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PBS and Burns agreed to add Latino content to the program today, so maybe now everybody will be able to watch it and feel good about it.

Jim

I am trying to stay out of the controversy, but will post this here for Rocky. Everyone can read for him/herself.

 

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1607980,00.html

 

As stated in the article though, they only interviewed 40 men out of all those who are still living, and that means many thousands and thousands of men.

What I wrote was not ment as a controversy, iT WAS JUST HOW WE FELT ABOUT THE MOVIE. As far as I know the situation in K.C. is still Status Quo. Maybe I,(us), didn't do enough in WW II. Roque

What I wrote was not ment as a controversy, iT WAS JUST HOW WE FELT ABOUT THE MOVIE. As far as I know the situation in K.C. is still Status Quo. Maybe I,(us), didn't do enough in WW II. Roque

Rocky, Look in Yahoo News. The article I was referring to is in there.

Jim

What I wrote was not ment as a controversy, iT WAS JUST HOW WE FELT ABOUT THE MOVIE. As far as I know the situation in K.C. is still Status Quo. Maybe I,(us), didn't do enough in WW II. Roque

Rocky, I know you didn't mean it as a controversy, and I wasn't referring to you per se, just to the news story itself. The Latinos certainly played a huge role in the war, as by no means should ever forgotten. But neither should the Polish-Americans, etc. either. I truly doubt that I will see many Polish-Americans in the program, if any, but I certainly do not think that Ken purposely left out men like my father.

Ken's productions are of the very highest quality and I can't imagine he and his production crew intentionally leaving any group out of the picture. He is too good an historian for that.

I suppose that people visiting my site and reading my collection of stories could approach me and say, hey, you don't have any Chinese-American memoirs on your site. Why not? Well it certainly wouldn't be oversight, nor would it be neglect or intent, but simply a fact that I have not had the opportunity to do so yet. I hope everyone will see my point.

Marion.Jim : I JUST REREAD THE ABOVE ARTICLE YOU POSTED FOR ME, MARION. THE 2nd,3rd, and 4th CHAPTERS SAYS A LOT. WELL ENOUGH ON THIS SUBJECT. WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN OPINIONS. THAT IS WHAT MAKES US STRONG. SR. ROQUE RIOJAS

Just want to set the record straight for ALL time here. As many of you have heard elsewhere and read on this forum, this new film is stirring up some controversy because some say it doesn't cover everyone. According to Ken and the article I read on him in the September 2007 issue of World War II mag, they only covered a small scope of men from four towns. Here's the direct quote. He is speaking of previously made films.

"...None of them seemed able to understand the simultaneity of the two theatres. And so we try to tell an entirely bottom-up, intimate story of the war that gives you a sense of what it meant to be in battle but at the same time communicate the largeness of it. The overarching story is chronologically anchored in these four regular American towns, so that we would have a sense of home, a place to return to, while showing both theaters."

So as you see, they visited four towns, just four towns, and took the stories from only a handful of individuals. This film was never meant to show every American man who fought, nor was it ever the intention to represent every race, creed, color or nationality. It is an intimate portrayal of the men in these four towns in America.

I too am anxiously awaiting PBS' Sept 23rd broadcast.

You guys might want to download the viewers guide pdf on their website

for a more detailed view of the series (if you haven't already).

After he released The Civil War, I was able to get tickets to hear Ken Burns speak

at Salem State and actually got to talk with him afterwards. He certainly

is a very talented & interesting fellow and I was VERY excited when I heard

he was going to make this series. I'm always leery of political agendas, but

I think he may well be one of the few people who would do justice to a work of

this magnitude. I hope so. "Our" VI Corps fellows & especially the Mediterranean

Theater always seem to be ignored. People act like

the war didn't start till June 6th. Try telling THAT to the guys who were

at N. Africa, Salerno, Anzio, and Cassino! What do people think THAT was?

A walk in the park?

Anyway, I guess we all know what we'll be doing Sept 23rd.

Who'se bringin' the ?

I ain't makin' popcorn for all you guys, I'll tell you that right now!

mary ann

I always admired Ken Burns. Can't tell you how many times Lee and I viewed the Civil War series. We bought the book too. He is a top-notch historian, not only because he researches and knows his history, but he knows how to present it and draw you in. That is what makes the difference; making it REAL.

I will just be getting home from PA that day, and will certainly be watching that upon arrival at home base.

Hey Ken, thanks in advance!