American Experience: FDR

FDA AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is a set of two compact discs regarding FDR. About 80% of the time is spent with archival black and white movie footage. Unlike many history movies of this type, this particular product does not spend much time showing footage of still photographs, and I am glad of that. And about 20% of the time is spent with color footage of former colleagues and relatives of FDA, providing their opinions by way of formal interviews. Most of this time is spent with FDR's grandson. Regarding the black and white footage, we see FDR meeting Churchill on a battleship off the coast of England, prior to America's entry into World War II. We see footage of Eleanor Roosevelt on her information-gathering expeditions throughout America, for example, visiting a mining operation. We see footage of presidential parades, moving slowly through city streets. We see footage of FDR visiting north Africa, and we learn that FDA was the first U.S. president since Abraham Lincoln to visit a war zone.Regarding subject matter, most of the time dwells on political events, both at home and abroad. A minority of the time is spent on personal matters, for example, on FDR's problems with walking and with heart failure, and with his lengthy affair with Lucy Mercer.This 2-disc set is filled with take-home lessons. Little or no time is wasted on journalistic fluff. For example, there is no information on movie stars or on pop-singers from the era. Some of the take-home lessons are as follows. For example, we learn that FDR's main contribution early in his presidency was the creation of an "alphabet soup" of government agencies, and we learn of the U.S. Supreme Court's efforts to dismantle some of these agencies. We learn of the staunch isolationism of most of the American populace, regarding helping the English and French when they were being attacked by the Nazi's, and we learn of FDR's efforts to ensure that a U.S. military ship would be attacked, in order to help convince the American public to provide weapons to the English (the Greer incident). We learn of Eleanor Roosevelt's efforts to initiate integration into America, for example, by having Marian Anderson sing at a huge public event in Washington D.C. (remember, at that time in America, societal and legal forces ensured that blacks and whites were kept apart).I can only recommend two other discs that, in my opinion, all Americans should own. These are a recording called, "THE BOP SESSION," with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Hank Jones, and Percy Heath, and a recording of the HOLIDAYS SYMPHONY by Charles Ives.

Anything by PBS American Experience is trusted to be well done. Loved it.

If there is a subject your interested in and American Experience has a production on that subject, you can bet that it will be worth watching. This four and one-half hour documentary on Franklin Roosevelt is no exception. Many historians have concluded that FDR, Washington and Lincoln are the three greatest presidents in American history. The order of 1st, 2nd and 3rd is still under discussion. During Roosevelt time, he faced so many American and world problems and decisions. He came into office when America was in its worse depression in history with hunger and high unemployment, banks closing, collapse of the Stock Market, World War II, making of the atomic bomb. He gave the country its Social Security System and many programs still in use today for the American poor and middle class worker. He was born into wealth himself and many very rich aristocrat's did not like him because he wanted them to pay their workers a living wage, 8 hour shifts, NO child labor, safe working conditions. Problems that today are rapidly coming back into our society because of corporate greed. Franklin Roosevelt would not be pleased with todays politicians, especially those wanting to take away Social Security to pay off THEIR national debt.

I'm surprised to be the first person to review this. Roosevelt is such an important historic figure, and his struggle to overcome polio in itself makes an absorbing story of personal courage and determination. Add to that the fascinating story of Eleanor Roosevelt and her gradual decision to make a life for herself and you have the right mix for a powerful film.This has some good footage, though there is a major howler when a photograph of a speech by British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson (at the Lord Mayor of London's dinner in the late 1960's?)is presented as a speech by Roosevelt as Governor of New York (towards the end of disc 1 - how did the editors let pass such a mistake!).David Grubin, as always, makes a moving film, but it left me dissatisfied (as did his RFK). There was far too much of the personal story, far too little of the public for a figure whose impact on the political and economic world over 12 years of depression and war was phenomenal. Is there something in the US psyche which needs to have a good cry over their heroes - Grubin's documentary on RFK was the same? Frank Capra movies and David Grubin documentaries can tell you a lot about liberal sentiment. Doris Kearns Goodwin is the worst for this sort of stuff (I find her attactive and pleasant to listen to, but how does she actually know what Eleanor was feeling over FDR's body?).The interesting fact, once pointed out in this film, is that FDR was a maddening and cunning liar. The roots of that in his relationship with his mother - loving but evaisive and manipulative - are indicated here in the strong early part of the film. most politicians are liars - they have to be to survive - but FDR was a master liar and schemer. This is not necessarily a condemnation. But it raises a point which is never taken up. When the Greer was attacked in the summer of 1941, FDR lied and claimed it was an unprovoked attack by a Nazi sub..he covered up the truth that the Greer had been stalking the sub and reporting to British ships on its whereabouts. Now FDR lied for the good. We all - well, most of us - agree with FDR that the Nazis were a real enemy to the US, and that the US public were reluctant to acknowledge the fact. So FDR lied for the good. He usually lied for the good, in my view. But when LBJ did the same thing over the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, he was condemned. The Grubin film does look at the Greer incident, but the moral question is not raised.Nor is the way in which the nature of liberalism changed under FDR, from its concern with monopoly and capitalist crisis to a rights-based concern with African Americans. But wait - Alan Brinkley, a historian who has argued this, is one of the historical consultants. And weren't there major race riots in Detroit in 1943? and "zoot-suit" riots in Los Angeles in 1942? or, for that matter, sit-down strikes in 1937?? You wouldn't guess any of this here..just a couple of minutes on the fact that some Americans looked to Huey Long etc rather than FDR.So..I await a new generation of historical documentaries. The first generation started with the BBC series, The Great War, which showed how a powerful topic could be treated with emotional power and great depth. The second arrived with Ken Burns, with his brilliant use of letters and speeches to add emotional depth to the American Civil War. As Yet, David Grubin can make a moving, even weepie, set of documentaries, but we need one to make us think critically