I once saw that someone said that the only reason Egypt still has the pyramids is that they were too big to be moved to Britain
@jockjockin9589
Жыл бұрын
I saw it too😂
@gorillaguerillaDK
Жыл бұрын
And the living accommodations isn’t roomy enough for American or Russian Oligarchs….
@HyperactiveNeuron
Жыл бұрын
That's an excellent level of stupid lol
@ArchReverend
Жыл бұрын
The tops of the pyramids were tipped with gold and i would not be surprised to find them in Britain or very possibly in the vaults of the Vatican.
@quelodequelo
Жыл бұрын
Or in Turin, Italy 😅 🙊
@sunnirae1900
Жыл бұрын
Lets all appreciate that HBO puts all LWT episodes in almost their entirety for free on youtube without a shitton of ads.
@igcarism_atiqueclickmehh7001
Жыл бұрын
Its cuz not everyone can afford HBO or wants HBO, verrry admirable
@LaszloMarai
Жыл бұрын
Well, I even have HBO (Max) and I still watch in on YT, because that's where most of the stuff I watch is. It's great that the important part is here and that it can get to so many people.
@oqulus6880
Жыл бұрын
you guys having ads? 👀 👀
@James7995
Жыл бұрын
I’ve been saying that. It’s fantastic.
@ingetuinman8793
Жыл бұрын
Don't put thoughts in their head ;)
@PristinePerceptions
9 ай бұрын
One of the biggest problems with the "anyone can visit it" argument is that many of them are not meant to just be visited. Many of the idols of deities from Asian countries were stolen from active worship. They would absolutely be put back into worship the minute they were returned. Many Native dresses and artifacts are still used ceremonially. These are not "history" - they were in use in the modern day.
@yannicklarafunez4768
6 ай бұрын
Another Argument, A Nigerian schoolkid learning about their country's history probably can't afford to do a Pan-european roadtrip to various museums with expensive entrance fees just to see the Benin Bronzes in their near entirety.
@MacKennaTheGoddessofRadiation
5 ай бұрын
It's like someone stealing my rice cooker and kettle then saying "Oh but you can still seeee them just go to fucking Paris"
@mrggy
2 ай бұрын
On top of cost there’s also visa issues. I’m not sure the situation for a Nigerian going to the UK, but it can often be very difficult for people from the Global South to even be approved for tourist visas to North America and Europe. I have a Brazilian friend who was denied a tourist visa to the US because despite being enrolled in university in Brazil, just by virtue of being a young unmarried man he was deemed to be a high risk for overstaying a visa. So even if you have the money to travel across the globe to see your country’s cultural treasures, you can still be denied a visa to even enter the country
@EvelynBaron
28 күн бұрын
Exactly. Although the opposite is true paradoxically ... in Italy in the Uffizi Gallery in Firenze the statue of David one admires outside is a copy, the real one, smaller is inside protected from the weather and believe me the Louvre ain't got nothing on Italian museums for tourist wait lines. The Egyptian collection in the Berlin museum to be fair goes on tour periodically ... hail Schlieimann looter of Troy. This is a digression from your very good point btw but I couldn't resist. To support your argument though, in the Toronto Museum there are several totem poles belonging the Haida which if returned would indeed be used as part of their culture of potlach and spirit animals.
@itchiegames
7 күн бұрын
your english is really bad or you can't make a point well. are they not history or WERE they in use? if they WERE in use as you said, then thats not being in use in the modern day. its like saying you used to use something then saying you use it every day. then why say used to? so same question to you, are you just not capable of speaking properly or do you not really have a point to make? either way id say your intellect is lacking to the extent that maybe you should just stfu and keep your ignorance to yourself.
@himarisuzuki5208
Жыл бұрын
I love how the quote "if we said yes to one you'd soon find the British museum empty" is literally just them going mask off and saying "we won't give any of it back because we want money"
@mynamesnotadam
10 ай бұрын
It's a free museum. I don't think anyone who works there is particularly wealthy. It continues through donations.
@PSI441
10 ай бұрын
@mynamesnotadam but a lot of people visit London just to visit the British museum. It brings in a lot of money through tourism
@himarisuzuki5208
10 ай бұрын
@@mynamesnotadam nothing is ever technically free. The museum makes money somehow, otherwise it wouldn't stay open. There's got to be some sort of money incentive for them otherwise they wouldn't keep something that unnecessarily wastes funds.
@mynamesnotadam
10 ай бұрын
@himarisuzuki5208 I'm no expert in its funding, but you can become a member and pay a membership, donate money, use its over priced cafe, some exhibitions charge I think. But it's main source I would be the goverment funding. Maybe. I don't do their finances. Either way a lot of museums are free and it's because they provide a function which is to educate and exhibit the story
@notaspectator
8 ай бұрын
I think it's about trust that artifacts will stay untouched and not in private hands. But obviously it doesn't make it ethical to limit access or even lending rights.
@greghodges2116
Жыл бұрын
One thing John didn't mention was how much more stolen art is hidden away in private collections. These people often have deeper pockets and less hesitation to acquiring art with a "dubious" ownership history.
@SolaScientia
Жыл бұрын
Yep. That's how the Getty "museum" in California got its start. When I was studying Classics for my undergrad degree that place was discussed a lot because of all the artifacts and how they were acquired.
@AcornFox
Жыл бұрын
true, but the segment is called “museums”
@lynxminx4
Жыл бұрын
Exactly. Public institutions aren't sustaining the black market alone. Where there are buyers, there will be thieves.
@xidada666
Жыл бұрын
I'm for it. Let me cry
@dr.zoidberg8666
Жыл бұрын
Sure, but each single private weirdo will not have anything like the collection that a single major museum like the British Museum has. It's much more practical to focus on the museums (at least for now) because they will naturally be responsive to legislation, whereas rich criminals will not. A single law could be passed & the problem of imperial loot in museums could be solved. That's not to say that we shouldn't go after those people as vigorously as possible & return their ill gotten loot to their proper homes... it's just a different problem which will be more complicated to solve.
@burlingk
Жыл бұрын
"If you say yes to one, you would suddenly find the British Museum is empty." That's kinda the point.
@TungstenArm
Жыл бұрын
That’s also why these museum will never return things, at least not on a scale that matters. These museums would go out of business if they returned all those artifacts, so they’ll never return them willingly.
@bencilsharpie7567
Жыл бұрын
When enough time passes I think stolen goods become part of the cultural heritage of the country that stole that stuff.
@dirtyfrench2926
Жыл бұрын
@@bencilsharpie7567 Let me know when you go on vacation for like a week. I'd like to test your theory when it's YOUR shit that's stolen.
@ricochet4674
Жыл бұрын
OR OR. Even better. YOU COULD MAKE REPLICAS. Damn pretentious bastards.
@at_oussama
Жыл бұрын
@@bencilsharpie7567 tell that horse shit to yourself.
@KarmikCykle
10 ай бұрын
"Why do we have three of Gerald Ford's ribs? Because we couldn't get four." Favorite line in the entire video.
@_TheGoddessinTraining_
5 ай бұрын
"no one saw that man as significant" made me immediately cry. As a Hindu and Indian born in the US, this is a deeply painful subject, and John Oliver (as always) covered it so well. Thank you for advocating for cultures whose vocal cords have been ripped from them then called too stupid to speak up when it was happening.
@spornge
Жыл бұрын
My grandmother found out her grand parents had managed to obtain an Eaglehead dress when she was going through our family storage, she contacted a bunch of people about where it should be probably donated, the museums wanted to not only claim it and planned to put in storage , but were going to fine her for owning it. Keep in mind she was not trying to sell just send it where it should be, thankfully a native American Heritage association got ahold of her and had the legal power to defend their claim on it so it did not end up in a box in a bottom of a basement. It was really gorgoues. I wish I knew where it ended up only that it ended up with a heritage organizaiton.
@Liquessen
Жыл бұрын
I was gonna google eaglehead dress because it sounded cool, and only then realised you probably meant an eagle headdress?
@almitrahopkins1873
Жыл бұрын
That was likely a war trophy. The religious significance of a single eagle feather, let alone an entire war bonnet is too great for it to have been a gift, if genuine. And genuine ones are never sold or traded.
@Glaaki13
Жыл бұрын
Damn Im white and it still blow my mind how we can still be sad fact only white people got some of their artefact returned from Denmark (im sure others small things got returned) as A dane who love vikings Im sad for people culture to be stolen
@Laurabeck329
Жыл бұрын
It was probably warn and destroyed by some native on a reservation rather than preserved for future antropologists to study and learn from
@IncognitoSprax
Жыл бұрын
Imagine being so privileged and self-centered to have the audacity to think they can find somebody for having artifacts that belongs to somebody else.
@CaptMortifyd
Жыл бұрын
"The difference between archaeology and looting is 50 years." - one of my anthropology professors explaining the fucked up providence arguments of museums.
