The tragedy of the PBS-Ken Burns version of the Vietnam War

[mystery-ak]

September 29, 2017
The tragedy of the PBS-Ken Burns version of the Vietnam War
By Stephen Sherman

Ken Burns, in his new PBS series, correctly points to the Vietnam War as a source of the polarization in our society today.  And he correctly urges us to revisit, understand, and come to grips with details making up that history through civil (as opposed to raucous) discourse.  He apparently believes he is presenting a fair picture of that history and that if we see it as the "tragedy" he paints, we will align our views with his so as to restore a more cohesive society.

The problem for many of us is that Burns does not see the same tragedy many of us lived in person day by day.  Yes, the deaths of millions, American and others, mostly Vietnamese, was tragedy – but not tragedy in the classic sense, that being the human characteristic, the hubris to believe we can design policy, take actions to thwart an undesirable or uncomfortable development in the future that we believe awaits us.

more
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/09/the_tragedy_of_the_pbsken_burns_version_of_the_vietnam_war.html

[mystery-ak]

I only saw one segment that was about Hal Moore at Battle of Ia Drang ...which seemed pretty fair and balanced.

[Fishrrman]

No thanks.

I've reached the point where I don't trust Ken Burns to tell me the history of Vietnam any more than I would Oliver Stone to tell me the real story of the Kennedy assasination...

[Smokin Joe]

I only saw one segment that was about Hal Moore at Battle of Ia Drang ...which seemed pretty fair and balanced.

I saw enough glorification of the 'courageous' hippies who spat on my friends coming back from combat to tick me off, and I changed the channel.

[Bigun]

I only saw one segment that was about Hal Moore at Battle of Ia Drang ...which seemed pretty fair and balanced.

Seems fair and balanced because they only told you what they wanted you to know!

What they failed to tell you was that we lost the war that day! Not the military mind you but the REMFS who would not let us violate the "neutrality" of Laos and go get the bastards!  It was a story repeated hundreds of times but THAT is the one that convinced the people running things  in the North that they could win!  And, as it turned out, they were right but it required a lot more help from the people in our department of state, our "news" media (propaganda ministry), and the Democrat congress!

 

[Restored]

The protest against the war had little to do with the war.

[Smokin Joe]

The protest against the war had little to do with the war.

It was when the Communists got their foothold in the universities, the Democrat Party, and especially the Media.

[Free Vulcan]

I saw enough glorification of the 'courageous' hippies who spat on my friends coming back from combat to tick me off, and I changed the channel.

I remember clips of those hippies when I was a little kid, 5 or 6 years old. They made me mad, I wanted to jump thru the TV and beat them silly.

I've hated pretty much everything liberal and especially hippie ever since.

[Bigun]

I hate Ken Burns documentaries.  HATE!  He can start with a subject that interests me and by the end he has ruined it for me for all time.  I've watched several.  I'll never watch another.  He could raw the rotten part out of anything.  He does not stick to the subject.  He is just out to ruin it, or so it seems to me.  YUCK.  As for educating anyone on the Vietnam War, he is not a source I would trust.  He always has a liberal agenda that comes first.  You would not get a balanced picture.

All you had to do to know what you were about to get was watch the list of sponsors at the beginning of each episode.  I watched two episodes just to confirm my suspicions fully and turned it off!

I was there and know better but they weren't targeting me with that garbage!

[Bigun]

It was when the Communists got their foothold in the universities, the Democrat Party, and especially the Media.

Sorry but no!  They had long been there but the war is definitely what let them out of their cages!

[Smokin Joe]

I remember clips of those hippies when I was a little kid, 5 or 6 years old. They made me mad, I wanted to jump thru the TV and beat them silly.

I've hated pretty much everything liberal and especially hippie ever since.

I cheered when the hard hats swarmed into Times Square. "Ever hear two turtles >bleep<?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_Riot

[montanajoe]

I saw enough glorification of the 'courageous' hippies who spat on my friends coming back from combat to tick me off, and I changed the channel.

I got spat on a couple times while stopping in SF on way to SFO coming and going to Fort Ord. Lets just say I didn't turn the other cheek..

[Smokin Joe]

I got spat on a couple times while stopping in SF on way to SFO coming and going to Fort Ord. Lets just say I didn't turn the other cheek..

Good for you!

[dfwgator]

Where's Professor Turgeson when you need him?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hn9xAaKUbw

[truth_seeker]

I saw enough glorification of the 'courageous' hippies who spat on my friends coming back from combat to tick me off, and I changed the channel.

It is useful to remember, in spite of media efforts to distort America of the era, Nixon defeated McGovern by a huge landslide in 1972.

So Burns agenda to highlight opposition probably will downplay my facts.

[Smokin Joe]

It is useful to remember, in spite of media efforts to distort America of the era, Nixon defeated McGovern by a huge landslide in 1972.

So Burns agenda to highlight opposition probably will downplay my facts.

I pissed a lot of people off this past election by wearing a "President Nixon Now more than ever" button.

[goatprairie]

The problem with Ken Burns is that, like most lib/leftists, he just doesn't get the basic idea behind America. While watching his series on our national parks (which I thought was overall mediocre), Burns stated that our system of national parks was America's best idea.
Are you fricking kidding me??!!!
Hey, I love our NPs, but they are "our best idea" ?
Even some of the liberal historians disagreed with Burns on that and stated the ideals in the Declaration of Independence and the constitution were America's best ideas.
Burns is essentially a typical, clueless lib.

[EasyAce]

Burns is essentially a typical, clueless lib.

It's a shame, because once upon a time Burns delivered a splendid---slightly flawed but splendid---
series on baseball, which is, of course, America's third best idea behind the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution.

If nothing else, it would have been worth it to see the perfect juxtaposition of Sandy Koufax's
pitching rhythm to . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9y-n9B_XUM

[DCPatriot]

At least he was 'Fair and Balanced' in his baseball pieces. 

[EasyAce]

At least he was 'Fair and Balanced' in his baseball pieces.

That he was.

And, like a lot of people who graduate themselves from the high arts (baseball) to the low
arts (politics, etc.), there went that idea. :smh:

[Frank Cannon]

The definitive Vietnam doc was done in the early 80's by PBS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam:_A_Television_History

This bullshit Burns is doing is going to be leftward slanted revisionist history.

[EasyAce]

This bullshit Burns is doing is going to be leftward slanted revisionist history.

It sounds as though it already is.

[Smokin Joe]

The definitive Vietnam doc was done in the early 80's by PBS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam:_A_Television_History

This bullshit Burns is doing is going to be leftward slanted revisionist history.

Even the one you mention, originally 13 episodes, was edited back to 11 by PBS by the time the DVD came out (two episodes eliminated completely on the DVD). Thankfully, Episode 2 (the original one) survives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCXTKEMXm5I

Full list of original episodes is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185129/episodes?season=1&ref_=tt_eps_sn_1

It looks like the original episode 13 also went into the PBS memory hole.

Found it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glAW1eQjQSQ