A review of Michael Wood’s “Art of the Western World”

In 1969, the BBC released a classic television series called “Civilisation” (spelled in the British way). This prior series was presented by the art historian Kenneth Clark, and also details the “art of the Western world.” I am a major fan of the Kenneth Clark series, as I describe here. But it is said that each generation writes its own history. Thus, in 1989, the BBC also engaged Michael Wood to make the series “Art of the Western World.” This was some twenty years after the making of the original “Civilisation.” Michael Wood was trained as a historian, and he is an excellent filmmaker and storyteller. But he seems to have no background in art history, and probably felt his lack of knowledge in this area when he made this film. Thus, in every episode, he sometimes delegated the presenting job to other people, whose expertise he presumably would have admired. This is a different technique from merely interviewing scholars, although he also did some of that as well (particularly in his last episode). Rather, he seems to have allowed his chosen scholars a great degree of creative control over certain segments of the film. He allowed them to say basically whatever they want, and narrate their segments as they see fit. He also gave them some creative control over what images were to be shown on screen during their presentations. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another documentary film that uses this distinctive technique. This allows him to compensate somewhat for his own lack of formal background in art history. That is, he sticks to what he knows, and Michael Wood knows quite a lot.

A review of Michael Wood’s “The Great British Story: A People’s History”

In America, Ken Burns once said something interesting about American history. That is, he said that the history of the United States is usually told as “a series of presidential administrations punctuated by wars.” You could probably say something similar about the history of our mother country. Schoolchildren in the British Empire were once required to memorize the chronological order of the kings and queens of England. I suppose that there might have been some value in having schoolchildren memorize this stuff. As someone who studies the laws of England, I can tell you that the numerical citation of a Parliamentary law still makes reference to whichever monarch was in power at the time of its passage. Nonetheless, there’s still something to be said for the history of ordinary people as well – and I should note that some of those “ordinary” British people were my own ancestors! My mom has a real talent for family history, and so I’ve seen the names of some of my British ancestors from centuries ago. I’ve even done church work for some of them. (More about that here.) They lived through invasions, plagues, famines, and wars – and passed on their genes well enough to give me the opportunity of writing this post. Thus, this is a personal story for me, since only a few of my British ancestors were “powerful monarchs.” Most of them were ordinary peasants, like the people dramatized in the various episodes of this series.

A review of Michael Wood’s “In Search of Myths and Heroes”

“And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.”

– “The Second Book of the Chronicles,” Chapter 9, Verse 1 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

History is filled with great stories – some of which can be true, and others of which are probably just myths and legends. But even many of the false ones can be important for the history, because they’ve been so fervently believed for such a long time. The mere fact that they’re believed at all is an important part of the history, even if it must sometimes be contended with by the “serious historians” when it’s wrong. Regardless, this documentary is a miscellaneous collection of four great myths and legends, which I will describe shortly. They go from Europe and Asia … to Africa and Arabia, and the first one is the Queen of Sheba.

A review of Michael Wood’s “In Search of the Trojan War”

“The gods deliberate in council concerning the Trojan war: they agree upon the continuation of it, and Jupiter sends down Minerva to break the truce. She persuades Pandarus to aim an arrow at Menelaus, who is wounded, but cured by Machaon. In the meantime some of the Trojan troops attack the Greeks.”

– Homer’s “Iliad,” Book 4 (as translated by Alexander Pope)

Was the “Trojan War” real, or just a myth? A historian investigates to find out …

Was the “Trojan War” real, or just a myth? In this program, historian Michael Wood investigates to find out. We know that the Ancient Greeks believed in the Trojan War, because they were great admirers of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” – probably written by the Greek poet Homer around the eighth century BC. In the “Iliad,” Homer recounts the story of the “Trojan War,” which he placed some centuries earlier than his own time. Some would say that this conflict has never existed outside the pages of the “Iliad.” Others believe that there is a kernel of truth in certain parts of these stories.

A review of Michael Wood’s “In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great”

“Whilst the Amphictyonic confederacy remained, that of the Achaeans, which comprehended the less important cities only, made little figure on the theatre of Greece. When the former became a victim to Macedon, the latter was spared by the policy of Philip and Alexander [the Great].”

– Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, in the Federalist Papers (Federalist No. 18)

One of the greatest conquerors in history, whose empire stretched from Greece to India …

He was one of the greatest conquerors in history, whose empire stretched from Greece to India. Before he reached age 30, Alexander the Great created a massive empire that would include much of the world, as it was known to the Mediterraneans in his time. Our best sources for his expedition include two histories, both written some centuries after the time of Alexander. One of these two historians was Greek, while the other was a Roman. But Alexander was a Macedonian. The Macedonian language no longer exists today, but it was definitely related to Greek. Some have even considered the Macedonians to be “Greeks” themselves. The host of this program sometimes seems to think so. But the Macedonians did not consider themselves to be “Greeks.” Nor did the self-identified “Greeks” consider the Macedonians to be Greeks. Nonetheless, it is true that the Macedonians spread Greek culture to a then-unprecedented extent. Nothing would spread Greek culture so widely again until the advent of the Roman Empire, which was some centuries later. I thought that it might have been helpful for the host to clarify this issue, even with a brief sentence or two. But this is actually a truly great film despite this omission.

A review of Michael Wood’s “In Search of Shakespeare”

He had more influence upon the English language than any other individual – perhaps even more than the Biblical translator William Tyndale. Shakespeare’s plays are still read and performed today, more than three centuries after their author’s death. Even literary ignoramuses like me can recognize lines like “Brevity is the soul of wit,” or “To be or not to be” – an oft-parodied line, even in comic strips like “Calvin and Hobbes.” Relatively few of us have ever bothered to read a Shakespeare play when it’s not assigned, partly because the original language can seem rather inaccessible to us today. Yet he left an influence upon the way that we speak, which is still felt right down to the present day.

