Anybody watch "The War"?

[edhopper]

There seems to be no buzz on the net about this PBS/Ken Burns show. This was suppose to be the "Big Event." Did anybody watch? (except my wife and me)
I thought it was O.K. but a bit slow. A lot of the "home-front" parts were unnecessary "we were all naive" rehashing. The parts about the battles in the Pacific and the treatment of minorities here were pretty good.
I expected more talk about this show.

[truebrit71]

1. I tivo'ed it last night...plan on watching it tonight...

...interesting article about it in a recent Newsweek...talked about how this series will strip the common perception that this was a "good" war...

[Annces]

2. There were a few threads on it yesterday

I watched a little, and it seemed romanticized with the music. I did not think there was any new take on it that I could learn from. I think I have seen enough documentaries on the war.

[tridim]

Yes, the music is very Ken Burns, but it doesn't fit the subject matter IMO

The tone felt all wrong. Good info, so-so presentation.

[EFerrari]

10. That's what I thought, too. And the music is bothersome.

It was interesting to see all those images, though, and I liked the storytellers.

[raccoon]

20. I found the music bothersome too. DIdn't seem to fit the subject. nt

[rockyandmax]

3. Yes.

TIVO'ed it and watched part of it.

[Warpy]

4. It's not over yet

I didn't learn anything new, and found little controversial. It dealt mostly with the war in the Pacific. I think once it starts on what was happening in Europe, people will start posting on it.

We're still Eurocentric in this country.

[rurallib]

5. I watched

Ken Burns' stuff is always slow. Different than the usual TV. During the slow parts I would drift to thoughts of the manipulation W has done to start his war and would get pissed.

[mod mom]

6. I watched it. It is another excellent Ken Burns piece. I thought combining the

"homefront action" with what was going on in the first yeaar of the war (which is where the documentary left off) put the piece in perspective and gave it a very human feel (something that most WWII films seem to lack).

[Individualist]

11. Agree

I also found it interesting that the war is being covered from the perspective of the soldiers who were actually doing the fighting and the effect on their families. While watching, I was also reminded of the similarities between the Third Reich and the Bush administration.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. I'll watch most of it

My edumacation on WWII is sorely lacking.

[snappyturtle]

8. I loved it and can't wait for the next parts. I did learn. I did not

know about the German u-boats attacking our coastal ports. Don't ask me where I was in history class...I never knew that. Nor did I realize how small the U.S. forces were just prior to the war. I would have thought that after WWI we would have been better prepared.

This is a series I'd like to purchase for our grandsons...so when they get to an age to watch this they can see a lot of the war's history in a short amount of time.

I also think it's interesting, in light of our present occupation, how men signed up for WWII for the duration, and in many instances had little food and almost no communication with their families except by mail.

[Cassandra]

9. I liked the war bond footage.

Showing the sacrifices that the American people were willing to make for a war fought for a good cause contrasts sharply with today's greedheads and pointless war.

[oldgrowth]

12. I watched it ,I liked it,On Democracy now they said it well be showin

In some class rooms because that's part of the reason he made it a large number of young people think we fought the Russians in WWII!!!!

[Arugula Latte]

14. "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"

;)

[Forrest Greene]

13. I Generally Enjoy Ken Burns' Work

He's talented & insightful, & I've learned something new from each of his films that I've seen. But I'm not interested in his WWII piece.

I was born eight years to the day after Hitler killed himself. I've had The Greatest Generation's damned war shoved down my throat all my life, from the movies I saw, the TV shows I watched, the toys I played with, the library books I read, the whole world I lived in. I'm sick to death of it.

We have other problems with which to deal. Endlessly wallowing in America's last good time isn't going to help.

[edhopper]

16. While my op did say it was a bit slow.

You might find that it was more even-handed and less rah-rah than that. It's not a John Wayne movie. It's harsh critism of McArthur for example.

[Blackhatjack]

15. 6 More Parts -- #1 was a nice intro to the framework of his examination...

... lots of unseen footage included.

[Arugula Latte]

17. I saw it...Thought it was a well-done overview.

I saw Ken Burns speak about the documentary here in Portland. The audience was filled with people who had fought in WWII.

Later in the documentary there is an interview with a U.S. soldier who witnessed torture and atrocities by the other side. He asked himself how Americans would have acted in the same circumstances...This interview was given before Abu Ghraib...Now we know there is nothing "more humane" about our side. And that is perhaps the saddest legacy of the Bush administration.

[tetedur]

18. People were actually asked to sacrifice

to help pay for the war. I said "Wow" when they showed a picture of the guy who bought war bonds with everything he earned during the week except for 8 cents. (Did I hear that right?)

I couldn't help wondering how much of a panic a Bush-like administration would have whipped the people into if tankers and supply ships were sunk along our coastlines these days.

I loved history in school but somehow we never studied the 20th century. I'm still not sure on what caused WWI. I know it was alliances and the assassination of Ferdinand but it was a complex situation.

[raccoon]

21. Imagine how most Americans would react if asked to sacrifice now.

That would go over like a lead balloon.

[alfredo]

19. I watched it and enjoyed it. The Guadalcanal stories were

heart rending.

[raccoon]

22. I watched. Two thingsI found really interesting.

I knew the Bataan death march was awful, but the story from the man who had been through it really made it more real.

The German U-boats sinking the tankers and supply ships were sunk along our coastliness. We didn't study that in history, needless to say. I believe at the time, it was hushed up. Although, from the show, apparently at least some civilians knew about it.

[JitterbugPerfume]

23. I enjoyed it

I am sorely lacking in knowledge of history . When I was in school (in the dark ages) History was boring statistics and "America is always right"
crap that I didn't believe then , and I certainly do not believe it now