National Geographic’s new three-part docudrama, Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston, combines historical investigation with dramatic reconstruction. Over three episodes, Hiddleston narrates and investigates three historical figures he claims to be ‘real Romans’ who lived through the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Re-enactments are woven heavily within Hiddleston’s research pieces, following the stories of Avianius, Julia, and a Praetorian soldier.
Pompeii: Out of Time was an interesting watch for me. As an Ancient History and Archaeology student, I went into this expecting pure fact, hopeful for a great addition to my summer reading. Immediately I was disappointed when I realised that this was in fact more drama than documentary.
It seems I should have watched the trailer.
my first reaction: skepticism
My immediate instinct was to criticise, nitpick, and scoff at this highly dramatised show. It felt like Hiddleston was twirling his fingers every two minutes, with the power of editing swishing us back in time, or simply correcting a ‘mistake’ he had made moments earlier.
The division between fact and fiction was too blurred for my liking. And personally, found myself easily drawn into believing that everything Hiddleston said was true, even though my critical thinking was screaming internally. The tag line of the show changes from “This is a story” to “This is History” with Hiddleston defending it by explaining that the Latin word historia can mean both history and story.
I barely passed first-year Latin, so I’m not the ideal person to question his translation, however the wider point is clear: the series deliberately occupies the space between documented history and imagined narrative. Whatever the best translation of historia is, one thing is true, the show does not do a good job in telling you what is pure fact and what is them filling in the gaps that history is unable to fill.
where the show won me over
Despite my concerns, once I got past the first episode, I began to better understand the true aim of the series.
Yes, they wanted to teach (perhaps with a little too much pizazz and not enough genuine research), but they were making the programme a tool for accessibility. Using talented actors, immersive sets and costumes along with a fair sprinkling of technology, they made a series to enable the viewer to learn and experience a little of what Pompeii may have been like and the disaster that followed.
The emotional core
The docu-series creates compassion and emotion for the tragedy of Pompeii, although the details of the reconstructed lives are speculative, the three characters do represent people who truly lived, worked, loved and faced disaster in this city. A deep sense of empathy runs throughout as we learn how thousands of people’s lives ended.
The message the series tries to convey is summed up by “Pompeii isn’t a place, it’s a people“.
That line, truly got to me, and the message of community in the face of adversity is so important, especially in this tumultuous present day.
the verdict
Pompeii: Out of Time has very mixed reviews and I too have my own critiques. However, I do believe there are real positives to the show. It challenges the popular but false view that Pompeii was destroyed instantly, allowing people to fully understand the traumatic event that unfolded all those years ago. As well as that it makes history accessible to all, allows room for compassion, and empathy for the lives lost. Finally it provides the ability to make an ancient tragedy feel immediate and immense. As Tom Hiddleston said “We tell stories about the past to understand the present”. That is the true strength of Pompeii: Out of Time, it allows us to connect with the people of the past.