This is supposed to air later this month. In a couple of weeks or so, in fact.
I say that it is supposed to because it feels like too often lately, interesting programs like this get delayed, or never seem to air. Like that Chernobyl documentary that CNN was supposedly going to air a couple of weeks ago, but which keeps getting cancelled, or at least delayed, because they want to give us still more like coverage of Mr. Trump's damn war with Iran.
Because, you know, 22 of 24 hours covering it in a day simply is not enough, right? Might as well make it the full 24 hours, and frustrate those of us who wanted to see a serious - and very interesting - documentary on a major historical event which is going to see it's 40th anniversary later on this year.
Heaven forbid we get a break from the highly propagandized war with Iran, eh?
Anyway, some of my enthusiasm for this documentary was admittedly compromised when I saw it was by none other than Ken Burns. In my opinion, it felt like he seriously compromised his own reputation when he took the overly convenient and narrow, Americentrist approach with the documentary on the American Revolution. Sorry, but for me, he lost a lot of credibility with that. It is one of those situations where once you see that side of him, you cannot unsee it. He had said some things in the past which made me scratch my head, but that was kind of the needle that broke the camel's back, if you will.
Still, I imagine that a documentary on Henry David Thoreau, like this one, is long overdue. Also, Don Henley (yes, the same Don Henley who was with The Eagles and enjoyed a successful solo music career as well) will be a part of this. He has long been an advocate for the preservation of Walden Woods, as well as an environmental activist. So he should bring some balance, and an intellectual element, as well. So I will give it a shot, in hopes that the narrow nationalism which Burns exhibited at times in the past will hopefully not be on display in this documentary.
One way or the other, in any case, it seemed worth posting about.
PBS 11 March at 14:00 · We’re loving the film poster for Henry David Thoreau. 🎬 The new documentary from executive producers Ken Burns and Don Henley, directed by the Ewers Brothers, premieres March 30–31 on PBS.
When you hear Thoreau’s name, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? #ThoreauPBS
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