@hlcepeda
Жыл бұрын
Ahem. Per John Oliver, the looting is still going on. 😐
@youtubeuserandchef471
Жыл бұрын
But what about dinosaurs
@jubbine
Жыл бұрын
@@youtubeuserandchef471 that's paleontology.
@distantignition
Жыл бұрын
Lyndon B. Johnson died just under 50 years ago, and I've been waiting to sell his ribs for foreverrrrrrrrr
@kylekataryn3454
Жыл бұрын
anthropology is just cannibals licking bones.
@cleverusername9369
Жыл бұрын
Kumail absolutely crushed his bit in this, what a flawless performance 👏
@wjrasmussen666
8 ай бұрын
We followed all the laws.
@sccur
Жыл бұрын
You have no idea how many museums and artifacts have ended up returned because of this episode. It's so amazing what someone with a platform can actually do just by telling a true story.
@hummusdifier
Жыл бұрын
If you don't mind, could you expand on this? I'd be really interested to know what has been returned.
@MononymousM
Жыл бұрын
@@hummusdifier Agreed, I'd really like to hear more from the OP about this.
@FLdancer00
Жыл бұрын
Do you have any idea?
@katelarouche2835
Жыл бұрын
Zero. The number is zero.
@dsandoval9396
Жыл бұрын
@@FLdancer00 Well, she wasn't wrong. We _don't_ know how many artifacts were returned because of this episode. 😁
@qwertyuiopzxcfgh
Жыл бұрын
"We can't do the right thing now, or else we'd have to do the right thing again in the future" - the British Museum.
@Praisethesunson
Жыл бұрын
That exact logic is how the Brits managed to invent Capitalism.
@qwertyuiopzxcfgh
Жыл бұрын
@@Praisethesunson I thought the idea behind capitalism was "if everyone only cares about themselves, everyone is cared for".
@Praisethesunson
Жыл бұрын
@@qwertyuiopzxcfgh I'd care about someone other than myself. But if I did I'd have to care about even more people in the future. Capitalism: Bad people do bad things, and when they are rich they pay people to tell everyone else it was for the good of all.
@HighFiveTheHorizon
Жыл бұрын
If we admit fault now, we'd have to admit fault for everything...and I mean everything. And we can't have that, now, can we?
@OllamhDrab
Жыл бұрын
@@HighFiveTheHorizon Honestly, uncaringness and imperial atitudes aside, *some* of the removals for archiving may have even made sense at the time, but the situation *now* is more important than blame. Wherever the fault lies, the question is what can be done *now.* Even innocent motives originally, or dodging blame, doesn't have much to do with where something belongs *now.*
@wanaxdigammes3484
Жыл бұрын
Fun fact about the Elgin Marbles: After the British Museum refused to return them on the grounds that Greece didn’t have a proper place to display them, they built the state of the art modern Acropolis Museum in Athens for the chief purpose of housing the Elgin Marbles. They still refuse to send them back. Also, when Lord Elgin was transporting the marbles to Britain, the ship they were on sank, and the marbles had to be salvaged from the ocean floor.
@daniel-panek
Жыл бұрын
This is like a caricature. A thief pulling a sled of stolen goods that tips over and they hurriedly addresses the situation before their victims can catch them
@chrilin5107
Жыл бұрын
It is truly very sad
@ptosky
Жыл бұрын
Please call them the Parthenon Marbles not "the elgin marbles". They were never his. Thank you. A greek person.
@Call_Upon_YAH
Жыл бұрын
Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and gives salvation to everyone who has faith in him. True faith in Jesus will have you bear good fruit and *drastically* change for the better! Those led by the Holy Spirit do not abide in wickedness. *God is ONE manifesting himself as THREE;* the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Bless him! *For these three are one.* As I am led by the Holy Spirit, nothing I state is a lie, but the truth of God. Anyone who tells you differently is misinformed or a liar. They do not know God, nor led by him. Anyone who *claims* to be a Christian and is against what I am doing, and where I am doing it; the Holy Spirit does not dwell within them, they lack understanding. They know not God, read his word, and their religion is in vain. Do not hear them, they will mislead you, the lost cannot guide the lost.
@Call_Upon_YAH
Жыл бұрын
When you trust in God and cast your cares (worries, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts) upon him, they will be NO MORE! Know that there is power in the name Jesus Christ! His name casts out demons and heals! The world is wicked, evil, and of the devil. I too, was a wicked sinner of the world before I opened my heart to God. I am living proof of God's work and fruitfulness! He is an active God who hears the prayers of his! God's children are set apart (holy) and righteous. The devil is a liar that comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy; that includes your relationship with God.
@MrMarineBro
Жыл бұрын
The French museum to that guy: “you’re trying to acquire what I have rightfully stolen”.
@murphy7801
2 ай бұрын
Not really they've been returning quite a lot lately
@jamesolmsted3471
2 ай бұрын
@@murphy7801Good for them! Doesn’t make that French dude in the vid any less of an asshole tho
@johnnichols2474
11 ай бұрын
My mother inherited a piece of the Parthenon from her father that he brought home after WWll. I remember it being a doorstop growing up. She mailed it back to Greece about 15 years ago
@rhov-anion
Жыл бұрын
I studied Native American Anthropology under a Cherokee professor, and one of the things she was involved with (a side hustle, you could say) was seeking to get stolen Native artifacts out of museum basements and back with the tribes. In one case, the museum was being stubborn that "you can't prove we stole this," so my professor tracked down the granddaughter of the woman who made the item (I think it was a ceremonial bead robe or shawl). This tribal elder explained the little tricks her grandmother used that literally no one could have known, things even the museum didn't notice until they inspected even closer, family trade secrets she still used and had taught to her own grandchildren. She made it more than abundantly clear, this belonged to her family. Back in the 1800s, her village was raided and her grandmother gangraped by White men. They ran off with anything they thought looked valuable. This included some of the young girls, livestock, head dresses, furs, and her beadwork outfits. So not only was it stolen, but in a really horrific manner. The museum had bought the majority of their Native American artifacts off a group of rapists. That was not the type of publicity they wanted, so they gave it back. This old lady wore her grandmother's robe at the next dance ceremony. All of this was around 20 years ago, so I hope her grandkids still wear that outfit at ceremonies.
@aceous99
Жыл бұрын
daym...
@MasterCommandCEO
Жыл бұрын
Probably lost in a box somewhere instead of being shown to the public. What idiots the museum was
@mauimrc
Жыл бұрын
@@placebojesus5652 "Blah blah history, blah blah both sides, blah blah blah coulda woulda shoulda, blah blah blah triggered. blah blah I'm in the power seat now, so all the back and forth before doesn't count cause the past was just a practice run, and history actually begins now with my culture on top." You're a clown and we all see you with your pants around your ankles, pretending. 😆 🤡😆🤡😆🤡😆🤡😆
@lhndz16
Жыл бұрын
@@MasterCommandCEO Don't forget the dumbasses who defend the museums and their actions.
@Schalla1641
Жыл бұрын
@@placebojesus5652 "well we could have been worse" is a very bad excuse when talking about cultural - and actual - genocide tho also two wrongs don't make a right? yes it's horrible native americans killed some of your family, but that doesn't excuse theft, murder and gangrape and it isn't an excuse to not try to right the wrongs of the past. i mean both as a general rule. i don't think europeans are especially cruel or evil. just don't make excuses because you're uncomfortable with your ancestor's history.
@satishkpradhan
Жыл бұрын
Fun fact the word loot is a Hindi / Sanskrit (Indian language) word. So the British looted so much that they even took the word loot which the people cried when they were looting.
Queen Victoria named a dog (the first Pekingese in England) stolen from a Chinese palace "Looty"
@timstewart9026
Жыл бұрын
I love the payback museum. I also note that the thieves simply write laws that call their actions legal, then seem surprised at their victims anger.
@itchiegames
7 күн бұрын
I LIKED HOW YOU POSTED WHAT THE VIDEO SAID BUT IN A MUCH MORE GENERIC WAY!!!! I HOPE YOU GET ALL THE UPDOOTS YOU WANT! THATS WHY YOU POST GENERIC COMMENTS RIGHT?!? SO PEOPLE CLICK THUMBS UP AND YOU DONT FEEL LIKE A FAILURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@archockencanto1645
5 күн бұрын
calm dawn m'nigga@@itchiegames
@archerscars7380
Жыл бұрын
Shout out to my history teacher for showing the whole class this video! I have never laughed and also been so angry at the same time.
@backgroundambience4373
Жыл бұрын
This reminds me a lot of the Irish Giant Charles Byrne. He was 7' 7'' and he was so afraid of a collector or museum displaying his body when he died that he had his friends bury him at sea. Unfortunately, before his friends could follow through with their promise his corpse was stolen by a 'collector' and was eventually sold to the Royal College of Surgeons in London. It is still on display there over 200 years later despite efforts by activists for him to be buried. People with the same genetic condition as Byrne, who are from the same part of the country as him and probably share DNA have offered to donate their skeletons when they die so that Byrne can be released, but the museum has always refused.
