Thirteen
Releases Updated Version of Jewish Heritage Series
By
Joa n Baum, Ph. D.
The
upcoming fall TV season no doubt prompted Channel 13’s decision
to release an updated version of the public television blockbuster
award-winning series of 15 years ago Heritage: Civilization and
the Jews. If “Heritage” was originally hailed as a “feast of research,
language and photography,” PBS is clearly banking on the updated
nine-part series to attract a much wider audience. Not only will
the new version run again on TV, but it will also be available
in technologically enhanced video forms such as interactive DVD,
VHS, and the Internet– an incredible resource not only for individuals
but also for libraries, museums and for the traditional, as well
as distance-learning, classroom.
A major promotional launch for the updated series was held at
The Jewish Museum where television executives, figures from the
political and cultural world, and scholars mingled to hail the
venture. Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN and narrator-host
of the series, Abba Eban, issued a statement lauding the release
“in an unprecedented variety of formats” as a “service to people
of all faiths who wish to explore the history, culture and contribution
of the Jewish people to world civilization.” He wrote that had
he not become a diplomat, he most certainly “would have been a
teacher.”
Morris Offit, trustee of both the Museum and Thirteen, who was
clearly joyful over the “amazing new educational product” that
was about to be demonstrated, introduced speakers whom, with humor
and passion, spoke of the importance of the educational potential
of the enterprise. Assemblyman Ed Sullivan, Chair of the Higher
Education Committee in Albany, predicted that the series with
its new emphasis as an “engine of learning” would affect the “whole
community,” stimulating curiosity beyond the schools, and “making
real” what had hitherto “only been imagined.” Bill Baker, President
of Thirteen, pointed out that the original series had always been
one of the “big” ones at Thirteen and “emblematic” of what public
TV could do. Now, with enhanced technology, PBS could do even
more.
John Fox, the Executive Producer and Editor-in-Chief, who worked
on the series for ten years, then showed a video snippet from
the first episode of Heritage: Civilization and the Jews. Murmurs
of appreciation could be heard as choices were clicked into view–among
them a word and category multimedia index, an encyclopedia, maps,
explanatory essays, streaming video, translated and annotated
historical documents, picture captions, built-in help documentation.
Eli Evans, of The Charles H. Revson Foundation, which, along with
the Estate of Mortimer J. Harrison and The Jacob Burns Foundation,
provided major funding for the update, took particular delight
in stressing the series as “technology in the service of knowledge”
that would extend “the increasing sweep of the Jewish experience.”
Leaving little to chance, Thirteen is also spearheading educational
outreach activities to complement the release, including a full
educational package designed by Thirteen’s Kravis Multimedia Education
Center. The teaching aids will contain a Resource Guide for both
the classroom and Web, and Thirteen’s Educational Resources Center
is also planning to hold training sessions for educators and group
leaders on how best to use these materials and spark discussions
for wide and diverse audiences.
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