Mon 24 Sep 2007
Ken Burns – The War
Posted by Rana under Site News
[3] Comments
Update2: Yet another post with some commentary on historiography relative to the reception of “The War” by critics.
Update: Additional commentary on the Ken Burns’ series in light of some of the criticism being levied against it can be found here.
For those who are interested, I’ve posted my reactions to the first installment of the Ken Burns series “The War” on WorldWarTwoTalk.com. Click here.
September 24th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Unfortunately, many viewers will likely treat this documentary as the “definitive” word on the Second World War — what a shame that would be.
More than sixty years after the fact, leading public figures like Burns and Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson are still finding it hard to admit that the Soviet Union suffered the most in defeating Nazi Germany.
Russian victories at Stalingrad, Leningrad and countless other locations in Eastern Europe during the second half of the war broke the German army — the Normandy invasion merely confirmed the eventual outcome of the war, nothing more. Skipping over those facts, as Burns has done, is nothing short of rewriting history, erasing the horrible pain and suffering of countless people who did not have the luxury of American citizenship.
The American experience during the war was rather gentile compared to the hell Europe and Asia endured. Burns concedes this fact himself. So why then should I care about his mammoth documentary about average Americans, who did not have to hide in air raid shelters, flee their homes before advancing armies, slave in underground factories and experience genocide? Burns gives us instead stories about communities rallying to buy war time bonds. Greatest generation, indeed. I do not mean to diminish the stories of those Americans who suffered because of the war, either on the front line or at home. But let us get some perspective, please.
As the BBC has shown us through its landmark series on the Second World War, you can have a specific perspective, without being exclusive. That documentary had it all — telling details and broad, sweeping context thanks to mix of sources speaking from all sides and perspectives — front-line soldiers, civilians, generals, diplomats and war-time leaders. Why Burns, with his supposed talent, would limit his approach to four small American towns stuns me.
But may be I can give Burns too much credit because but every one of this documentaries strikes the same sentimental, nostalgic, even childish tone. The exhausting use of gory footage suggests the mind of a 13-year-old boy who secretly delights in the pornography of war. The Second World War is an inexhaustible subject. A different approach, a different perspective would have infused the subject with relevant urgency.
September 24th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Thank you Wolf. I do appreciate the perspective your comments offer. Without question the Russians bore the brunt of the war before the other Allied powers ever made a move on European soil and without question Americans got off light in comparison to the suffering of the European nations.
And, as you rightly point out, Mr. Burns treats only a small portion of a mammoth topic, one that has been looked at in many ways by many film makers and historians.
The first episode moved me because of the personal connections I cite. Having known men who were in those places, the images were hard for me to take. By training, however, I am an historian and I know there were far worse places and far worse acts. Acknowledging one perspective does not diminish the other.
As to the “greatest generation,” that is a debatable point, one that I suspect could lead to all manner of verbal blood shed. Let us just suffice to say that personal pride and historical perspective are not the same thing and leave it at that.
But again, thank you very much for your comments that do raise important points in gaining an overall sense of what happened in the world in those years.
September 25th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I marvel at the heroism displayed by ordinary citizens, and wonder if we are still capable as a nation to respond to the evil and tyranny in the world. Especially with people like you, who believe crediting Americans with anything heroic is distasteful. You, sir, are a putz of the first magnitude.