@duaijalqallaf
Жыл бұрын
That is seriously horrifying
@Poke_Doll
Жыл бұрын
That's absolutely awful & just so callous.
@kakuri.____.1375
Жыл бұрын
To know that they would be so obsessive about 'collecting' him, he must have heard a bunch of super creepy comments about displaying his body while still alive.
@nishitraj.
Жыл бұрын
that's just horrible
@rainman3216
Жыл бұрын
This is fucked up
@manilkasheran2934
Жыл бұрын
As a South Asian, I thank John for bringing this age old issue up just in case people have forgotten about it. Our politicians surely has!
@user-hq8wm8giyujcg
Жыл бұрын
indian subcontinent not south asia, euro is also part of asia continent but they declaired there subcontinent a different continent
@havtor007
Жыл бұрын
@@user-hq8wm8giyujcg It depends on what you mean with continent africa asia and europe is one continent or 3 depending on how you define things.
@rvdb7363
Жыл бұрын
@@user-hq8wm8giyujcg As someone from the area now referred to as Europe, I would be completely fine with naming Europe "Western Asia" from now on.
@user-hq8wm8giyujcg
Жыл бұрын
@@rvdb7363 its not about naming, call ur region Europe, i dont care. Its about calling that region a continent, its not but a subcontinent
@havtor007
Жыл бұрын
@@user-hq8wm8giyujcg No it is not a subcontinent the continent if you want to add asia africa and europe togheter has a name it is called afroeurasia also known as the old world. There is different definitions of continent europe asia and africa classify as continents. But they also all do not classify as continents, there is a similar deal with America by the way.
@alypialpha2712
Жыл бұрын
The line “if you say yes to [giving back one artifact] you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty” is shockingly similar to what the evil mercenary guy said in Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire before he tried to steal the city’s power source for a museum…
@thevenator3955
11 ай бұрын
“Academics, you never want to get your hands dirty. Think about it. If you gave back every stolen artifact from a museum, you'd be left with an empty building! We're just, providing a necessary service to the archeological community.” - Lyle Tiberius Rourke, 1914
@jerryjesseph1601
Жыл бұрын
A number of years ago, our family visited the British Museum. While we were looking at the Rosetta Stone, my young son asked a guard, "Did you guys steal all this stuff?" The guard's reply was, "Well. I suppose we did."
@MrCmon113
Жыл бұрын
Locals stole the contents of gravechambers and sold them. Locals didn't give a crap about the historical significance. Brits discovered ancient artefacts and collected them for science and archeology and to educate the public.
@solaryard5351
Жыл бұрын
This didn’t happen
@dogshake
Жыл бұрын
And then everyone clapped.
@granthurlburt4062
11 ай бұрын
The guard didnt know. The Rosetta Stone was found by a French Soldier when Napoleon had invaded Egypt. Very few people, including the local Egyptians, would have recognized what it was. It is astonishly valuable because it had a proclamation in Egyptian hieroglyphics and also in ancient Greek. The French scholar Champillion painstakingly worked out what the hieroglyphics meant. Britain received the stone as part of a treaty.
@patrikmodrovsky1842
11 ай бұрын
@@granthurlburt4062 it was also used as part of wall if that solder though that he should leave it there, we would still have no clue, how to translate hieroglyphics
@adultishgambino1
Жыл бұрын
“We can’t return your art and culture because otherwise we wouldn’t have our own” is the most depressingly hilarious line I’ve ever heard.
@Jkjoannaki
Жыл бұрын
Anglosaxon imperialistic logic right here
@sassafrassiest
Жыл бұрын
That’s one of the most frustrating parts of this. In playing “World Heritage Curator” the British Museum and similar institutions are missing the opportunity to focus solely on their own heritage
@olandir
Жыл бұрын
@@sassafrassiest or maybe they are focusing on their own heritage, their own heritage of looting and plundering the rest of the world. 🤷
@baka1949
Жыл бұрын
No one made that claim, so you haven't heard it in the first place.
@Montesama314
Жыл бұрын
All the conservative bitching about white culture, and this is an admission they ain't got shit.
@TimeBucks
Жыл бұрын
love the idea of a Payback Museum
@RobiulIslam-tf9qw
Жыл бұрын
i apriciats this journalism
@irinakter7844
Жыл бұрын
TimeBucks is a really very good income site
@morellatovar4151
Жыл бұрын
Bien
@ashakumari331
Жыл бұрын
Nyc
@nitikanitu7342
Жыл бұрын
Nice
@RASHMEYREGMI
Жыл бұрын
So many Nepalese deities are all over USA. The most important one is Taleju Bhagwan goddess, she graces Chicago museum right now. I am 30 years old and I have never seen the statue cause it was stolen decades ago and now the empty temple stands in heart Kathmandu waiting for the deity to return home. I spotted several of deities in Yale museum as well. It’s heartbreaking.
@waywardjellyfish8353
Жыл бұрын
I honestly feel like at this point, we can really just create replicas to display and send back the originals if we really want to display stuff.
@yurisei6732
10 ай бұрын
Would be much funnier to send back replicas though
@osvaldobenavides5086
5 ай бұрын
Yup, with 3D modeling and printers they can recreate just about anything!
@amyhathorn1001
5 ай бұрын
We could also send the British Museum a bunch of Robert E. Lee statues. Win-win for everyone!
@Aussieloz1
2 ай бұрын
They already do. Take for example the Sutton hoo helmet. There is a reproduction to show what it originally looked like, many people assume it is the original. The original was in pieces and incomplete when it was first discovered.
@filthybonnet
21 күн бұрын
It depends. With The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act museums actually have to get permission from tribes to have replicas.
@DanicaShardae201
Жыл бұрын
My favorite thing I think I've ever seen in a museum is a totem pole carved by a local tribal artist. The museum used to have a looted totem pole, but they gave it back to the tribe and instead commissioned a new pole to be displayed in a section dedicated to the tribe's history and current goings-on.
@loripeck8396
Жыл бұрын
With our modern technology, exhibits could include videos of them making the items, which I think is infinitely more valuable.
@alixmcknight
Жыл бұрын
That’s beautiful! I would love to see that.
@laurarose8698
Жыл бұрын
😭that’s so beautiful! Now we just need to do this nation wide
@eeaaoooo
Жыл бұрын
Was this in the R.O.M?
@zaquery8
Жыл бұрын
I don’t know if this is where you had your experience, but I work at the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture, in Cambridge, MA, and we have that exact situation! The new totem pole has an adjoined video showing it’s creation. There are plenty of other original indigenous artifacts, but I’m at least happy that this was given back.
@kedo
Жыл бұрын
Greek person here: our conservation methods are actually very advanced. I attended a seminar a few years ago where a specialist actually went into detail about the methods they use to conserve and preserve the marbles. A lot of time and effort is put into researching the best ways to care for our artefacts, something that can’t be said for the British museum.
@mervyngreene6687
Жыл бұрын
It doesn't matter. This argument has been used by enablers of every atrocity that has occurred.
@KazekanAgiel
Жыл бұрын
Sadly, as the other person said, I imagine the Brits would just argue that these techniques are invalid or incorrect and you guys don’t actually know what you’re doing. :(
@randomguyse7e719
Жыл бұрын
The artifacts were fine all this time until the brits decided to steal them. So obviously the people who they have belonged to for millennia know how to take care of their treasures. Unlike the savages who looted these artifacts out of cultural deficiency and jealousy.
@graveyj2000
Жыл бұрын
Honestly, that's not even the point. It is your stuff-it's not really any of Britain's business if it is cared for properly or not. If you guys want to take your stuff back, beat it into dust with a hammer, then make a toilet out of it, well, that would be your decision. Needs to go back.
@jockjockin9589
Жыл бұрын
It's always the Brits and their lousy lies...
@MrPixel-ge6wx
10 ай бұрын
You know, it really speaks to the quality of this show that you can just watch episodes of it again and again. Even if there already a good bit old.
@MegaNinjaRyan
9 ай бұрын
Clearly that man never understood Solomon’s story there. Solomon wasn’t saying whoever loves the baby more gets the baby, he was figuring out the true owner of it and giving it back!
@300IQPrower
Жыл бұрын
Every time I'm reminded of that "the british museum would be empty" line, my mind has the same response: Then it deserves to be empty.
@SittingOnAPorch
Жыл бұрын
Like... Britain is a place, right- it has a history- plenty of museums and interpretive centers just talk about what is physically nearby. Also, think of the exhibits they could create telling the story of stealing all this shit and giving it back. Like the Experience Music Project for cultural resource theft.
@pinkunicorn8794
Жыл бұрын
Yeah that's what I'm wondering too. Do the Brits not have their own heritage to display if the museums would be empty? Then they better get to work and start creating some!
@Serpillard
Жыл бұрын
"If you're nothing without it, then you shouldn't have it."
