How uncivilised! BBC’s rap remake of a culture classic
FOR a generation of Britons it was the most important show to have graced a TV set – chronicling the rise of Western Europe through its art.
But, nearly 50 years on from Kenneth Clark’s original Civilisation series, the BBC’s modern revival will offer a rather different view. Instead of focusing on cultural jewels, it will turn its attention to the rest of the world – and the damage Britain has inflicted on its empire.
Over nine episodes, it will examine Britain’s ‘dismissive’ attitude to art in India, and its ‘aggression’ toward the culture of the peoples it conquered.
In a dramatic departure from Mr Clark’s top-down view of the world, the package of new programmes will also feature performance poetry by a hip hop artist detailing the British Empire’s collapse.
The Ruins of Empires, by Akala, examines the rise and fall of different conquering nations around the world, and the bloodshed that this entailed.
According to the BBC, the poem follows a fictional ‘knowledge seeker’ charting the course of human history ‘via astral travel and multiple reincarnations’.
The move marks a stark shift from Mr Clark’s seminal 1969 broadcasts, which were famed for their sweeping statements and patrician manner.
The new version will have three hosts: historians Mary Beard, Simon Schama and David Olusoga. The trio will offer their ‘ personal views’ – filmed in more than 30 different countries.
The BBC’s director of arts, Jonty Claypole, said that they ‘do not want to repeat the story Clark told’ and that the ‘greatest homage we can make is not to imitate the answers of a predecessor but the questions they asked’. Miss Beard said the nine programmes raised ‘big questions of what [British] civilisation is and the sometimes fine line that separates civilisation from barbarity’.
In addition to the rise and fall of empire, the series will look at the first human marks made in a South African cave, depictions of the human body in ancient art and the ways different religions depict their gods. Mr Schama described the show as a daunting challenge. He added: ‘We live in a time of raw power, the swagger of money, brutal poverty and hard reckonings – precisely the moment when it can’t be bad to contemplate again the most enthralling things that human creativity can achieve.’ Mr Olusoga said: ‘My family didn’t have the money to visit galleries or museums, but my mother was able to open up the worlds of art and culture to me through documentaries on the BBC – programmes that broadened my horizons and transformed my view of the world. Civilisations is the next chapter in that tradition with the power to change lives.’ The series will launch in March.
How my heart sank when I heard the BBC is making the classic that fired my teenage passion less elitist
How Tom Utley reacted to news of the show’s revival