A little thread of thoughts coming up on period dramas & the presentation of the past:-

After chatting to @AlexvtT & guests over the past few months for @HistoryFilmClub I've been thinking a lot about the potential of period dramas to challenge presumptions about the past & to generate discussion about history

We often like to think of period dramas as 'cosy' or 'nostalgic' but few fit that brief under closer scrutiny. Some of the most successful period dramas (Downton Abbey, Peaky Blinders, Poldark, Outlander, Call the Midwife, White Princess etc) are very different from each other

they differ in style, content, context, structure, audience, reception. Long running series have huge potential to bring in subtle narratives by stealth, using our familiarity with the characters to draw us into areas of history we might not be expecting or be familiar with

Call The Midwife does this with a lot of grit in almost every episode, across its multiple series, covering radical and what are often described as marginalised histories of sexuality, race, disability and more

Poldark did it as well, mixing fact & fiction to introduce social historical themes that might not be considered standard period drama fare (economic history, struggles against capitalism, histories of medicine, abolition of slavery, mixed race marriage)

Similarly, Peaky Blinders and Harlots (fictional narratives & characters but inspired by historical source material) shake up our expectations of what a period drama should look and feel like, and make space for different kinds of stories to be told

There has been a lot of talk in recent years of challenging 'the genre' of period drama. I don't think there is *a* genre, but the desire to challenge it is certainly invigorating the industry. The Favourite was presented as a challenge & Bridgerton is also discussed in that way.

This thread is getting quite long isn't it? You can't stop the academic boring on .... anyway... here we go... nearly there... possibly...

Our podcast @HistoryFilmClub is for those who love period dramas. But even if you don't love them, or if you don't love all of them equally, or if you hate some, or hate them all, I still think we might agree that this is a very exciting time for history on screen.

I hope that the more variety we see on screen in terms of formats for historical storytelling the more space it will create for different kinds of historical stories to be told. Commissioners want to get a success 'like' something else, but they never want exactly the same story

Cheerfully, for historians, often a search for non-fiction 'real histories' follows from a fiction. Just look at the inevitable articles on accuracy and 'did that really happen?' that come in the wake of any period drama.

So this is a prime time for historians to pitch all the histories that you are annoyed haven't yet made it on to screens. And think big. The epic 8-episode, multi series ensemble dramas, not just the single biographical 2 hour film. Although those are also great.

Another day I'll get some advice together here about pitching (to which I'll defer to friends, because I never pitch, I just hop on the ride!). I'm sure there are ways we can press for history on screen collectively & engage with the process of filmmaking much more successfully.

The end. Happy Christmas. Rock on 2021 etc. Stay safe. Wear a mask. Wine time now.