|
 Dr. Anne Roerkohl: "The Industrial
Revolution- Great Britain 1750-1850"
Witty industrial
By Martin Knust
Impressive,
fast, revolutionary: With these words you can describe a peculiar
process in World History: the Industrial Revolution.
The
era began with rotating wheels in the second half of the 18th
century in Britain, then still a predominantly agricultural society,
which would remain the leading country in the Industrial Revolution.
The technical, economical and social changes of this era, changed
the human life in a radical way. The Anne Roerkohl dokumentARfilm
GmbH which also has made some TV- Productions, now produced a first
documentary of the series "Geschichte interaktiv" ("History
interactive") and dedicated it to this theme, "The Industrial
Revolution 1750-1850". This series wants to show many different
historial themes to their
viewers and make them come to know history. This
DVD- film "The Industrial Revolution 1750-1850" shows in
detail the beginning processes in Great Britain , the changes and
the consequences. Additional to the images shot in England and Scotland,
there are many historical graphics, interviews and animations, which
confirm and document the former life- and working- conditions.
The
main-film (23 min.) gives a wealth of information to the audience:
At
the end of the 18th century the "mill- system"
was developed by establishing "Cromford Mill" in Britain,
which soon was to expand, to cover the entire world in a short time
and bring all the social changes. The population grew in Britain;
the population of the industrial cities expanded. Supply and demand
increased rapidly. The british Empire got prosperous because of the
liberal policy of the monarchy and because of the British system of
trade. Many companies made profits by using new technologies and used
the profits for new investments in newer machines and technologies.
The
weavers received special attention in this film; new machines, working
faster than a workers hand, deprived manual labourers of their jobs:
A rebellion began. As much revolutionary as the whole
era was the steam-engine by Watt, which brought similarily revolutionary
change. Moreover the documentary shows the causes and
consequences and also many examples of mills, like the "New Lanark
Mill" of entrepreneur Robert Owen, who believed in a better world
and improved the working- conditions and proved, that profit and reforms
aren`t contrasts.
Beside
the main-film there are seven additional "moduls" (6-9 min.
à modul). With this moduls you`ll get insight to deepen your knowledge
about the theme and you`ll get an insight in some aspects:
·
Cromford Mill. Die World`s First Factory
·
Quarry Bank Mill. Working in a Textile Factory
·
Textile Technology. From Manual to Machinework
·
The „Age of Iron". Coalbrookdale and the Darbys
·
Steam Power. The Symbol of the New Era.
·
Railways. The Steam Engine Learned to Run.
·
New Lanark Mill. Robert Owen`s Vision of a better World.
The
bilingual documentary should be useful for history- class, but moreover
it`s useful for politics and english (especially for lessons about
economical- and social politics). The
teacher is able to show and discuss the main- film in just one lesson;
with the moduls it`s possible to deal with other aspects.
You
can find some suggestions on the website
of the Producer and can download
it as a PDF- File. This DVD is also available there.
Also,
the Anne Roerkohl dokumentARfilm GmbH made a very interesting film
about the theme of Industrialisation with a good and clear structure;
that makes a lesson different, easier and more interesting. This DVD
really has something to present: Just witty industrial!
More
Information on http://dokumentarfilm.com/030101e.htm
.
|