@gabrielemariotti5780
Жыл бұрын
that's because the brits have no history worth showing probably.....Colonization? yeah, best at it.
@ardinhelme687
Жыл бұрын
@@pinkunicorn8794 unfortunately it would seem that their heritage is largely about showing up and looting other people's heritage...
@inelouw
Жыл бұрын
One of the most fun museums I've ever visited was filled with REPLICAS of famous sculptures, and the fact that they weren't originals truly didn't lessen the impact of the craftsmanship and artistic vision of the artist. I don't know why we can't do that with all the objects we've stolen from other countries. I'm sure that most people wouldn't be able to spot the difference even if they knew.
@sircrapalot9954
Жыл бұрын
Or how about establishing a relationship with the country of origin to loan out artifacts to museums around the world where they can be appreciated by many more, and their owners are rightfully compensated for sharing their history?
@gijoeoak
Жыл бұрын
Look up dinosaur skeletons and find out how much what you see has been replicated, also go to the shipwreck museum in key west and see how they replicate artifacts for show.
@howlingwolf317
Жыл бұрын
@@sircrapalot9954 Oliver addresses that near the end as a viable (and even likely) option many of these countries can take. The issue is most of these museums don’t simply want to display the treasures - they accumulate wealth by “owning” it and a loaning system prevents that.
@gorisenke
Жыл бұрын
There is a certain awe in seeing original pieces, but it should be the decision of the nation of origin. So much stuff was taken from 3rd world countries. I bet the extra revenue from loaning their historic artifacts would bring them closer to a modern world. And I'd be willing to spend extra to see an original piece, especially if I'm used to seeing the replica.
@grischa762
Жыл бұрын
@@ascent8487 to apreciate the craftsmanship? replicas are better for disserning details since they are .. well not hundreds or thousands of years old. A replica is basically what the exhibited sculpture looked like when it was made. You can allow people to touch replicas or at least get mutch closer as they are not as valuable.
@paulmcfadden9498
Жыл бұрын
One of the most coherent arguments this show has ever made. Be proud of this piece of work.
@xSKOOBSx
Жыл бұрын
Its so gross how often they default to the age old argument that "the law," which was written by thieves to legalize their plunder, is on their side. Really feels like "we were the aggressor, we stole it fair and square, and they couldn't do anything about it" wrapped up in a prim and proper facade, and feels very pompous.
@jenergomes
Жыл бұрын
I had my best moment during my visit to the British Museum in one of its toilets, where I found written on one white brick: "I suppose you stole this marble too, eh?". Brilliant!
@jenergomes
Жыл бұрын
@John Capry Well, most of the museum's collection didn't impress me, the only other great thing I remember having a glimpse there was the Rosetta Stone - it was crowded around it.
@nikolatovar9884
Жыл бұрын
@John Capry Just spreading the sunshine, aren't you?
@nikolatovar9884
Жыл бұрын
@John Capry Aww, that's so sweet. Getting your feelings hurt on behalf of those poor colonizers. Surely, they would give you big hugs for defending their honor.
@MrAndywear
Жыл бұрын
@John Capry You seem to be a moment away from spewing something daft. Go for it.
@iamfishmind
Жыл бұрын
@John Capry I'm sure the imperialist overlords pay you well for your sniveling boot licking on their behalf. oh, your doing it for free? just a cretin, then. how sad.
@iw3892
Жыл бұрын
I met some members of the Lakota Nation a few years back. They told me that one of the leaders in the community, Mama Jules, was Crazy Horse's granddaughter, and that she had been trying for years to get his war jacket/vest back from the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian just kept delaying and giving bogus answers for why it could not be returned. All of these cases take on a greater level of frustration when you hear the personal stories of the folk the items were taken from.
@Umbrage0
Жыл бұрын
What im hearing is we need to oceans eleven the Smithsonian in order to return the artifacts to their rightful owners
@equalikitty
Жыл бұрын
mama julz is a gift to this world.
@anju8376
Жыл бұрын
@@Umbrage0 im in
@ishlaurennx
Жыл бұрын
@@Umbrage0 I am also in
@crazysasha1374
Жыл бұрын
First off, Mama Jules is a great name and I'm sure she's as awesome as she sounds. Secondly, imagine some institution is hanging on to your grandfathers coat for no good reason.
@allthingsaddi
Жыл бұрын
As a college student studying library sciences (for rare books) and museum studies… this video made me cry.
@pineappledad
Жыл бұрын
I love that Kumail Nanjiani and Nick Offerman do educational PSAs in this show lol
@My-name-is-Kit
Жыл бұрын
I used to work for the natural science museum in Houston and they did go through their exhibits and their archives and return Native American artifacts to the various nations they belonged to. Then they worked with native artists and commissioned replicas for display. I don't know why other museums can't do something similar.
@seffishestopal5950
Жыл бұрын
It is sad that other museums don’t do that
@paavojordman
Жыл бұрын
Repatriation and inclusion of communities are rising themes in museums and it really seems that museums are starting to do similar things much more often.
@TheNinthGenerarion
Жыл бұрын
Replicas are the most obvious answer
@tepidceranda3394
Жыл бұрын
@@seffishestopal5950 You people act like King Tut is still walking around to return his belongings to. Sending items back to their country of origin, or even thinking about just sending that country money as "reparations" isn't the answer here. You're rewarding people who didn't have anything to do with the artifacts to begin with.
@thomassby7139
Жыл бұрын
@@tepidceranda3394 To people who didn't have anything to do with them? It's THEIR cultural heritage ffs. This is not about returning articats to individuals but to return them to their cultural homes so the indigenous people can enjoy their heritage. Jeez..
@thomaspapadogias5539
Жыл бұрын
As a Greek person I am glad someone with a large audience like John Oliver is taking about this
@zwenkwiel816
Жыл бұрын
Just stop abusing your statues man XD
@jordinagel1184
Жыл бұрын
@@zwenkwiel816 considering that it was a British man, not a Greek one, who carved out the bits of relief mentioned in the video, I’d say check yourself
@zwenkwiel816
Жыл бұрын
@@jordinagel1184 hey I'm not the one having sex with statues here
@jordinagel1184
Жыл бұрын
@@zwenkwiel816 riiiight… Forgive me for having taken you at all seriously
@singletona082
Жыл бұрын
Agreed rather wholeheartedly. Oh sure these bits of culture are nice to show off in museums, but we have the technology to now make highly detailed full 3d scans of the pieces and use those to make near flawless duplicates. I remember a field trip to the parthanon in Nashville in sixth grade. I. Fucking. LOVED it. I didn't care that it was all reproduction. I just loved that it was there and it was an attempt at bringing antiquity TO us in a way that was accessable. I mean. It wouldn't have had the sam effect to see a bit of this anda bitof that behind glass. Seeing a life sized recreation of the frescos and statues. To walk the length and bredth of a place and cast your mind's eye back. 'This was built.... without modern tools by a culture who had the will and knowledge to make it happen.... also a shitton of slaves ando r menials to do the grunt work.' I want more places like that. Less of the vandalism.
@donhitchman4227
5 ай бұрын
It is absolutely a crime to plunder societies. I have been following you for decades now, and I feel like you are speaking my thoughts on every topic you address. I can also appreciate your sense of humor, or since you're British humour!
@kevinmoreira86
Жыл бұрын
That "Oorsh Shitt" French impersonation had my laughing so hard my sides hurt. Hahaha man was that spot on
@alittlepieceofearth
Жыл бұрын
The way that woman smiles as she patronizes, is chilling.
@ArashiKageTaro
Жыл бұрын
Wypipo have no shame when it comes to colonialism and theft of culture and arts.
@TeKaMOTO
Жыл бұрын
The mouth sounds alone gave me goosebumps and shivers. Then I heard what she was saying and almost puked.
@abercrombieblovs2042
Жыл бұрын
@@ArashiKageTaro That's likely because they don't see themselves as connected to the crimes of their predecessors. That seems to be a common theme in all these cases of historical wrongs displayed as 'history' by the perpetrators' descendants.
@rjmeeks4152
Жыл бұрын
@@abercrombieblovs2042 Exactly. They don't see themselves as connected so by extension they take no responsibility in most cases for the return of these artifacts and relics.
@abercrombieblovs2042
Жыл бұрын
@@rjmeeks4152 To be fair, I can't really blame them - if some random person knocked on my front door and said "Hey, your dining room table was stolen from us by your great-great-great-grandfather, we want it back", I would hesitate for... more than a few seconds, let's say that. Of course, these aren't just random people.
@legendofayda
Жыл бұрын
I’m half Egyptian and I’m born and raised in Egypt. When I was little, I was SO fascinated by ancient Egyptian culture. When I was about 6 years old, my mom’s friend took me to the Egyptian museum. To my horror, almost all the artefacts weren’t available to see. There were just glass cases with photos of what would have been there, but were at other museums in Western Europe, the UK, or NY. The new Egyptian museum is opening up soon and supposedly it’ll have the largest archeological collection in the world. Here’s hoping that it’s not just going to be a huge disappointment like I had as a kid.
