We probably have Ken Burns to thank for this miniseries on the American Revolutionary War. Five years previously, Burns had produced "The American Civil War," which was wildly popular -- for a PBS miniseries anyway. "The Revolutionary War" follows much the same format -- Charles Kuralt narrates, rather than John McCullough; letters from the period are read aloud with the author's name being appended. "The Revolutionary War" has reenactments instead of still photographs, for obvious reasons, and for whatever reason pays more attention to the actual battles and less to the quotidian details of life. We don't get much in the way of what the troops ate, or what the mood was back on the home front. And there are fewer of the heartbreaking dramatic expositions of the earlier film -- nothing about slavery or the irony of two old and loving friends trying to kill each other at Gettysburgh, like Hancock and Armistead. The overall tone is slightly drier.
But it's a good series, almost a necessary series, just as much as "The American Civil War." The reason I make this argument is that in neither the Revolutionary War nor the Civil War are we able to demonize the enemy. We're always able to spin World Wars I and II. After all, Germany was responsible for a genocidal program, and who knows anything about the Japanese? That was barbarism at its worst. But who can demonize the "enemies" we fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars? In the first, American patriots were fighting the British (and, surprisingly often, other Americans who, for one reason or another, they were feuding with). How can we demonize the British? We've been on the same side as the British through two very bloody wars in the past century. If the British are not our allies, then we have no allies.
And we can't very well demonize either side in the Civil War. Both sides were Americans who believed God was on their side. And the sides themselves were all mixed up. Many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves. Lincoln had married a woman from a slave state.
All of this throws the emphasis upon the agony of war itself, not upon the rude habits of the enemy. The approach taken to the conflicts must perforce be balanced, and it's about time.
I won't go into any details of the unfolding history because it's generally well known. (Kids: PS., the Americans won independence from the British.) As I say, this isn't nearly as dramatic as Ken Burns' series. Burns was an innovative genius at making documentaries and at promoting himself. The producers of this mini-series are less daring but, in a limited way, equally informative. Still, it needs to be taken one episode at a time because in the near-absence of drama and breathing spells you're liable to OD.
With whatever weaknesses this miniseries has, it ought to be seen by everyone in the US, especially by youngsters. It doesn't have the WHIZ and ZAP of a music video on MTV but sometimes education demands sacrifice and we sometimes need education in order to be smart rather than dumb. I was teaching a class in communications at a state university when Ken Burns' documentary was being shown. I asked the several dozen students how many were watching it. Answer: None. Oh, how we NEED more balanced documentaries about past wars. Maybe, as a result of watching them, we won't stumble into so many wars in the future.
But it's a good series, almost a necessary series, just as much as "The American Civil War." The reason I make this argument is that in neither the Revolutionary War nor the Civil War are we able to demonize the enemy. We're always able to spin World Wars I and II. After all, Germany was responsible for a genocidal program, and who knows anything about the Japanese? That was barbarism at its worst. But who can demonize the "enemies" we fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars? In the first, American patriots were fighting the British (and, surprisingly often, other Americans who, for one reason or another, they were feuding with). How can we demonize the British? We've been on the same side as the British through two very bloody wars in the past century. If the British are not our allies, then we have no allies.
And we can't very well demonize either side in the Civil War. Both sides were Americans who believed God was on their side. And the sides themselves were all mixed up. Many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves. Lincoln had married a woman from a slave state.
All of this throws the emphasis upon the agony of war itself, not upon the rude habits of the enemy. The approach taken to the conflicts must perforce be balanced, and it's about time.
I won't go into any details of the unfolding history because it's generally well known. (Kids: PS., the Americans won independence from the British.) As I say, this isn't nearly as dramatic as Ken Burns' series. Burns was an innovative genius at making documentaries and at promoting himself. The producers of this mini-series are less daring but, in a limited way, equally informative. Still, it needs to be taken one episode at a time because in the near-absence of drama and breathing spells you're liable to OD.
With whatever weaknesses this miniseries has, it ought to be seen by everyone in the US, especially by youngsters. It doesn't have the WHIZ and ZAP of a music video on MTV but sometimes education demands sacrifice and we sometimes need education in order to be smart rather than dumb. I was teaching a class in communications at a state university when Ken Burns' documentary was being shown. I asked the several dozen students how many were watching it. Answer: None. Oh, how we NEED more balanced documentaries about past wars. Maybe, as a result of watching them, we won't stumble into so many wars in the future.