Ken Burns Documentary, Vietnam War

[parrot]

For those who enjoy documentaries, PBS will begin broadcasting the Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War on 18 Sept. He's the same man who produced the 1990 documentary on the Civil War (also a good view) that won a number of cinematic awards.

For a bit of history on the Vietnam Memorial.......today's article recounts the history of how the memorial came about....or almost didn't.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/book ... earth.html

[parrot]

You can view the Vietnam War documentary through a vpn. If you use Chrome, you can add a free extension called SetupVPN. Although I have a subscription to a paid VPN, I tried the free vpn today and was able to watch the first episode of Ken Burns' work. As always, a good view.
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-vietnam ... episode-1/

[jimjay]

Definitely will watch this, thanks so much for the link.

Let us know if in your opinion the treatment is accurate etc.

[GT93]

I really enjoyed Burns' series on the US Civil War. Too dry just to read on the US Civil War for this foreigner but his documentaries were really gripping.

As for Vietnam, I like watching docos on the American War (as the Vietnamese) say on youtube. It was a really interesting period in history.

[RLTrader]

Documentary Or Epic Piece Of Fiction

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/09/th ... ction.html

.....

[tamada]

More evidence, as if it were needed, of America's sharpening existential crisis.

[tamada]

Documentary Or Epic Piece Of Fiction

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/09/th ... ction.html

.....

Did you watch it?

The link you posted contains a leader by someone who must have ADD since most of the omissions he claims and assumptions that he disagrees with were all plainly stated. There's loads of comments from people who obviously haven't watched it either and are just responding to the opinions of the leader writer. It's a documentary, not a debate after all.

Maybe it's not so much ADD but more tin foil hat.

Eminently watchable and I am looking forward to watching all 10.

[tutone]

Documentary Or Epic Piece Of Fiction

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/09/th ... ction.html

.....

Did you watch it?

The link you posted contains a leader by someone who must have ADD since most of the omissions he claims and assumptions that he disagrees with were all plainly stated. There's loads of comments from people who obviously haven't watched it either and are just responding to the opinions of the leader writer. It's a documentary, not a debate after all.



Maybe it's not so much ADD but more tin foil hat.

Eminently watchable and I am looking forward to watching all 10.

Totally agree with you, Tamada

[tamada]

Documentary Or Epic Piece Of Fiction

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/09/th ... ction.html

.....

Did you watch it?

The link you posted contains a leader by someone who must have ADD since most of the omissions he claims and assumptions that he disagrees with were all plainly stated. There's loads of comments from people who obviously haven't watched it either and are just responding to the opinions of the leader writer. It's a documentary, not a debate after all.



Maybe it's not so much ADD but more tin foil hat.

Eminently watchable and I am looking forward to watching all 10.

Totally agree with you, Tamada

Just posting to get the thread title back to what it was in the OP.

[RLTrader]

Like everything "follow the money" who funds Ken Burns' projects?

another observation from John Pilger

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/09/21/t ... f-history/

disclaimer: having known Ken in a previous life time, would not trust any of his works, like I said "follow the money", but thats just PO

[tamada]

Like everything "follow the money" who funds Ken Burns' projects?

another observation from John Pilger

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/09/21/t ... f-history/

disclaimer: having known Ken in a previous life time, would not trust any of his works, like I said "follow the money", but thats just PO

Much better and imminently readable perspective from Pilger, who has a legacy of good work... but unfortunately this isn't one of them. Loses the plot half-way and goes off about Trump, Obama and feels compelled to quote the great bloviator Michael Moore. All this after (possibly) viewing just a single episode of a 10-part series?

"The true scandal is the insidious assumption of power by sinister war-making vested interests for which no American voted. The rapid ascendancy of the Pentagon and the surveillance agencies under Obama represented an historic shift of power in Washington. Daniel Ellsberg rightly called it a coup. The three generals running Trump are its witness."

Trying to get back to the topic at hand, there's no need to pillory Bank of America or any other allegedly shady contributors to or enablers of the Vietnam war effort. If anyone wants to beat their gums on the undeniable existence of the US's franchise on the global military-industrial special interests, one needs to look no further than the Vice-President before last. Between his stint as US Secretary of Defense & VP, Dick Cheney managed 20 years of manipulation all hidden in plain sight. His investments and field tests in Iraq and Afghanistan are responsible for giving Obama much of the tools he ultimately used... all sanctioned by Congress. I guess wringing one's hands doesn't do too much for change.

