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A thread to recommend stuff on the BBC

windhoek said:
Genius of the Modern World presented by Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of great modern thinkers: Marx, Nietzsche and Frued. The episode looking at Marx is no longer on iPlayer, but the episodes looking at Nietzsche and Frued are - although the episode on Nietzsche is only available to watch until Thursday.

The episode on Nietzsche shows how he developed his concept of Übermensch and how Hitler annexed... er, I mean appropriated the idea and turned it into something else. It also shows how he developed the concept of amor fati - a truly powerful concept for anyone who can embrace life no matter what can become, as Nietzsche suggests, an unshackled, self-actualising (my words) Übermensch.
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Gripping stuff. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
The Art of Japanese Life, presented by Dr James Fox, journeys through Japan's mountainous forests, marvels at its zen gardens and admires centuries-old bonsai, to explore the connections between Japanese culture and the natural environment. Travelling around Japan's stunning island geography, he examines how the country's two great religions, Shinto and Buddhism, helped shape a creative response to nature often very different to the West. But he also considers modern Japan's changing relationship to the natural world and travels to Naoshima Art Island to see how contemporary artists are finding new ways to engage with nature.

Highlights for me were the bonsai trees and Hokusai's superb artworks.
 
Did anyone see the film on BBC 4 about the 4 elderly Brit academics retracing their road trip of the 1960s when they were young postdocs just starting out in the USA... all went on to become professors or research directors at top US institutions, and made substantial contributions to astronomy, physics and maths in their time.

Can't remember what it was called - maybe "Starmen"? but it does not appear to be on iPlayer.

Two of them - in their early 80s and late 70s - went on a two day hike through canyons to get to the Rainbow bridge which they had trekked to as 20-somethings in the 1960s. I swear one of them was wearing shirt and tie after a night out in the open in a sleeping bag!
 
alanbeeb said:
Did anyone see the film on BBC 4 about the 4 elderly Brit academics retracing their road trip of the 1960s when they were young postdocs just starting out in the USA... all went on to become professors or research directors at top US institutions, and made substantial contributions to astronomy, physics and maths in their time.

Can't remember what it was called - maybe "Starmen"? but it does not appear to be on iPlayer.

Two of them - in their early 80s and late 70s - went on a two day hike through canyons to get to the Rainbow bridge which they had trekked to as 20-somethings in the 1960s. I swear one of them was wearing shirt and tie after a night out in the open in a sleeping bag!
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I'll have a look at that, thanks. It *is* on iPlayer, it's called Britain's Star Men.
 
alanbeeb said:
Two of them - in their early 80s and late 70s - went on a two day hike through canyons to get to the Rainbow bridge which they had trekked to as 20-somethings in the 1960s. I swear one of them was wearing shirt and tie after a night out in the open in a sleeping bag!
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I really enjoyed it, they were brilliant.

They did remind me of these two on a few occasions:

 
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Tonight on BBC 2, at 21:00. 'Hospital'. Episode filmed at St Mary's in London, showing how they dealt with the Westminster terror attack in March. Saw a brief preview on Newsnight last night - essential viewing I suspect.
 
Just finished watching George Best documentary, which focuses more on his demons than his footballing. Very well done and quite poignant. He would go on benders to blot out how bad he felt due to letting people down and these drinking sessions would led to him letting more people down. And so it went.
 
Ian Hislop explores the decades from the Victorian era to the First World War when modern Britain introduced its first restrictions on immigration. Hislop is always worth watching.
 
I just watched the last episode of The Art of Japanese Life and found myself somewhat spellbound by the philosophy of Ma - an experiential and deliberate appreciation of the space between form. The example that appeared in the progamme concerned flower arranging - an artistic activity in its own right not to be confused with the sort of flower arranging that takes place at your local flower shop for the purpose of commerce. According to Ma, then, one does not simply arrange flowers, one also arranges the space between the buds, stems and flowers.

I think this an amazing approach to how negative space is used and it makes me think whenever I rearrange the furniture or whatever, I should be mindful to think about the space between this and that. Interestingly, however, although it's a traditional Japanese philosophy, the programme also showed how Ma is being forgotten or abandaned by most of the young people who live in cities where space is at an incredibly tight premium and the accumulation of stuff is the way of the modern world.
 
Sudan: Last of the Rhinos.
Sobering tale of the fate of the northern white rhino. However, the doc. makers do a very good job of telling the story.
 
The Renaissance Unchained: Waldemar Januszczak challenges the traditional view of art's most important epoch.

A repeat from 2016, well worth a watch if you missed it the first time around like me. Fwiw, Waldemar Januszczak is a great presenter as he speaks in plain English but still squeezes in some spoken panache as well as some magical metaphors :cool:
 
misterdog said:
Not usually big on ballet, but this is ballet with lasers and music by Max Richter.

Think Jean Michelle Jarre does ballet.

Excellent.

Though the Daily Telegraph only managed a 2 star review, The Guardian managed 4 so maybe not for everyone.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xypdv

If you are still thinking Ballet !! here is a brief sampler to get you in the mood.

https://vimeo.com/82088106
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I've never watched ballet before but the sampler video makes me think I should - especially a ballet with lasers and stuff!
 
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