not sure im ready for the ken burns vietnam experience which started airing on pbs last night. jesus, nearly 20 fucking hours.  my dvr is gonna take a hit.

medic!


- dave 9-18-2017 12:04 pm

watching this.  hope the vets are too. 


- bill 9-19-2017 8:22 am [add a comment]


why do vets need to watch it?


- dave 9-19-2017 2:00 pm [add a comment]


Vietnam war vets I mean. Many reasons. For one it represents their plight, but also for putting a human face on the enemy. I'm just one show in.
- bill 9-19-2017 4:08 pm [add a comment]


FWIW, here's an opposing viewpoint on the value of this series. I'll probably watch it anyway but given my predictable "the U.S. is run by war mongers" political views I'll be surprised if I don't end up agreeing with the above.


- jim 9-20-2017 4:21 pm [add a comment]


  • im two episodes in.

    i find that assessment a little harsh and honestly not a very good reading of the documentary thus far. im sure there is a deeper history that is glossed over to some extent but it is not extolling the virtues of our involvement. nearly everyone interviewed or profiled maintains that whatever our "noble intentions" there was very real sense of the unwinnable nature of the endeavor. that may be 20-20 hindsight for many.

    still, its a popular history for a mass audience. its sure not to satisfy many. what annoyed me most was the non-linear aspect. they kept flashing forward to later in the war so they could profile gi's and tug on the heartstrings to draw in american viewers who no doubt would be bored by the back history of the french imperial era.


    - dave 9-21-2017 12:49 am [add a comment]


    • this from the nation just stumbled into my podcast queue. short interview w/todd gitlin about the documentary pretty much echoing my sentiments. fast forward to minute 27. 

       


      - dave 9-21-2017 1:47 am [add a comment]



agreed. and this as well. The VN doc has the potential to be ken burns undoing, but I'll have to see more. i fell asleep 1/2 way thru number two last night and could really stand to re-watch number one. so it will take me a while.
- bill 9-20-2017 4:36 pm [add a comment]


http://vietnamfulldisclosure.org/index.php/daniel-ellsberg-think-major-omissions-quite-fundamental-disturbed-quite-bit-although-overall-thing-impressive/

 

healthy skepticism or real cynicism ?


- bill 9-29-2017 7:11 am [add a comment]


https://chriskochmedia.com/2017/09/29/the-tragic-failure-of-ken-burns-vietnam/amp/


- bill 10-05-2017 6:52 am [add a comment]


related, i suspect. I'm not any further along than last mention. Need to set aside a weekend for a marathon viewing this winter. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/opinion/myth-spitting-vietnam-protester.html?smid=fb-share


- bill 10-14-2017 6:02 pm [add a comment]


https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/09/21/ideology-as-history-a-critical-commentary-on-burns-and-novicks-the-vietnam-war/


- bill 10-18-2017 7:35 am [add a comment]


Great link, Bill, thanks. (though I admit I have been eating up the series, due to a weird obsession with the war in Vietnam)
- L.M. 10-25-2017 9:49 pm [add a comment]


I had a draft card for 2 years, then the war ended. my lottery number was in the middle and i went to university right out of HS. thats what we did at the time.


- bill 10-26-2017 7:44 am [add a comment]





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