacon of intellectual rigour and generosity of spirit, but the US remains baffled by and suspicious of her refusal to entertain a makeover. Or even get a haircut with honey blonde highlights. People want to see sassy news anchors in bodycon dresses who make an effort; why doesn’t Beard want to look like every other presentress?
More fool them. Some of us care rather more about achievements than appearance. We have had two doughty women prime ministers and our Queen is 91, you know.
We may have a long way to go, but we are railing against institutional sexism, marching for equal pay and generally educating our daughters to use their brains not their beauty to get ahead.
We celebrate Beard for her character and yes, her eccentricity. To have her summarily removed from the history of mankind’s history is more than just a personal insult; it marks another ominous watershed in America’s treatment of truth.