Predictively enough, the commentariat wander off on the 9/11, Trump and some allude to all other right-wing conspiracy stuff. What next? Never been any moon landings?

Looking forward to Pilger's “The Coming War on China” though. He's much more comfortable and more relevant in this hemisphere.

[RLTrader]

Think one would only need to read

I watched the first episode in New York. It leaves you in no doubt of its intentions right from the start. The narrator says the war “was begun in good faith by decent people out of fateful misunderstandings, American overconfidence and Cold War misunderstandings.”

The dishonesty of this statement is not surprising. The cynical fabrication of “false flags” that led to the invasion of Vietnam is a matter of record – the Gulf of Tonkin “incident” in 1964, which Burns promotes as true, was just one. The lies litter a multitude of official documents, notably the Pentagon Papers, which the great whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg released in 1971.

and after verifying by watching part 1 That the whole work is Epic Piece Of Fiction. If you like fiction by all means watch the series.

[parrot]

You can select 'full-throated' vulgar edition or not when you view.
I'm trying to figure out the fiction in the first 5 minutes of episode 6. Maybe it'll occur later in the episode.
One of the things that appeals to me about documentaries......no makeup, no actors, really no script. You can take away from it what you want......sort of like watching Neil Armstrong land on the moon. Some people can watch the video in absolute awe, others view it as fiction.

[rjj04]

I don't think anybody on this thread has suggested that the war was fictional to the poor bastards that had to slug it out, on both sides, nor to the innocents in the middle. The fictional part is in the narrative set up by the film. I'm with USMC Gen Smedley Butler... War is a Racket. He ought to have known, he had to do a lot of their dirty work. The current state of affairs in the USA now should make that quite obvious. BAC, lovely fellows that they are, wouldn't bank-roll a piece that presented themselves in a bad light, now would they? Sadly, the game goes on. We never learn.

[RLTrader]

John Pilger Criticizes Ken Burns’s ‘The Vietnam War’
October 3, 2017

For decades, the U.S. mainstream media has shied away from a clear-eyed view of the Vietnam War, not wanting to offend the war’s apologists, a residue of which tainted the recent PBS series, as John Pilger told Dennis J Bernstein.

By Dennis J Bernstein

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/10/03/p ... etnam-war/


.

[Bonanza]

It is interesting to read all the above comments as this documentary series is currently showing on TV in the UK and appears to be informative. However, little is known in UK about the Vietnam War - and there are no veterans here able to give 'first hand' comments. Because the world's media were focused on the Vietnam war, even less known in UK and elswhere, was Britain's involvement in Dhofar (Oman) which was going on at the same time. For anyone interested in an insight into this look up 'Operation Oman' in Amazon.co.uk.

[tamada]

John Pilger Criticizes Ken Burns’s ‘The Vietnam War’
October 3, 2017

For decades, the U.S. mainstream media has shied away from a clear-eyed view of the Vietnam War, not wanting to offend the war’s apologists, a residue of which tainted the recent PBS series, as John Pilger told Dennis J Bernstein.

By Dennis J Bernstein

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/10/03/p ... etnam-war/


.

Posting a repetition of the same criticisms from Pilger from the same online source as his first isn't really broadening any great debate here IMHO.

At least Burns's presentation doesn't glorify the entire debacle. It is America's great shame that some people in power appeared to try and get on the empire-building bandwagon when all history indicates that all empires are fleeting. It is truly tragic that Vietnam era vets are regarded in a whole different light from the 'hero' stature afforded those in much more recent conflicts. That's telling enough, no? Getting public apologies and admissions of guilt while any of those involved are still breathing isn't going to happen and probably never will.

[Raoul Duke]

Having family members who served in Vietnam I found this documentary filled in a few gaps for me.Being an Australian family we were not fully aware of the US political landscape that was truly in play at the time and this documentary shed further light.
If like me you had/have questions about your family members "tours" your answers may be here somewhere.
Thank you to the original poster for the heads up on this doco.

[Brian Davis]

Have to agree. I found the series interesting, informative, addictive.

[delboytrotter]

Which series was that mate Only Fools and Horses?