Watch cultural explosion documentaries on BBC Select

Is culture superior to politics?

Which is the defining cultural explosion in your life? It could be anything from Grime, to the recipes of Yotam Ottolenghi.

These documentaries look at a broad spectrum of culture-defining movements, from the teachings of Confuscious, to the Suffragette movement and even the election of Donald Trump, and look at the impact they have had on our everyday lives.

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If you enjoyed this Take, scroll down to learn more about Cultural Explosions with the following programmes, brought to you by BBC Select.

Featured in The Cultural Explosions Drop on BBC Select:

Some women in Britain were given the right to vote in 1918. But the battle to reach that point was violent and vicious, as ordinary working-class people grew more radicalized in order to achieve their ends. In this vivid drama-documentary, acclaimed historian Lucy Worsley re-creates pivotal moments in the struggle that resorted to arson and assault to ensure their voices were heard.

Watch Suffragettes on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.

People laughed when Donald Trump tweeted that he was standing for President. He showed them. They thought he’d change when he took office. He doubled down. This is the story of four years of Trump, according to the insiders who aided him – Steve Bannon, Sean Spicer, and Anthony Scaramucci. Through sex scandals, a pandemic, impeachment, public unrest… the whole world was watching. It was one hell of a show.

Watch The Trump Show on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.

Huge cultural explosions are often placed at the feet of particular individuals. But the DNA of the cities that fuel this stunning art also have an influence. In this BBC documentary art expert James Fox digs into the underbelly of three iconic cities – Vienna, Paris and New York – at pivotal moments in their cultural history, and explores how the atmosphere and streets themselves drove artists to create seminal work.

Watch Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.

All surface and no substance – or subversive and profound? Pop art has always divided tastes. Art historian Alastair Sooke believes that the culture-drenched works of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein are era-defining masterpieces. But do the movement’s works still have the ability to shock?

Watch Soup Cans and Superstars: How Pop Art Changed the World on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.

What happened in the 5th century BC changed your life. This was the time when three trailblazers – the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates – transformed our understanding of human potential, cutting us loose from gods, making us deciders of our own destiny. All survivors of childhood trauma, living thousands of miles apart, what was it about their time that created ideas that still shape our own lives?  Historian Bettany Hughes investigates.

Watch Genius of the Ancient World on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.