![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Review: Meet the Romans with Mary Beard (2012)
This was a really interesting documentary on Roman life. It wasn't comprehensive because there are only three episodes, but I really appreciated that it went into the daily lives of Romans as opposed to the great and famous that may be more recognizable.
Production
The show didn't have a fixed format. Episodes would overlap a bit. Instead it was more of a constant stream of Mary Beard exploring different aspects of life. Which was fine. I wasn't confused, and the links from section to section were smooth enough.
Mary Beard was a great presenter. She seems to have very deep knowledge of the Classics and Roman History, but she was able to contextualize it to us in the modern day as well. Not only did she explain to us what was going on, but she explained how things might have been perceived at the time in ways that were understandable to us (e.g. comparing the rich baker with his bakery-themed tomb to a modern day soccer player with a soccer-themed tomb). Mary Beard did a combination of her own investigation and exploration, as well as inviting guests onto the show, but she remained the central link and was very engaging to watch.
Content
As mentioned, this show focused on the everyday lives of people. I really appreciated this aspect of the documentary, showing us mundane things like where they took their trash, where they did their business, where they went to the toilet. She presented the Romans in a way that was very human, which is something that sometimes history books struggle to do because lives were just so different. But she reminded us that Romans loved, hated, got angry, had salacious lives, etc.
Overall
This documentary series was recommended to me by a friend and I would definitely recommend it to others for an interesting dip into everyday lives of Romans!
Production
The show didn't have a fixed format. Episodes would overlap a bit. Instead it was more of a constant stream of Mary Beard exploring different aspects of life. Which was fine. I wasn't confused, and the links from section to section were smooth enough.
Mary Beard was a great presenter. She seems to have very deep knowledge of the Classics and Roman History, but she was able to contextualize it to us in the modern day as well. Not only did she explain to us what was going on, but she explained how things might have been perceived at the time in ways that were understandable to us (e.g. comparing the rich baker with his bakery-themed tomb to a modern day soccer player with a soccer-themed tomb). Mary Beard did a combination of her own investigation and exploration, as well as inviting guests onto the show, but she remained the central link and was very engaging to watch.
Content
As mentioned, this show focused on the everyday lives of people. I really appreciated this aspect of the documentary, showing us mundane things like where they took their trash, where they did their business, where they went to the toilet. She presented the Romans in a way that was very human, which is something that sometimes history books struggle to do because lives were just so different. But she reminded us that Romans loved, hated, got angry, had salacious lives, etc.
Overall
This documentary series was recommended to me by a friend and I would definitely recommend it to others for an interesting dip into everyday lives of Romans!