HOMEPostContact Us
Posted October 05. 2017 1:25PM

Jonathan Zimmerman: What's so bad about Ken Burns?

 Click headline or here to open angled item
An unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War is seen decorating a hotel in Xieng Khouang province, Vietnam. (Reuters)


Historians aren't very happy with Ken Burns. He's a simplifier; we complicate. He makes myths; we bust them. And he celebrates the nation, while we critique it. That's the party line, anyway, among my fellow academics. And while I agree with some of their attacks on the recently concluded TV series about the Vietnam War that Burns co-created and co-edited with Lynn Novick, there's something else at work here. It's called sour grapes.





1000,1130,1038,1037

Latest Posts

David T. Stevenon: RGGI analysis fails Math 101

Boehner’s marijuana lobbying is symptomatic of special-interest problem

Marijuana legalization can't erase decades of disenfranchisement and incarceration

In lengthy memo to AG, NH Liquor Commission rejects 'bootlegging' allegations

Police union says 'constructive dialogue' got it to drop grievance over ticket quota in Portsmouth

New Hampshire's civil asset forfeiture program ripe for abuse, critics say

$550K verdict in NH trade secret theft case sends powerful message

Strafford yet to explain parties named in opioid 'watchdog' suit

NHSUPCO order adopting court rule amendments

Foodstuffs: Turning foraged seaweed into haute cuisine