While there are normally a few period dramas on at any given time, the first three months of 2022 have been overflowing. I suspect it has to do with so many productions catching up/ finally airing after covid delays, but I will take them for any reason. However, when period dramas air, historians emerge to rant and yell. But I think that they are good for historians. So, without further adieu, let’s chat about why period dramas are good for historians! (In my opinion at least…)
From mid-February to mid-March 2022, we had the fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And from the end of January to the end of March, we have The Gilded Age. The Porter is currently airing as is the final season of Peaky Blinders, the new season of Sanditon will be airing soon, and Bridgerton S2 will be up on Netflix in no time. And these are great for historians…
Period Dramas Give Historians a Wider Purpose
Realistically, academia is very, very niche. For the most part, the public doesn’t interact with most historians. Yes, there will be a small percentage of the population that is interested in history, but many of them will turn to pop or general history sources rather than academic.* However, I’ve noticed that more and more news and interest sites are turning to professional historians for their pieces on various period dramas! Sometimes it is only a quote or two, but oftentimes now, there will be an in-depth interview with a specialist.
Academia has a bad reputation for not being accessible and useful to the wider public. Addressing and engaging with period dramas and the interest around them gives us these opportunities! If you are a military or political historian, you might be more popular as a news source. However, a lot of more niche areas are finally getting their chances because of period dramas, and it is lovely to see.
*I think that both general history and academic history are needed and valuable, you can find more on my post here! They serve different purposes, though.
Period Dramas Get the Wider Public Interested
As much as I love getting lost in primary sources or historiography for the day, I’m not so out of touch to know that the general public is not interested in that at all. (I get it, you would have to pay me to watch sports.) However, the general public will watch a period drama- especially if it has a notable actor in it or has a strong PR campaign.
I’ve been steadily getting questions about 1950s and 1960s fashion from friends and family since Maisel started airing in mid-February. And questions about the Gilded Age and related topics are not far behind. Had I tried to “lure” people in with random discussions, I think there would have been little interest. Once they’ve started watching this period drama with characters and plots that they are interested in though, they start to turn their mind to it.
And I welcome these questions! Depending on the period drama in question, I might ask for a bit of time to search or refer to someone else with more knowledge. However, if I can answer it, I’m more than happy to! And being able to boil complex situations and themes down to easily understandable chunks is a useful skill for every area of life.
Period Dramas Are Entertainment, Not Education
I know that many historians will disagree with me, but period dramas are entertainment at the end of the day. They aren’t a documentary (which still have biases!) or a textbook made into a video (textbooks can also be biased), they are entertainment.
If you are watching The Gilded Age, do you really want streets full of horse manure? Yes, that would have been realistic, but do I want that in my entertainment/escape? NO, NO I DO NOT. People have criticised The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for not showing Midge’s children enough. Well, for most viewers, they are not an integral part of the storyline and there is only so much time.
And if you do prefer realism, I would suggest simply not watching the show(s) rather than driving yourself up a wall with constant criticism and corrections. As a ballet dancer, I can’t watch films or shows like Black Swan. I recognise that about myself and just don’t watch them. Unless you are being paid to watch them, skip them if you hate them that much. (With the world in the state that it is, do we need to bring more negativity into our lives?)
And speaking of why period dramas are good for historians, what period dramas have you been watching lately?
Cheers,
The Historian
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