This Washington Post story is a good example of how political pressure affects history writing:
Filmmaker Ken Burns reached an agreement yesterday with two advocacy organizations that have pressured him to amend his World War II documentary to include more material about Latinos' contribution to the American war effort.
The agreement between Burns's production company, Florentine Films, and the two Latino groups appears crafted to enable both sides to declare victory in the long-running war over "The War," which is scheduled to air on PBS in September.
...
Burns had faced mounting pressure from activist groups, elected officials and several corporate underwriters over the lack of Latino representation in the film, which focuses on the wartime experiences of people in four U.S. towns.
Burns yesterday called the new content "an additional layer of storytelling" that does not tamper with "my vision" for telling the story of the war. But he offered no new details about how it would be used.
Several advocates who met with Burns this week said they were pleased that their concerns were finally being addressed. In an interview, Antonio Gil Morales, national commander of the American GI Forum, a Latino veterans group formed just after World War II, called it "a win-win situation for Ken Burns and our members."
Burns repeatedly insisted that "The War" was finished and that he would not reedit his work, characterizing it as an issue of practicality and artistic integrity. But he acknowledged last month that his film had overlooked the estimated half-million people of Latino descent who served in the U.S. military during the war. To address that, he agreed last month to shoot new footage and hired a Latino filmmaker to help him produce interviews and other material from the Latino perspective.
Recent Comments