Pompeii: Disaster Street
By Monique Jones,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Doc on the Pompeii ruins is dry but promotes curiosity.
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Pompeii: Disaster Street
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What's the Story?
POMPEII: DISASTER STREET is chock-full of information on the daily lives of the people who lived in Pompeii in 79 AD, on the ominous day when Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city and its inhabitants. The film focuses on the excavation and restoration team led by Massimo Osanna, Director General of Archaeological Park of Pompeii. New discoveries, such as the specific month Pompeii was destroyed, are made over the course of the documentary.
Is It Any Good?
This documentary is a great resource for students writing historical papers on the legacy of Pompeii, but if you're watching it for entertainment, you might find it a little boring. The English dub of Pompeii: Disaster Street, placed over the native Italian spoken by the excavation team, probably contributes to some of the documentary's lackluster feeling. For viewers who get distracted by dubbed programs over ones with subtitles, the jarring dub could keep them from fully investing in the information being presented. Also, the program feels like it doesn't fully engage its audience; while the excavation team is excited about what they are learning, the excitement isn't ever fully conveyed to the audience.
However, fans of ancient Rome who can overlook boring presentations will find in Pompeii: Disaster Street many nuggets of fun information. For instance, a new date in 79 AD is found for Mount Vesuvius' eruption, changing what historians have accepted as fact for decades. The team also finds a strange mosaic that redefines the types of art and symbolism historians believed were present in Pompeii at the time. Overall, Pompeii: Disaster Street is full of fun facts that, like Pompeii itself, must be unearthed with patience.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about life in Pompeii. What were some similarities Pompeiian life had to modern life? How was life in Pompeii different than our modern society?
How did curiosity lead the team to discover new information about Pompeii?
What were some of the discoveries made by the excavation team; how did they change our understanding of Pompeii?
How does the documentary showcase what Pompeii means to understanding world history?
TV Details
- Premiere date: January 1, 2020
- Network: Max
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: History
- Character Strengths: Curiosity
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Last updated: June 25, 2021
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