William Shakespeare

The best way to learn about Shakespeare is probably to read his sonnets and plays, or watch some of his plays performed on stage – or in certain good film adaptations. But this documentary approach will still tell you much about his life. It is a biography of the man – a man whose life has long been shrouded in mystery. In the documentary world, this may be the most in-depth biography of Shakespeare that you’re likely to find. To find something more in-depth, you’d probably have to turn to the world of books. I freely admit that I’m no expert on Shakespeare, since I never even bothered to read one of his plays in the original. The closest that I came was to watch the 1953 film adaptation of his play “Julius Caesar,” starring James Mason as Brutus. This, at least, is closer to him than watching “West Side Story” in my youth – an adaptation of his famous play “Romeo and Juliet.” Incidentally, I turned on the Spanish subtitles for that DVD of Julius Caesar. I had an easier time understanding the Spanish than the Shakespearean English, and I’m a native speaker of English (but not of Spanish).

Garlanded statue of William Shakespeare in Lincoln Park, Chicago

A review of Michael Wood’s “In Search of the Dark Ages”

During the Dark Ages, there were a number of invasions of what is today “England.” Some of them were before the state of England was created, while others of them happened long after its formation. But if you want a good television overview of these invasions, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better one than Michael Wood’s “In Search of the Dark Ages,” made for the BBC in the late seventies and early eighties.

A review of Michael Wood's “The Story of China”

“Representing the will of the people of the entire nation, it has formulated the organization law for the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, elected Mao Tse-tung as chairman of the Central People's Government … [hence follow the names of the vice chairmen and the committee members] … to form the Central People's Government Committee, declared the founding of the People's Republic of China, and decided on Peking as the national capital.”

– Proclamation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, 1 October 1949

I had seen a number of Michael Wood films before seeing this series, including “The Story of India” and (The) “Story of England.” I had enjoyed these two films greatly, but I think that I may have enjoyed “The Story of China” even more than these other two epic histories. This series has more of a unified narrative than “The Story of India” does, and doesn't seem as much like a collection of random anecdotes about its subject. Although it is not a political history, the cultural history that it focuses on is woven together into a fascinating narrative, and has the effect of teaching the viewer much about China.

A review of Michael Wood's “Story of England”

“... there was not one single hide, nor a yard [endnote] of land, nay, moreover (it is shameful to tell, though he thought it no shame to do it), not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in his writ [namely, the Domesday Book] ... ”

– “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” (a medieval document), chronicling the events of the Great Survey (for taxation purposes) in the year 1085, as recorded in the so-called “Domesday Book” 

Michael Wood, the series presenter

England is the dominant part of the United Kingdom today

Even a cursory look at the British population will show that the dominant part of the United Kingdom is England, since more than 80% of its population resides in England. (That's according to the country's last census in 2011.) The rest of them are often lumped together into the term "Celtic peoples"; which come from the Celtic regions of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each of these peoples has a long history of conflict with England, and the fact that they almost always speak English today (not to mention their smaller numbers, in comparison with the English) all testify to the degree that they were conquered by England. This is, of course, a major factor in British society today, and a painful situation for many a Celt.

Did prior series from the BBC cover English history too much (and Celtic history too little)?

It may have been England's predominance over internal British affairs that caused a prior series from the year 2000 - namely, Simon Schama's "A History of Britain" - to focus mainly on England in its political history, rather than to try to cover everything else in the British Isles. A number of Celts felt somewhat neglected by the larger Simon Schama history, and so the BBC made a few other series that focused more on Celtic history - such as Fergal Keane's "The Story of Ireland," Huw Edwards' "The Story of Wales," and Neil Oliver's "A History of Scotland." While these series may have served to pacify some of the Celtic audiences for the BBC, it is ironic that the BBC eventually decided to go back to English history (at least temporarily), and make another series about England - which is, of course, Michael Wood's "Story of England," the topic of this post.

King Henry VIII, the only person to be mentioned by name in an episode title

A review of Michael Wood's “The Story of India”

"As from the fifteenth day of August, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, two independent Dominions shall be set up in India, to be known respectively as India and Pakistan."

- Indian Independence Act of 1947, as passed by the British Parliament

I should give a disclaimer for my international readers that I am from the United States (and not from India), and that none of my ancestors are from India, either - just from European countries like Britain, the country that financed this documentary. Thus, I do not claim to be an expert on India, as I am just a layperson in North America who is an outsider to this culture. With that disclaimer in mind, I will give an opinion on Michael Wood's "The Story of India," and how it compares with some other country histories I've seen on television.

A review of Michael Wood's “Conquistadors”

A disturbing and intensely fascinating human drama ...

It caused the fall of empires, and the rise of a new one in their place. It changed the destiny of continents, and left the imprint of Europe on their face. And it was a tale of cruelty and ruthlessness - a disturbing and intensely fascinating human drama - which forever changed the Western Hemisphere; and by extension, the entire world.

Machu Picchu, Peru

The story has an air of Shakespearean tragedy to it ...

The event is, of course, the Spanish Conquest; and generations of schoolchildren have grown up with the story of how it happened. The story has an air of Shakespearean tragedy to it, of complicated characters who manage to be sympathetic even when callous and cruel; and even the brutality and horrors of it cannot stop it from being interesting, captivating, and utterly compelling. We may not like it, but we'll never be able to get away from it; and instead of ignoring it, there is value in learning about this epic tale; and hearing of the tremendous impact it has left on our civilization, and our world.

Moctezuma II being held captive by Cortés, circa 1519 or 1520