History Shorts

Six short animated films take an irreverent look at famousSix short animated films explore famous historical legends and figures. Was Cleopatra really as beautiful as the myths say? How is the Dalai Lama chosen? What is the significance of Stonehenge and Glastonbury as sacred places? The series also follows current news stories relating to history and art, such as the controversy about the Benin Bronzes; what actually are they? A rich mix of animation and archive illuminate these fascinating topics.

Our preview videos are intended for broadcasters looking to licence content from the Open University.

Programme 1 - What are the Benin Bronzes?
These are the Benin Bronzes, some of the greatest African art ever made – and we stole them.  At the end of the 19th Century the British Empire spanned a quarter of the world.  The other European nations wanted their own empires and a huge land-grab began.  Africa was a land of opportunity. Britain took control of what is now Nigeria and crushed local rulers, all except the defiant King of Benin.  Benin had grown from a city into an empire and had become a hotbed of artistic skill and trade.  The best artists produced beautiful and intricate bronze plaques to decorate the King’s palace, and they even began taxing imports and exports to their kingdom.  This made the local British officials angry and they demanded Benin be taken by force, and Benin’s treasures be used to pay for the cost.

Programme 2 - How Beautiful was Cleopatra?
Cleopatra’s career as beauty and seductress didn’t get off to a great start.  In 51BC, aged 18, she became Pharaoh of Egypt, but she was forced to follow tradition and marry her 10-year-old brother.  She soon got shot of him but, unfortunately, her ministers also got shot of her.  In exile she had no power of her own so she did what women have done for centuries, used her sexuality to manipulate men.

Programme 3 – What is Britain’s most sacred site?
From St Michael’s Mount to the Standing Stones of Orkney, Britain is choc-a-bloc with sacred sites.  Stonehenge was built as people started to realise that growing food might be easier than chasing it.  they began to create vast stone structures to celebrate this new bond between humans and earth.  Stonehenge is extra-special partly because it celebrates the sun as well.  It would have taken 200 people to raise each stone in the spectacular circle, but it was worth it.  At midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, the sun pours through the stones into the centre of the monument; heaven brought to earth

Programme 4 – What was the Easter Rising?
For two fairly close next door neighbours, Ireland and Britain have never really got on.  Ireland has been under varying degrees of British rule since the late 12th Century and most of the inhabitants don’t want this.  For centuries, right up until the present day, various nationalist organisations have sought independence from Britain and various loyalist ones want to remain part of the United Kingdom.

Irish independence came close in 1912 when the Home Rule Bill was introduced by the British government.  This would have allowed Ireland to have more say in how it was governed.

Programme 5 – How do they choose the Dalai Lama?
The Dalai Lama? He’s a Buddhist monk, and not just any old monk but the head honcho of Buddhism in Tibet.  There have only been 14 Dalai Lamas, and the first was anointed about 500 years ago.  Buddhists believe that he is the reincarnation of a former Dalai Lama who has been reborn to continue his good work.

Programme 6 – Shostakovich, why is he famous?
Joseph Stalin unleashed the first weapon of mass destruction.  It changed the course of World War II, its creator was a young composer, Demetri Shostakovich, and the weapon was a symphony. Demetri represented all the contradictions of working in 20th Century Russia.  Was he undermining Stalin or celebrating him?  Like so many, he lived in fear of his life.  He watched as friends and family were arrested as enemies of the state.  His music was officially denounced, but he was quick to apologise and seemed to conform.  He then went on to become Stalin’s propaganda tool, even appearing on the cover of Time magazine.