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War Over "The War" (Ken Burns)
The American spectator ^ | 7/18/07 | Iain Murray & Ivan Osorio

Posted on 07/18/2007 5:57:44 AM PDT by Valin

When Ken Burns releases a documentary, America watches. This is partly because of his uniquely compelling style, but also partly because his stories are those of America itself: the Civil War, jazz, baseball.

But now some ethnic activists and politicians are decrying Burns's latest project on World War II, The War, as not reflective of America -- and are seeking to impose that judgment. If they get their way, there may be more such spats on the horizon.

Why the ruckus?

Burns's narrative technique relies heavily on individual accounts and The War is no exception. He aims to tell the story of how World War II affected the people of four towns -- Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama; and Luverne, Minnesota. Interviews with survivors from those towns are integral to the story and, naturally, the survivors are few in number today.

This is where the politics comes in. Among those survivors are African-Americans and, because of the very special circumstances involved, Japanese-Americans who were unjustly interned. But there are no Hispanics, which has led outraged Latino advocacy groups to pressure Burns to include Hispanics in his documentary.

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: antiamericanism; kenburns; pbs; revisionisthistory; taxdollarsatwork; thewar
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"PBS, to its credit, reacted strongly to this bullying by asserting its editorial independence"

Now it only they would respond positively to Islam vs. Islamists: Voices from the Muslim Center

1 posted on 07/18/2007 5:57:47 AM PDT by Valin
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To: Valin

oh boy.....the Mobile Alabama part should be real fun.....

he won’t just leave it at shipyards and Brookley field.....nah, we’ll have to self flagellate over James Crow for the appropriate butt kissing


2 posted on 07/18/2007 6:00:57 AM PDT by wardaddy (world's least admitted secret.....................strong women need stronger men)
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To: Valin

Burns forgot to use PBS math.

Such and such % anglo, this % black, x % asian, etc., etc...


3 posted on 07/18/2007 6:02:10 AM PDT by Mrs.Z
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To: Mrs.Z
Burns forgot to use PBS math.

Such and such % anglo, this % black, x % asian, etc., etc...

When I was in television, this was referred to in meetings, in code, as the 'Bridge of the Enterprise'...

4 posted on 07/18/2007 6:04:31 AM PDT by IncPen (The Liberal's Reward is Self Disgust)
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To: Valin

LOL!

PC modey-dopey (& boring) Ken Burns hasn’t been PC enough!!!!

ROFL!

See, PC Ken? You can never satisfy! Just drop the PC race-coddling crap. It ain’t worth it, and it ain’t representative, anyway.


5 posted on 07/18/2007 6:05:32 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: Valin
I thought it was the United States in the war.

Turns out it was the Affiliated States.

6 posted on 07/18/2007 6:05:49 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: IncPen

“’Bridge of the Enterprise’...”

LOL

Cute, I need to remember that one.


7 posted on 07/18/2007 6:08:57 AM PDT by Mrs.Z
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To: Valin

‘PBS, to its credit, reacted strongly to this bullying by asserting its editorial independence, saying in a statement, “Any attempt by the government or interest groups to influence content, especially before a program has aired, raises serious Constitutional, statutory and policy concerns.”’

Yes and no.

You get what you get when you have government funding. They GET to control you. Much more than if you did it on your own and raised money from private investors.

Commies.


8 posted on 07/18/2007 6:10:32 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: Valin
I think he should announce his next documentary will be about the Spanish-American War to insure plenty of hispanic participation.
9 posted on 07/18/2007 6:10:34 AM PDT by parcel_of_rogues
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To: Valin; Millee; carlr; Maximus of Texas; EX52D; StephenTX; wallcrawlr; Auntbee; Shimmer128; ...
I hate to say it, but in the not too far off future, I foresee a World War Two documentary being produced that will not have any white hetrosexual males shown at all.

In it women, blacks, latinos, arabs and gays defeat Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo and George W. Bush to free the world from all oppression!

10 posted on 07/18/2007 6:11:46 AM PDT by Bender2 (A 'Good Yankee' comes down to Texas, then goes back north. A 'Damn Yankee' stays... Damn it!)
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To: Valin

“The people that are in our film are not their nationality, not their country of origin, not their ethnicity, not their religion, not their sex, not their race, but human beings. Not just Americans, but human beings.”

You pathetic PC BSer.

If you were so interested in “human beings” - did you include REAL Germans and REAL Japanese in your accounts? Did you ask them how they “feel”?

You hypocritical !$#!@#.


11 posted on 07/18/2007 6:12:48 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: Bender2

ROFL!

When you see these KB shows, and you think of the % population in reality vs. on his shows AND how much time is spent, it’s really WAY out of whack.


12 posted on 07/18/2007 6:14:21 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel

It appears you have some sort of thing about Ken burns. His politics aside a great film maker.


13 posted on 07/18/2007 6:20:28 AM PDT by Valin (History takes time. It is not an instant thing.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel
Hilarious parody of a Burns documentary.
14 posted on 07/18/2007 6:20:31 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Valin

Burns discovered racism as a overriding theme in his Jazz work. Both the Jazz and Baseball works would’ve been half-hour shows if the word “racism” would’ve been removed. I think that this was lampooned in FR among other places.

Burns is now like a music act whose producers found a “sound” that it could sell, and now replicate that song a dozen times (think “Air Supply” and “REO Speedwagon”). This is sad, because the Civil War work was by far the best for Burns.


15 posted on 07/18/2007 6:21:53 AM PDT by TWohlford
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To: TWohlford
Nailed it.

Burns is very skilled. I find his work compelling -- but it really irks me that everything seems to revolve around how blacks have been treated in America.

There is more to the American story than race relations. To some extent, despite his vast talent as a film-maker, Burns is a one-note wonder. Now he appears to be hoist on his own petard.

16 posted on 07/18/2007 6:35:17 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Progressives like to keep doing the things that didn't work in the past.)
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To: Valin

Another Burns-lover, huh?

Politics (with which his “films” are reaking) aside, he’s boring. Everything is low monotone, with depressing music.


17 posted on 07/18/2007 6:36:17 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: TWohlford

“Civil War” was reaking with racism, of course, too. And that was 1st. He found that theme right away and ALWAYS pushes it. Especially as it relates to America.

Poor self-flagellating white American boy.


18 posted on 07/18/2007 6:38:03 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel; ClearCase_guy

Racism overshadows Burns’ work.


19 posted on 07/18/2007 6:44:46 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: Valin

It’s ironic that one of the most uniting events in American history now has to be told in a fragmented, ethnicity-oriented style, thanks to “diversity”.


20 posted on 07/18/2007 6:46:14 AM PDT by popdonnelly (Our first responsibility is to keep the power of the Presidency out of the hands of the Clintons.)
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