@aperson8916
Жыл бұрын
In Babylon they had to build a replica of the Ishtar gate because some German guy fucking stole the whole real entry way and 118 out of 120 lions on the processional way. They had the audacity to say “Iraqis couldn’t take care of their artifacts” because the remnants of the gate got damaged by US bombardment during the war. They had the audacity to say that the gate was “bought and paid for” because smuggling something down the river in pieces during the night is the kind of thing you do when you buy something 😂
@legendofayda
Жыл бұрын
@@aperson8916 honestly the only reason the Pyramids of Giza are still in Egypt is because they would have been too heavy to move. Those assholes even took our three largest Obelisks from Luxor… it’s absolute insanity.
@dekenlst
Жыл бұрын
@@aperson8916 In Iraq's case they were right. Remember what happened at the Iraqi National Museum when dozens of ancient statues were destroyed by muslim fondamentalists? Turns out they were not safe
@sam4330
Жыл бұрын
@@dekenlst Are you being serious? Do you also think Ukraine don't deserve to take care of their own artifacts because they are being demolished by Russia? You can't judge the museum based on what other people choose to do to it! That's called victim blaming.
@sjorsvanrijswijk358
Жыл бұрын
@@dekenlst no way is this an argument for the whole history of the continuous plundering of a countries history.
@CallMeErie
5 ай бұрын
John Oliver is a treasure in and of himself. I really appreciate this video.
@rheiagreenland4714
3 ай бұрын
He belongs in a museum! Oh wait...
@CallMeErie
3 ай бұрын
@@rheiagreenland4714 😁
@sascharouillon9785
8 ай бұрын
Brilliant episode. Loved the Payback Museum!
@Koen_Brugge
Жыл бұрын
In 1988, as a Belgian teenager, I visited the British Museum. I was shocked when I saw parts of temples and large statues that were sawn in blocks and have been moved to Great Britain. I asked the attendant if this wasn't all stolen from the countries where it came from and I'll never forget the answer : "I can't answer that question, I would be out of a job".
@M123Xoxo
Жыл бұрын
@Chad 007 Shut up Chad
@annjohnson6355
Жыл бұрын
Maher bill
@sdfkjgh
Жыл бұрын
@Koen: An answer like that is pretty much the same as saying "Yes."
@jim2245
Жыл бұрын
Can't even get a truthful answer out of a "Museum" attendant. Ha! That's rich🤣
@nonchip
Жыл бұрын
given that was only 20 years after the dissolution of "Belgisch-Kongo", that must've hit a bit hard home for ya :P but yeah kinda shocking how much of the really messed up things people still considered "business as usual" until really recently while we all think it's been like hundreds of years ago... related "fun" fact i learned (as a german): germany technically still holds territory in cuba nowadays. granted we didn't steal _that_ bit, castro just gave it to the DDR (and then during the reunification we all forgot it existed, and then a few years ago everyone just decided it was "only gifted symbolically"), but... yeah, so much for ancient colonial times :P
@doreenbrandt3697
Жыл бұрын
I love that the whole point of the Solomon story is that when you truly love something you are willing to let it go to make sure it isn't harmed in the conflict of ownership. Meanwhile the British museum was very literally willing to hack the "baby" in half to get to keep a part of it. Like this is the absolutely worst story to make your case!
@Call_Upon_YAH
Жыл бұрын
Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and gives salvation to everyone who has faith in him. True faith in Jesus will have you bear good fruit and *drastically* change for the better! Those led by the Holy Spirit do not abide in wickedness. *God is ONE manifesting himself as THREE;* the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Bless him! *For these three are one.* As I am led by the Holy Spirit, nothing I state is a lie, but the truth of God. Anyone who tells you differently is misinformed or a liar. They do not know God, nor led by him. Anyone who *claims* to be a Christian and is against what I am doing, and where I am doing it; the Holy Spirit does not dwell within them, they lack understanding. They know not God, read his word, and their religion is in vain. Do not hear them, they will mislead you, the lost cannot guide the lost.
@Call_Upon_YAH
Жыл бұрын
When you trust in God and cast your cares (worries, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts) upon him, they will be NO MORE! Know that there is power in the name Jesus Christ! His name casts out demons and heals! The world is wicked, evil, and of the devil. I too, was a wicked sinner of the world before I opened my heart to God. I am living proof of God's work and fruitfulness! He is an active God who hears the prayers of his! God's children are set apart (holy) and righteous. The devil is a liar that comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy; that includes your relationship with God.
@Cellinator
Жыл бұрын
It reeks of “white man’s burden”
@heerayni9362
Жыл бұрын
I was thinking EXACTLY that!
@albear972
Жыл бұрын
@@Call_Upon_YAH Cool story bro.
@Hyrogliifyx
3 күн бұрын
Probably one of the best episodes hes done
@janellimarie
Жыл бұрын
The part I find most upsetting is that in American schools (unsure about European education), Africa’s history is constantly overlooked as though they lacked culture and society. Often as a way to excuse and justify colonialism and slavery. But the culture and societal history was either stolen or destroyed throughout the continent.
@Dee010s
8 ай бұрын
I feel so lucky that while i was in high school i took the elective called AFRICAN EXPERIENCE. Which i think is pretty progressive for the sometimes backward Pennsylvania
@CarolineMouton1
5 ай бұрын
That version of the history of colonised African states was by design. Colonialists justified their land grab by saying that there was no "civilisation" evident and the people were "savages". So tearing down the cities, universities, castles and churches was systematic, then they simply wrote the history books. Always question history books, always ask who wrote them. By the way, Ethiopia is one country that managed to retain it's cultural heritage. When you visit there, you'll understand just how much the world has lost because of the greed of the Europeans.
@aiieeee5166
Жыл бұрын
“You can’t judge us in the present based on what we did in the past” ok, but in the present you are openly choosing to keep items you know are stolen, and yes, we can absolutely judge you for that
@Skozerny
Жыл бұрын
No, you cant, because you live on stolen land yourself. If you never owned it, nor your parents or grandparents never owned it, you have no claim to it. This argument of perpetuity is idiotic.
@masterraccoon2883
Жыл бұрын
@@Skozerny that still doesn’t dismiss the fact that we can judge it. A-hole🤦♂️🤓🤓🤓🤓
@masterraccoon2883
Жыл бұрын
@@Skozerny Considering your name is Roy, I doubt your parents cared for you, it shows.
@benjaminrobinson9140
Жыл бұрын
If any of the countries complaining about looted goods had illicitly obtained western artifacts they would not in a million years return them.
@wilcee238
Жыл бұрын
@Skozerny cool story lady
@mythology2467
Жыл бұрын
My mum who is a chronic fox news watcher was still unsure after this and it only took a "imagine if the lady of lourdes statue of Mary was sawn off at the feet to be put on display in Kenya, how livid you and all of fox news would be" to get her to understand how not ok all of this is.
@theultimaterental
Жыл бұрын
Karen sounds like a real treat to be around
@galaktoast
Жыл бұрын
@@theultimaterental We don't choose the quality of our own family unfortunately, but we can decide the quality of their retirement home.
@theultimaterental
Жыл бұрын
@@galaktoast lmao!
@familykaplan1341
Жыл бұрын
Hypocrites
@lilmissjoodypoody
Жыл бұрын
@@galaktoast LOL! I love this.
@johannbrandstatter7419
9 ай бұрын
One of the best programmes you ever presented John, amongst a very selective lot. Thank you ! As an art lover, this is really food for thought and could almost turn ones perceptions of art galleries and museums on its head. The truth it seems is never pleasant but it is essential for us to remain human.
@Human_Earthling
Жыл бұрын
Great episode! I often wondered about the ownership of cultural art pieces in museums and was really happy to find this topic discussed here. I love this show so much! You are the best!
@bobsbbcards
Жыл бұрын
My heart broke for the tribal elders viewing their own artifacts. 😔
@Praisethesunson
Жыл бұрын
ThEy CoUlD jUsT BuY tHeM bACk
@buhriee6016
Жыл бұрын
@@Praisethesunson why would the tribes have to pay when they were stolen?
@theforcedmemefilthypapist2892
Жыл бұрын
Why? Just like the confederates, they lost.
@Praisethesunson
Жыл бұрын
@@buhriee6016 Cause of power. Tribes don't have it. Holders of Capital do. Duh.
@Jake_the_Bioengineer
Жыл бұрын
@@theforcedmemefilthypapist2892 Natives didn't ask for a war.
@nicoleseguin3607
Жыл бұрын
My daughter works at the National Museum of Scotland and worked hard to help a indigenous community from our home in Canada try to repatriate a memorial pole that was stolen from their community. She was disciplined for trying to help them. I’d love you to do a story about their struggle.
