Shoulder to Shoulder

I watched this avidly when it was broadcast in the 1970s. Why, I wonder, has this excellent series been allowed to gather dust? It had brilliant acting and was both informative and moving. The song, The March of the Women, always moves me to tears.

I have a nasty suspicion that it's to do with sexism at the BBC. It's about women, and by women, and deals with women as people, not decorative fluff. Given programming costs, I would have thought they'd welcome the chance to air all those well-made episodes at no cost. And a re-broadcast would stimulate DVD sales, assuming they ever made the effort to put it out in DVD format.

Of course, if the BBC felt like it, there is a great deal of gold that could be mined on the subject of the struggle for women's rights: the fight for married women's property rights; the fight for equal rights in marriage and divorce; the fights for education against medical advice that it would bring on brain fever or interfere with women's reproductive capabilities; the fights for admission to various professions.

The BBC IS Tto repeat this wonderful series starting this week on BBC4, they have shown some fantastic gems over last year including THE ROADS TO FREEDOM, SUNSET SONG, HOTEL DU LAC , MOMETI MORI dare we hope for CAKES AND ALE with Michael Hordern and Judy Cornwall and THE BELL with Ian Holm and VILLETTE it is becoming increasingly obvious these still exist and have not been shredded as were told to believe! A bonus is an introduction to the series with Sian Phillips and two of the directors Moira Armstrong and Waris Hussein. Essentially these are six separate plays giving individual movements of key figures . It shows the internal squabbles within the Pankhurst family and how they would drop people who no longer agreed with their viewpoint. It's a fascinating warts and all intelligent series well worth this new viewingfifty years since first broadcast!

I love this series (introduced to me by my mother when repeated in the late 1980s when it was 70 years of the vote) and often use our old worn out video copy in the classroom. The episode on Emily Davison I always found particularly hard hitting. Its a shame its never been released on DVD. Perhaps this is the year to push for it. If we are lucky, it might even get a repeat as its 90 years in 2008 since women were given the vote in the UK I've contacted the BBC to ask about release to DVD and have been told to write to BBC worldwide to suggest it. Maybe if we all write and get everyone we know to write, there might just be enough demand for its release. I'm happy to post the address they gave me if anyone wants it.

This title should be made available on DVD so that I can show the younger members of my family at what cost the vote was given to them. Not only was this splendid drama it was an invaluable lesson to a young me and I have never wasted my vote since seeing it. There is an apathy now among the young and their precious vote just does not seem important to them not a good attitude as past history can reveal. BBC Four screened one episode recently why only one? It is so frustrating to see one episode of such a quality drama and then not to be able to see the rest. When there are so many old dramas coming out for general view again surely this one is due for release so please release it distributors there are many out there who would love to see it again.

This is a great documentary of a very significant social movement that has had little attention given to it to date. The book is a great resource but the series is much more engaging. This is the type of thing that should be shown in schools to help young women get a sense of their own history. Not only in schools but it should also made accessible to the general public as well.

As they say, what we don't remember, we're bound to repeat. Just take a look at this video on UTube.

http://www.youtube.com/share?v=WWV45MuWBN4&embed=1

It's pretty amazing how a whole generation of girls knows nothing of what it took to get them the right to vote. No to mention the many other rights they take for granted now.

Having said that, I'd love to see the DVD set made available for "Shoulder to Shoulder". There really is nothing else like it out there. The one or two films available are too Hollywood and don't focus on the real issues but rather focus on the love lives (however falsely) of the women - instead of what they were doing. How come we never see that with male characters from history? I've noticed others who are waiting for it to be made available for purchase too. What's the hold up??