Latinos protest Ken Burns WWII Documentary

[yby1]

I found this topic on another MB I go to.

editorial piece - for protesting (http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/05/14/commentary-latinos-give-pbs-a-history-lesson/)

editorial piece - against (http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20070509/cm_uc_crsesx/op_392709)

I don't know what to think of this. On one hand I feel that Latino people should be represented. They did play a part in the war, one we don't hear of. One the other, I do not feel that an artist should be forced to change his work. I feel that the Latino group that is protesting should put their efforts into creating their own documentary about Latinos in WWII, yet how much exposure would that documentary get? Would it even get on the air?

Like I said, conflicted.

[villanelle75]

After reading the articles for and against, I think it is ludicrous. The approach he took to tell his story was to chose 4 towns and show how they were affected by the war. It just so happens that no Hispanic vets were from those 4 towns. Maybe no Vets named Fred were from those towns, and maybe no Vets who were only children, but that doesn't in any way imply that no one named Fred fought bravely or that no only child Vets have a great story to be told.

If his film intentionally excluded Hispanics, or it if implied that there were no Hispanics Vets, or if it gave inaccurate information, there would be cause to protest and be upset. But that isn't what is happening here.

[jnettie]

Stupid.

There were all sorts of ethnic groups in WWII. What about Chinese? What about African American? Or Native American? Should all ethnic groups get to put up a stink if they aren't included in a documentary?

I am a huge Ken Burns fan, BTW. I've watched the entire Civil War series, and the New York documentary, and most of the Jazz series. They are amazing works. What does a political group have business doing demanding that they get in someone else's work of art?

[kam]

If his film intentionally excluded Hispanics, or it if implied that there were no Hispanics Vets, or if it gave inaccurate information, there would be cause to protest and be upset. But that isn't what is happening here.

Exactly. Ridiculous. Okay, I'm biased as I know Ken Burns' education and his background (we had the same advisor who was a hardass). Trust me - he leaves no stone unturned and if there was a story, he would've told the story. Especially back then, I think it's far-reaching to say "Find four towns that have every single ethnicity represented". I wonder if they would be up in arms if they thought another group was excluded (meaning, are they fighting the supposed "injustice" or are they fighting the fact that they want equal screen time?).

[yby1]

After reading the articles for and against, I think it is ludicrous. The approach he took to tell his story was to chose 4 towns and show how they were affected by the war. It just so happens that no Hispanic vets were from those 4 towns. Maybe no Vets named Fred were from those towns, and maybe no Vets who were only children, but that doesn't in any way imply that no one named Fred fought bravely or that no only child Vets have a great story to be told.

If his film intentionally excluded Hispanics, or it if implied that there were no Hispanics Vets, or if it gave inaccurate information, there would be cause to protest and be upset. But that isn't what is happening here.

One of those towns is Sacramento, CA, which does have Hispanic vets. But, yeah, I agree with your post. What I'm unsure about is... does this type of protest do more harm than good? Would a group *just* making a story about Hispanic WWII vets get the attention of the public? Or would it be a story that goes unnoticed?

[chrisinluv]

Oh give me a break. How dare anyone try to dictate what Burns puts in his documentary? He doesn't claim to be the supreme authority on the subjects he chooses. I think there are more important battles for this group to be fighting, but if they have a message to send thought the documentary medium, nobody is stopping them from making their own.