@MsBhappy
Жыл бұрын
As a Canadian with an interest in museum work and my country's cultural heritage that is interesting. Thanks for sharing and good on her for trying to help
@kestaa
Жыл бұрын
Thank you to your daughter for her efforts. This story got a fair bit of press here in Canada when the Nisga'a delegation visited the museum in August, but I assume the repatriation efforts have stalled since there have been no updates since then. Still, the fact that the museum was willing to meet and discuss the possible repatriation brings me some hope. The British Museum has another Nisga'a pole which they purchased from the same man (Marius Barbeau) who sold the pole in the National Museum of Scotland. They also have a Haida pole acquired from a different collector. Maybe Scotland can set an example that prompts the British Museum to return these two poles and other artifacts looted throughout history.
@nicoleseguin3607
Жыл бұрын
@@kestaa I very much hope The National Museum of Scotland can be a leader in reparations. It is a huge passion for my daughter. She hopes to complete her Archaeology degree.
@ivonnatrolue6747
Жыл бұрын
What is wrong with sccotland?
@vascoapolonio2309
Жыл бұрын
Not only Scotland, but Scottish People are different from English. More open. They felt in their skins the evil from Britain...
@alexanderkidonakis9185
3 ай бұрын
”If I have to return the some of the stuff I stole then I might have to give it all back” Terrible argument
@TheKrispyfort
11 ай бұрын
The Gerald Ford segment not ending in a joke - POWERFUL I will admit to expecting a live James Spader tied, gagged, and on display (the Remington costume of course)
@mdasaduzzamanmana674
Жыл бұрын
That open question about how long someone can be dead for it to be okay to have a piece of their body is superb.
@CoercedJab
Жыл бұрын
I mean abortion has been taking people out of their own mothers for a while now so
@zwenkwiel816
Жыл бұрын
10 second rule right?
@KahlevN
Жыл бұрын
HIs delivery was fantastic too, his facial expression, the camera zoom in, prefect execution of a very pointed question about when it's okay to put a human corpse on display for grade schoolers to gawk at or shoved in a box in a basement.
@pistachoo.
Жыл бұрын
@@KahlevN the perfectly timed eyebrow waggle with unwavering gaze...
@connorjinglis
Жыл бұрын
How long does someone have to be dead for it to be Archeology and not grave robbing
@Drnardinov
Жыл бұрын
The rows of shelves in that museum basement felt like a cultural cemetery
@hiatusfromtheworld
Жыл бұрын
that's exactly what they are
@TacticusPrime
Жыл бұрын
If they were returned, where do you think people would keep them? They would still be in boxes. That isn't the bad part.
@ArashiKageTaro
Жыл бұрын
@@TacticusPrime Completely missed the point. Who tf cares? It’s not Britain’s/America’s to steal and keep.
@mariaheart6980
Жыл бұрын
@@TacticusPrime nahh if you returned something that is mine i would absolutely cherish it more
@vantruongthi9105
Жыл бұрын
ok
@deettekearns9092
Жыл бұрын
CBS Sunday Morning did a piece on this recently. New York has a police team devoted to this very subject. Some items have actually been seized out of people's home. Worth a watch. Thanks for the video!
@DaellusKnights
5 ай бұрын
"How long is okay?"
@LeMayJoseph
Жыл бұрын
Someone once asked me how much time needs to pass before grave robbing becomes archaeology, and I immediately responded, "The amount of time it takes to ship it to the British Museum."
@truongtran-sl6rh
Жыл бұрын
ok
@masterraccoon2883
Жыл бұрын
Ok
@mattm7426
Жыл бұрын
ok
@bencilsharpie7567
Жыл бұрын
I think when enough time passes the loot becomes part of the cultural heritage of the country that stole it.
@LeMayJoseph
Жыл бұрын
@@bencilsharpie7567 I think that’s the hottest fucking take I’ll hear all day, holy shit that’s dumb.
@BigToadsBigNothing
Жыл бұрын
One of my favorite sayings about the British museum. "The only reason the Pyramids aren't in the British Museum is because they were too big to carry."
@boomboomtrucker8032
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, to this day no one can explain exactly how they were constructed. Things that make you go "Hmm"
@chaddaifouche536
Жыл бұрын
@@boomboomtrucker8032 We "don't know" because we have _several_ ways it could have been done and some have been tested in practice, though of course at a lower scale because the really amazing part of the pyramids is that they imply an incredibly advanced planning, engineering and logistic effort over a long period of time given the era. Why devalue the capacities of the ancients just because you prefer fiction and need to believe in aliens ?
@robertdickey178
Жыл бұрын
@@boomboomtrucker8032 I can say that they were not made from mud and straw they didn't need mortar either.
@Shalvus
Жыл бұрын
@@boomboomtrucker8032 We actually do though. We can't prove that a method or another was used, but we've shown a lot of possible methods that could have been used to do so at the time. The bullshit about perfect geometry in these is complotist horseshit. Like how some alleys in the pyramids are perfect to the millimeter while rock blocks have gaps already bigger than a centimeter at points. They are an incredible prowess for the time they were built, but nothing that can't be reproduced with modern or ancient tools and enough people.
@theinvisiblewoman5709
Жыл бұрын
@@boomboomtrucker8032 we know how it was made we just don’t have the tools to recreate it as the ancient Egyptians built it. The method is extinct just like how we cannot recreate Apollo 13 because the technology and hand calculations and physical construction of it cannot be replicated due to increased technology and quite literally the loss of hand written calculations used to build it.
@dpdystro2227
10 ай бұрын
Love it! That Payback was exquisite!
@klakalakin8017
22 күн бұрын
the ending skit is... phenomenal
@JaYoeNation
Жыл бұрын
Why don’t they say, “We are going to return the everything to their rightful country of origin and maintain a collection of carefully crafted replicas to replace them, each paying homage to the original and the story of its return as part of the museum.”That would still allow the collection to inspire, and put them back in their rightful place. You could even document the replication as an art form of paying respect.
@JaYoeNation
Жыл бұрын
I’m going to answer my question by saying…. Money…. That’s why. All of those items hold huge value to the countries who own them… and they won’t let them go.
@SatanistSchool
Жыл бұрын
Not at all a bad idea. I want to add that in some cultures certain objects deemed sacred are not supposed to be displayed, photographed or replicated. But yes repatriation, the return of those objects, should always be the practice.
@jerusareem
Жыл бұрын
Who wants to see replicas though?
@SatanistSchool
Жыл бұрын
@@jerusareem actually, a lot of private collectors put replicas on display so the genuine object can be stored more safely.
@jerusareem
Жыл бұрын
@@Justin_Leahy I get that but we aren’t talking dinosaur bones here. No one is going to make a replica of a 1000 year old book. Look what happened in Syria during the uprising. So many sculptures and artifacts were destroyed by isis from the old ages that we will never get to see again. Some countries can’t take care of these things. I’m against these museums but I understand the need sometimes.
@DanielCharlesNaijaenterNews
7 ай бұрын
Thank you, mate. I am Benin and we all know the history of the looting. The day I went to the British Museum, the African section was not opened and I have never seen the Benin Bronzes.
@sparkymularkey6970
Жыл бұрын
"... who on his BEST day, looked like THAT..." 😂😂😂
@tanadarko6991
Жыл бұрын
The part about stonehenge just being left outside in the rain ... I laughed so hard
@EarthenCavy
Жыл бұрын
“It’s got grass and shit on it…” 🤣
@Shasha-jo5iv
Жыл бұрын
Its been there for thousands of years so that's fine, it's a suitable environment 🥲
@NiteSaiya
Жыл бұрын
I do wish they had touched on the problem of returning artifacts and antiquities to nation with active Islamic Fundamentalist groups destroying any and all non-Muslim artifacts. They claim they are "false idols". Should we return things from museums to countries where radicals in their population are actively destroying those things?
@williamyoung9401
Жыл бұрын
Cleaning with wire brushes and god knows what chemicals? What'd they clean it with? Air fresheners?
@tamtran-lx6zr
Жыл бұрын
ok
@MossyMozart
Жыл бұрын
I very much appreciate this episode. And thank you for the tour of the Payback Museum. I probably will never get there on my own.
@pickledragonrebel
9 ай бұрын
I just lost my best fur friend last year and it was devastating as it always is. Being an adopter of older pets, ive been through this heartbreak many times. All we can do is give them the best lives possible and and pass on the love they give us. So sorry for your loss farron. So glad those two kittens landed in the right hands.
@shaynannigans
Жыл бұрын
When I was in a museum in Cambodia, they had some empty glass cases describing an artifact that was in some other museum and when they asked for it back. Some of the cases did have items with labels when they asked for an item back and when they received it usually several years to a decade later. I think this public shaming is a clever idea and makes people more aware of the issue.
@koen276
Жыл бұрын
It's exactly the same in the Akropolis museum in Athens
@maebandy
Жыл бұрын
I think the stockades should make a societal comeback. If we can't penalize corporations for crimes then we should at least be able to throw 6$ genetically modified and glyphosate ridden tomatoes at their ceos, cfos, 23 vice presidents and board members. That'll be one long piece of wood. Too bad we have so few old growth forests left in existence.
