Don't forget the Old Negro Space Program
Posted on 04/22/2005 8:51:47 PM PDT by stainlessbanner
Before the bashers and smashers get here, I'll just say: these productions are landmark pieces in american television and contribute a lot of interest in american history. They are creatively done and interesting to watch.
Don't forget the Old Negro Space Program
Yes, it's called, "Bad White People."
There's a lot to like about Burns's films, but he can be Johnny One-Note on the race angle.
Yes, they were well done, especially the baseball series. I'm looking forward to Ken Burns doing a new documentary about baseball teams not located in New York City and Boston.
Other than that, halfway reasonable documentaries. Parts of ''Jazz'' were actually informative. ''The Civil War'' was an embarrassment to any marginally honest historian, a multi-episode bleat of unadulterated PC and post-modern revisionism.
If this is the state, indeed the paradigm, of documentary these days, who needs it? Propaganda by any other name would (fill in your favourite blank here).
Flame suit ON!
I'm really looking forward to the new 6 hour Ken Burn's special on 19th century silverware
Regardless of what one thinks of his biases and faults, Burns inspired a resurgence in the study of history.
...with Doris Kearns Goodwin holding forth as an Expert Thereon.
I rather expect to see such a programme heavily peppered with ''commentary'' from his usual crowd of professional race-baiters. (can we say ''no-brainer'' on this notion?)
Not unless DKG can find a source from which to ''borrow'' (cough, choke).
Burns did his best stuff when Gracie was still alive...
:o)
ROFL!! Great shot!
That was TOO MUCH!
The Civil War was truly great television. It offered historical photographs, a great musical score, and it introduced historians like David McCullough and Shelby Foote to a mass audience. I love the game of baseball, but I found Burn's series unwatchable, it was simply too undisciplined a presentation. After that, I did not have the stomach for his take on jazz. But the elements he brought to the screen in the Civil War were very powerful.
Agreed. There are a lot of criticisms one can make of Burns, but on the whole his influence has been benign and positive. A lot of people have come to take an interest in American history because of Burns, and that's a good thing.
Of course Ken does carry victim-history too far, but so do a lot of his critics. They just choose different victims to cry about. I doubt their version of history as victimization is any better or truer than his, and shudder to think of what kind of documentary our latter-day Confederates would shovel together.
It's really distressing to read some of the comments therein fron "scholars" who rip him for not being P.C. enough.
I didn't get the impression that there was overemphasis on race in Baseball and the Civil War. I thought the time and mentions were appropriate. I don't know how you do a history of Jaxx without a lot of racial references and starting back to the africans coming her and making mkusic on the plantations.
or Jazz and music for that matter. : )
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