Simon Schama, the historian who’s made a career out of making the past feel present, turns his attention to a particularly thorny question: just who are we now? And, perhaps more importantly, how did we get here? His new three-part series, “Simon Schama’s Story of Us,” airing on BBC Two, tackles Britain’s current cultural divides not as some unprecedented phenomenon, but as the latest iteration of tensions that have simmered throughout the 20th century and beyond.
In the premiere episode, “Who Are We Now?,” Schama uses art and culture as his entry point, examining how creative expression both reflects and shapes societal fault lines. From post-war optimism to the anxieties of the 70s, he explores moments of both unity and rupture. The 1971 Festival of Light, a conservative Christian rally, serves as one example of a society grappling with changing values. On the other hand, the gritty realism of Karel Reisz’s film “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” and the vibrant work of pop artist Pauline Boty offer different perspectives on the era’s evolving social landscape.
Schama isn’t content to simply narrate from the sidelines. He brings in a diverse range of voices to offer their own interpretations, including musician Jarvis Cocker, writer Ali Smith, and, somewhat unexpectedly, Sir Cliff Richard and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce. This blend of high and low culture, of established figures and contemporary artists, speaks to Schama’s attempt to find some common ground, some shared experience, in a Britain that often feels fractured.
Can art really bridge the divides of Brexit, identity politics, and economic inequality? Schama doesn’t offer easy answers, but he does suggest that by understanding the cultural narratives that have shaped us, we might just find a way to talk to each other again. Or at least understand why we’re shouting.
“Simon Schama’s Story of Us” premieres Wednesday, January 8, 2025, on BBC Two.