@jasmin_dd963
Жыл бұрын
My hometown of Dresden is currently negotiating returning Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. Compared to the global stage, we are a small city and need the tourism - and yet, the Bronzes will be going home to Nigeria within the next year. If an unknown Eastern German town can deal with giving the Bronzes away, I'm sure the British Museum can handle a little morality.
@a.mcsweeney2547
Жыл бұрын
Since you mentioned tourism, I thought I'd throw in I'm thinking of visiting Dresden from the UK soon! Looks like a lovely town
@planetnron4989
Жыл бұрын
Ya but that’s a concept that can only be taught after lobotomy.. pus%#{%
@bastibastonne5670
Жыл бұрын
calling Dresden an "unknown small city" is doing it a bit of a disservice, honestly. HOWEVER, that still means that the bronzes should be returned. Dresden has more than enough of it´s own local historic artwork and architecture to not need to rely on looted artifacts for tourism.
@bastibastonne5670
Жыл бұрын
@@a.mcsweeney2547 It absolutely is, but some of the people living there can be a bit... offputting. I used to live there myself.
@melioocz
Жыл бұрын
Awesome, would be nice of them to return the Mayan codices too!
@inviver07
Жыл бұрын
Please please do not stop making such true and valuable videos! The last bit - mmmmaaaasterpiece! As for someone coming from a colonialized country, this felt like 10 thousand fluffiest puppies climbing all over you!
@LazarusStr
5 ай бұрын
Brilliant ending! 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 🌹 👏🏾 🌹 👏🏾 🌹 😂😂😂
@pachidermo
Жыл бұрын
"Can we have our stuff back?" "I don't know. I'm not sure you can even prove it is your stuff." "Yes, I can. You put it in a display case, with a little placard VERY EXPLICITLY STATING THAT IT IS MY STUFF" The British Museum in a nutshell
@rosfow
Жыл бұрын
It is more nuanced than that. Britain has the Rosetta stone because we took it off a French warship that we defeated in the Napoleonic wars. Napoleon had a good old loot when he was there. Also, there are some things in the museum that were sold in good faith by the governments of the time and now the modern governments want it back. I am not against it in principle but if that happens, then the French, Spanish , American etc museums plus private collections, should give their stuff back too. I am sure there are British treasures in foreign museums. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a whole 'British' floor.
@dmisso42
Жыл бұрын
😁
@AnonEyeMouse
Жыл бұрын
Meh... not quite. One thing to note about the Benin Bronzes is that they are Benin, not Nigerian. Benin has been eaten by Nigeria but the bronzes would be returned to Nigeria, not Benin. The past is a distant shore. The owners and creators of these treasures are LONG dead. Those who happen to be born on the same ground in modern times have no more claim than those who are actually descended from the creators who were driven from their ancestral lands. Modern Egyptians are unrelated to the builders of the Pyramids. The Roman empire looted the shit out of Britain. Should modern Mexico return the art of the Incas to their few remaining descendents? All this fighting over old shit is averice and prestige and nothing more.
@thedigitalrealm7155
Жыл бұрын
@@AnonEyeMouse The video explained that it's far more than that, and you chose to ignore it.
@Sceusell
Жыл бұрын
"Well we can't give it back. We're still looking at it!"
@Renuclous
Жыл бұрын
The ridiculous part is, that there is a well established and functioning lease and lend economy for museums. Most countries are very, very open to lending out artworks to other countries museums to share their culture around the world, even indefinitely.
@Kap00rwith2os
Жыл бұрын
It's fine if the countries of origin agree to that arrangement, the issue here are the objects that the countries want returned.
@Salvanas42
Жыл бұрын
@@Kap00rwith2os I'm pretty sure that's their point. These museums could hold and display these objects ethically, they just don't bother to go through the process of returning them and then getting lending permission.
@ArchReverend
Жыл бұрын
Its a weird business practice acquiring art and cultural objects through conquest or illegal trade and then making money on them not only by displaying them but also renting them out to other museums. That would be like stealing objects from your neighboring city and making money on its display and renting it out for others to display. And the sad thing is seeing people, who work for the museums, or profit from this practice, actively defend the museums claim the objects despite the obvious dubious morality of it, all in the name of profits. Every time i see someone say something so crazy or defend the indefensible i have to stop and say "Well, whos profiting from this" and once you follow the money trail, it all makes a dark sense.
@chideraalexanderdex547
Жыл бұрын
@@Salvanas42 why would I lease what is rightfully mine?
@atafakheri8659
Жыл бұрын
The only time I saw the cylinder of cyrus in my country (iran) it was when the Brits had "loanded" it to us
@lizziebkennedy7505
Жыл бұрын
This s curriculum gold. Thank you!
@portmantologist
Ай бұрын
Funny how the only times people make the argument that you can't judge history by the standards of our time is when they want to justify atrocities.
@markr.s.8691
Жыл бұрын
One more infuriating thing about the "well it's on display and anyone can visit it" argument is that a lot of the artifacts were stolen from poor countries, where a trip to the UK can be prohibitively expensive. Where I am from it would cost roughly one third to one half of the median annual salary for a 1 week trip to the UK, and according to Google there are more than 100k artifacts from my country in UK museums. So the average person will likely never afford to go see them.
@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061
Жыл бұрын
They mostly make the "Can't take care of it themselves" excuse with countries with a majority of people of color. 'cause gotta be racist on top of it. They aren't going to do that with France. Although doing it with Greece is a pretty bold move.
@risharehraje793
Жыл бұрын
Still better that some people can see it and experts can study it than noone. Tell me what happened to Palmyra again? Or to Mosul museum and library? Tell me why most of the graves in Egypt are found empty? What happened to the thing from the graves when found by locals?
@christophertheriault3308
Жыл бұрын
Especially when you consider how much sits in storage and is not in fact actually on display.
@enbeast8350
Жыл бұрын
@@risharehraje793 You're comparing ancient crimes to modern looting. Not to mention, a lot of museums who want their artifacts back would gladly lend them out for study from experts. So, what about all the shit just sitting in storage getting dusty with no one looking at them or even knowing it's down there. I can't count the number of times museums have lost artifacts in their own storage only to be rediscovered decades later because no one gave a damn to look for them in the first place. But we get it, you fully believe museums are good and blah blah. Bet you complain when Confederate statues are taken down
@patrickmcdonald7578
Жыл бұрын
Well said!
@helgaioannidis9365
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for covering this. Here in Greece the marbles are called the Parthenon marbles, because they are part of the Parthenon, while in Britain they call them Elgin marbles, because they think they are part of Lord Elgin.
@organicfarm5524
Жыл бұрын
Nah, we also call them as Parthenon marbles. And i personally want it to go back to Athens because it's incomplete.
@meghanlancaster8747
Жыл бұрын
I, too, would like to see them go back to Athens. Religious buildings should not be dismantled piecemeal for the aesthetics of foreigners, even if hardly anyone practices the specific religion anymore. It's just not right.
@johnmavroudis2054
Жыл бұрын
@@organicfarm5524 How about wanting for them to go back because it's the fucking right thing to do and not because it's incomplete?
@mimih119
3 ай бұрын
Such a great video!! I hope more items could be returned to countries where they came from.
@oxylepy2
Жыл бұрын
It always gets me that the British Museum can't just make a copy to keep and then return the artifacts to where they belong.
@sydneyfairbairn3773
Жыл бұрын
I have seen the marbles in Greece and the matching parts in the British Museum. There is no reason that the British Museum cannot make duplicates and return the originals.
@lggonda
Жыл бұрын
There are art historian sculptors who would cry tears of joy if offered the chance to create those replicas.
@leeman23664
Жыл бұрын
kzitem.info/news/bejne/yXhnz36LhYaFiIo Finally it’s here
@TheEudaemonicPlague
Жыл бұрын
A museum in my home town has plaster casts of the Elgin marbles. It was only in the last several years that I learned something about how little museums got many plaster casts--in many cases, the source was a museum that had started out with casts, but got their hands on the real thing, and no longer wanted the copies. I don't recall the details, but looting is ultimately responsible for many small museums getting quality copies. Which makes me wonder--instead of getting involved with thieves, why aren't museums choosing to obtain quality copies, and leaving the originals where it belongs? It seems to me that the museums would save an awful lot of money by doing that, and avoid immoral dealings with crooks. Why not take those stolen artifacts, make good copies, and return them to where they were stolen from? Though plaster copies normally only reproduce the shapes, they could be made to match the colors, too, where that makes a difference. Of course, things like the Elgin marbles weren't originally plain stone, and the scrubbing they got destroyed a huge amount of information--they were originally painted--so we don't know exactly what they should look like anymore.
@jimmarshall5453
Жыл бұрын
@@lggonda not to mention scanners and 3-d printers.
