Don't forget...Ken Burns documentary on Vietnam starts Sept. 17

[vigil617]

Got a pleasant reminder today that Sunday, Sept. 17 is the premiere of the long-awaited Ken Burns film on Viet Nam. From this article I read, it sounds like this is going to be an excellent piece and well worth watching. A tremendous undertaking, and I'm sure he will do it justice.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Tackle the Vietnam War - The New York Times

 

[g-dad]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[dubtap21]

Thanks for the heads up!

Ditto

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[shouldazagged]

I have his masterful "The Civil War", "Baseball", and "The War" on CD. I'm betting this one will have to join the collection. Definitely looks like a must.

 

[vigil617]

In a previous thread about this, I had hoped that a worthy historian would be prominently featured, as Shelby Foote was in the Civil War film. I have changed my mind, though, after reading the article and realizing that Burns and Novick's choices of commentators in this one reflect a deliberate decision based on the nature of the subject. I really look forward to seeing how the wide range of interviewees, including Vietnamese on both sides, will contribute to a balance of viewpoints and experiences that, in itself, will make for some pretty compelling history.

 

[redlevel]

In a previous thread about this, I had hoped that a worthy historian would be prominently featured, as Shelby Foote was in the Civil War film.

If Burns was doing the Civil War documentary today, I doubt whether his use
of someone like Foote, and his generally sympathetic and compassionate treatment
of The Confederacy and the people there would be so well received.

 

[J. W.]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm looking forward to this one. His previous works have been excellent and I have high hopes for this one.


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[ChuckS1]

Hmm, article by the NYT and broadcast on PBS... I can tell right now how this is going to be played out. Hope you Vietnam vets are ready to see yourselves portrayed as both both baby-killing war criminals who invaded a peaceful country and unwitting victims of a corrupt US government bent on unjustly perpetuating an anti-Communist ideology. No doubt the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong will be shown as "freedom fighters" courageously battling a corrupt South Vietnamese dictatorship that was propped up by the US. Yeah, think I'd rather go slam my hand in the car door.

 

[Dennis The B]

Hmm, article by the NYT and broadcast on PBS... I can tell right now how this is going to be played out. Hope you Vietnam vets are ready to see yourselves portrayed as both both baby-killing war criminals who invaded a peaceful country and unwitting victims of a corrupt US government bent on unjustly perpetuating an anti-Communist ideology. No doubt the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong will be shown as "freedom fighters" courageously battling a corrupt South Vietnamese dictatorship that was propped up by the US. Yeah, think I'd rather go slam my hand in the car door.

Amen to that. Not a fan of Burns, anyway. I always detested the way he presented "The Civil War", and managed to make it about slavery from the outset, and the way he romanticized the conflict with the music. There was nothing that could take the disgust from the killing on both sides of the war.

I own, and have read Shelby Foote's trilogy, and it's among the best histories of the 1861-1865 conflict.

There are over 58000 reasons why I won't be watching his series. I won't contribute to the tarring of their memories again, and I won't shed any more tears than those I shed when I did funeral details in 1969-1970. 47 years still isn't long enough.

 

[shouldazagged]

I don't have the gift of prescience. I'll have to wait and see how it's presented before drawing conclusions.

 

[Onomea]

I think some folks commenting haven't read the linked article.

 

[shouldazagged]

I think some folks commenting haven't read the linked article.

Safe bet, I think.

 

[Watchdog]

I don't have the gift of prescience. I'll have to wait and see how it's presented before drawing conclusions.

Does this mean you aren't gonna tell me if I'll win the Powerball jackpot next week?

 

[Cyrano]

He's not too big on guns either; for that matter neither was Steven Ambrose. Their account of the Lewis & Clark expedition has no mention of weapons, regardless of the fact that the members of the expedition were US soldiers. No mention of shooting any of the grizzly bears they encountered, no mention of the air rifle, no mention of shooting the elk they subsisted on for a large part of their journey. Appaarently the elk took off their hides and jumped willingly into the cooking pot.

His programs seem to be biased towards the extreme left, and with such a sensitive subject as Vietnam I doubt there will be a balanced account of the war.

 

[rwsmith]

I'm not going to let.....

I'm not going to let the 'slant' or whatever turn me off from watching it. I'm looking for information and perspective. If people still feel that 'The Civil War' rankled that badly I'd say this had better be avoided. Both wars were political hell holes and there's no way to please everybody, not even close. Watching it isn't going to make me an instant 'convert' to anything.

 

[JcMack]

Amen to that. Not a fan of Burns, anyway. I always detested the way he presented "The Civil War", and managed to make it about slavery from the outset, and the way he romanticized the conflict with the music. There was nothing that could take the disgust from the killing on both sides of the war.

Years before Burn's distorted presentation of the War of the Northern Aggression there was another multi part documentary on the subject. Shelby Foote was a major contributor to that presentation also. That series was much more accurate on the causes of the war. I had that documentary on VHS tapes but it's long gone. Burn's interpretation of the war prompted me to never watch any more of his work.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I'll watch it when it's run.
A rave review by the NYT is a warning I may not like it!

 

[moosedog]

Thanks for the heads up. Having watched the Civil War one I really don't have high expectations.
I doubt if he will inform the public of how they were persuaded to think during the war, to the point of treating our Military Vets with disdain. It might make them aware of how they are lead around by the media today.

 

[Bat Guano]

I read Karnow's Vietnam history and watched his tv series. Both well done, I thought. VIETNAM: THE 10,000 DAY WAR - CBC - COMPLETE SERIES - YouTube

McMaster's "Dereliction of Duty" is a helluva good read...

As for the NYT, I quit reading that MANY years ago.

 

[moosedog]

Hate. Now that's a powerful word.
Reservations...............I like that word better.