@Lodinn
Жыл бұрын
@@TheEudaemonicPlague I would expect it has to do with their business model; the only thing museums are selling is the premise of the "real thing", presumably old or even ancient. Replacing them with replicas entirely puts them firmly in the educational category, and people are just not paying for that.
@vxxiii4160
Жыл бұрын
As someone from Mexico who knows there's a _shitload_ of Prehispanic artifacts scattered around the world, it makes me happy John Oliver talked about this topic. Hopefully we'll see the day when each historical relic is placed back in their place of origin and kept safely for the years to come. Alas, I might be too optimistic.
@Gurianthe
Жыл бұрын
Costa Rican here. i feel the exact same way
@tuckerbugeater
Жыл бұрын
@@Gurianthe I want to see all the skeletons of the people sacrificed by Mayans and Aztecs.
@sadgayyeehaw5199
Жыл бұрын
i recently learned that my dad was partially taino (a peaceful tribe indigenous to the Caribbean that forcibly integrated with slaves and colonists because they were hunted out of their homes and enslaved) and that there is fortunately a taino tribe in Boriken (also known by its colonist name Puerto Rico) that is fighting for government recognition and keeping the language alive. recently an auction house in europe called Christie auctioned off ancestor spirit homes (zemis) for millions, calling these zemi's and cooking utensils "exotic artifacts of an extinct peoples" meanwhile the tribe was fighting to get them returned. they ended up selling almost half of it to private collectors and put the rest in storage and said that the these personal incredibly sacred pieces were "gifts" and given in "good faith".
@M123Xoxo
Жыл бұрын
LOL so the cartels can destroy them in the next war?
@ryan_goslings
Жыл бұрын
Fuck all these weird comments except the one about the Caribbean.
@mcmanny2.0
9 ай бұрын
This is one of my favorite episodes thank you
@scherzo0o
Жыл бұрын
Brilliant, mr. John Oliver!
@arrianna
Жыл бұрын
This is so funny because me and my boyfriend was just at the Natural History Museum in London where there were corals that were labelled, "Corals illegal smuggled from the Philippines". My boyfriend being British (I'm Filipino) said, "I can't believe they would just snitch on themselves like that."
@PrograError
Жыл бұрын
well... at least they were being truthful and upfront... unlike a certain legacy of certain countries... well... that's gonna poke lots of hole in lots of sensitive places.
@aiieeee5166
Жыл бұрын
Recently saw an item whose origin was labelled “France, probably.” Where? You guessed it. The British Museum.
@ethelmini
Жыл бұрын
Seems reasonable, if they were confiscated. They could hardly be restored, displaying them obviously raised awareness & hopefully discourages people from buying coral.
@ethelmini
Жыл бұрын
@@aiieeee5166 So? You going to tell us what it was, unless you do we won't know if there's any significance. France hasn't always been France.
@helenafactome
Жыл бұрын
Shameless people, the British! Cut their heads! They are used to that forms of treatment, probably the only common concept of the British around the world... though they seek photos and movies about their little beloved royals.
@jocelynsagemitchell
Жыл бұрын
“How long does someone have to be dead before it’s okay to hoard their body parts in museum storage? Really, how long?” Great, haunting question. 😢
@karlcarlsen9664
Жыл бұрын
Dumb question actually.....it is when everybody who had a emotional real live connection to you is also dead.
@doantranvan1844
Жыл бұрын
ok
@jvillanueva2978
Жыл бұрын
@@karlcarlsen9664 no the answer is fucking never
@21centdregs
Жыл бұрын
@@jvillanueva2978 we would have vastly undermined our medical, and anthropological, knowledge such that the practice of modern medicine would not exist if we did not keep at least some cadavers for research. also it's A ok to keep body parts in a museum if there are no cultural or personal conflicts involved.
@karlcarlsen9664
Жыл бұрын
@@jvillanueva2978 For someone who want to get brownie points that is the right position. But you also would have to close the Nationalmuseum in Kairo and end excavations in Egypt or any anthropologic and genetic research and testing. I am sure the Neandertaler community is happy for your position.
@MrRoach0662
Жыл бұрын
God bless John Oliver.
@star2705
Жыл бұрын
The clip at the end is so good. It really reminds me of the weird, surreal opening to those old DW documentaries. Unlike any museum I've ever been to, yet somehow, 100% Museum.
@PilsnerGrip
Жыл бұрын
My favorite "argument" against doing the right thing is "well where do you draw the line, if we do this good thing, why not do MORE good things, well I never!" Always brings out the ancient rage and desperation in me...
@ILoveGrilledCheese
Жыл бұрын
The only way you could have drawn that conclusion is if you’re mentally handicapped.
@sakuranovaryan9261
Жыл бұрын
Ugh steering the conversation away from the point. It's not a logical argument. They can at least come up with a better one.
@cgsoldier4196
Жыл бұрын
And John had a great response to this in his Confederate statue video. "Anytime someone asks, 'Where does it stop?' The answer is always, 'Fucking somewhere!' You might let your kid have Twizzlers, but not inject black-tar heroin. You don't just go, 'Well, after the Twizzlers, where does it stop?'"
@freakymoejoe2
Жыл бұрын
Its arguably not all always a good thing though. You can follow this train of thought to claim that turkey should hand over istanbul. Its full of ancient european artifacts and it was taken by force
@tanzesambamitmir
Жыл бұрын
@@freakymoejoe2 What's wrong with that?
@joachimschoder
Жыл бұрын
"You may be wondering how we have so many great foreign treasures here at the British Museum. And the answer is simple: Gun beats spear." - Frankie Boyle
@P3Aesthetics
Жыл бұрын
Thats how we reached the stage of nukes
@minty6347
Жыл бұрын
Many of the non-industrialized countries in the world had guns and cannons too.
@jockjockin9589
Жыл бұрын
@@minty6347 you do know what industrialized means right?
@Darknamja
Жыл бұрын
@@jockjockin9589 🤣🤣
@killermarfidyoh138
Жыл бұрын
@@minty6347 You do know what industrialized means right?... Most of all you do comprehend and understand what happened in the early stages of colonization right? or did you not do your research in history well enough?. You do comprehend as well theirs a reason the UK's British museum has a lot of pillaged artifacts right? (Dont forget the other countries like Austria, France and etc.).
@Richard-me2pq
23 күн бұрын
In college, an anthropology student told me, "If these artifacts were not stolen the native people would not take care if them like we would; also, they would try to sell their own art and artifacts through the underground markets." This is a twisted rationalization?
@stevehind7318
Жыл бұрын
I have never been so intensely appalled by the looting of historical items from other cultures. Thank you John Oliver and team for this amazingly comprehensive video about some of the wrongs that colonialism has done to the world. I appreciate the care that you all give to inform the masses about wrong doings and the obvious reparations that need to happen.
@hwtabebe
Жыл бұрын
This reminds me of an exhibition at the Nairobi National Museum. The place was empty except for placques stating what artifact should be there, which European museum has it and why the refuse to return it.
@xXBlacky77Xx
Жыл бұрын
That's so sad... I think it's gonna take a long time to get to a point where most artifacts are returned to the place they were stolen from, but it's definitely worth it to keep trying. Those people deserve ownership of their own cultural heritage just as much as everyone else. It's a spit in the face to have to deal with this after colonialization as well... as if there was not enough harm done already. They really aren't even trying to do the bare minimum in order to set things right after they wronged so many (not just Britain ofc, but since they were the colonial overlords, they are definitely one of the biggest perpetrators here).
@GTAVictor9128
Жыл бұрын
@@xXBlacky77Xx The French carved up huge swathes of Africa too.
@js2010ish
Жыл бұрын
@@GTAVictor9128 and put them in the Quai Branly yea
@js2010ish
Жыл бұрын
Powerful
@CoercedJab
Жыл бұрын
See if I was an “influencer” with money to jet around or set up a real life squid game I would be flying there to bring attention to that Or the sewage spills off the pacific coast that run 24/7 now
@derekjbarbee
Жыл бұрын
Holy shit, that sequence at the end with Kumail Nanjiani at the Payback Museum was amazing. That open question about how long someone can be dead for it to be okay to have a piece of their body is superb.
@tubensalat1453
Жыл бұрын
I'd say it's best to get the parts as fresh as possible. If the person is already important you might want to make sure to get to the body first. So the real question would be how long to hide it in the storage?
@jakubmateuszkowalski4558
Жыл бұрын
In Poland just after the paperwork is finished. Organ donation does not require consent of neither the (deceased) donor nor their family.
@timgleason2527
Жыл бұрын
33:00 was intimidating as hell
@williamyoung9401
Жыл бұрын
You know, whatever country you live in, we're all complacent victims. Art is the commodity of the Rich, and they think it's something to own another's culture for a lot of money. Am I going to get killed for saying this needs to be busted up? Art belongs to us all. You know, we stopped the Noozies from stealing everyone's Art, in a world war that one time. Are we back in the 1910s again?
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