I'm watching "America: the story of us" on TV. What a jingoistic pile of shit this series is.

[JVS]

Fucking waste of airspace.

[tblue]

1. And you watch.....why? nt

[JVS]

2. Background noise while I type for work.

[brooklynite]

14. There's a miraculous technology available...

It's called the remote control. You can either change the channel or turn the TV off...

[Dr.Phool]

27. I find that the Weather Channel is good for that.

[Posteritatis]

3. I couldn't make it past the title. (nt)

[JVS]

4. Oooh an Amber alert has interrupted the shittiness.

[90-percent]

5. I disagree

I've watched some of it and I don't find it that offensive. Had a lot of stuff I didn't know.

Is it incorrect?

-90% Jimmy

[JVS]

9. I don't know if cutting to some celebrity every 5 minutes to have them gush about...

"the greatness of the american character" is technically incorrect, but I think the show could be improved by editing that out.

[femmocrat]

13. I saw some of it too, and found it interesting.

I thought the segment on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was well-done and they credited the unions with achieving fire safety regulations.

I got bored when it got to the 1920s and prohibition, gangsters, etc.

[tammywammy]

32. I read a great book on the Triangle fire years ago

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/080214151X/ref=mp_s_a_4?qid=1275376729&sr=8-4

I highly recommend it.

[Raine]

40. Me too

I found out some things I didn't know.

[90-percent]

15. Some interesting stuff from last night

In the first 16 months of WW2, 12,500 troops died. In the same time period, 64,000 defense workers died! I find that astounding, if true?

Secondly, average American income after WW2 was DOUBLE what it was before the War!

-90% Jimmy

[Dr Morbius]

34. There's something about history.

If you report some of the facts in a discussion of an historic event, you can give the impression things happened for the wrong reason. I saw two or three episodes of the program myself, and if I didn't know better I might think America won the revolutionary war because of a new rifle barrel design, would have no clue as the role of the Supreme Court in starting the civil war, and might believe Andrew Carnegie was one of the greatest Americans ever because he found a way to mass-produce steel.

Sometimes, you can lead people to completely incorrect assumptions about causation and effects by telling only part of the story. Now, as someone else wrote on this thread, you cannot simply condense four centuries into thirteen (or whatever) hour-long segments and achieve anything like a reasonable approximation of history. They told the story of the Civil War in a miniseries on PBS some years ago; that's four years condensed into eight hours, which at least allows for some completeness. I read an entire book, a large book too, about ONE battle in the Civil war, the sanguinary showdown at Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee, in the shadow of a church they called Shiloh. I am still no expert on that battle, but having read as much as possible about it, I understand that battle. History should be about understanding.

History programs or books can be, and often are, entirely factual and yet not tell the whole truth, or can be misleading. Which is what my problem is with programs like this: people are watching this show and patting themselves on the back for becoming "knowledgable" about American history.

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. What would you expect from the Hearst-story channel?

They were putting out right wing disinformation before Rupert Murdoch was a gleam in a wallaby's eye.

[JVS]

11. I figured if they were taking a break from Ice Road Truckers to show something about history...

they'd be showing something reasonably good.

[depakid]

18. "I figured if they were taking a break from Ice Road Truckers"

:rofl:

Count your blessings, mate- around these parts, their programming still has the well earned (and deserved) reputation of being the Hitler Channel....

[conscious evolution]

45. Hearst has been putting out propoganda/disinformation

before TV was even invented.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. There are some points where it is worth watching

but most of it... is the usual, we are great destined to become the great leader among men.

That said, the episode on slavery did have a small Jewell there, it did go a tad into how long it took for the civil war to develop.

[WCGreen]

8. There were some glaring misstatements in the first few episodes

so I just let it slide...

Perhaps it will play well in Texas as a supplement to their new textbooks...

[burnsei sensei]

10. When you hear in the title,

"the story of us," you know there's got to be a "them" somewhere.

[pipi_k]

21. Well, to be fair...

there always IS an "us" and a "them".


It starts at the very basic level of the family.

Our family. Us.

The family across the street. Them.

The family down the block. Them.

The family on the other side of town. Them.


America (as a country). Us.

Great Britain (as a country). Them.


What's wrong with "us" and "them" as long as it's not "us" vs "them".

???

[mynameiswhat]

12. I haven't been able to see the show. What are some of the big lies in it?

[Caliman73]

16. Whenever you try to condense over 400 years of history into 10 shows

It isn't so much that there are huge lies. It is the tone of the show that is the issue. There are interesting stories and information, but it is mostly "rah rah, America is number one!" Plus they keep having those stupid Bank of America adds.

[Quatermain]

17. simple fix

You don't like what's on TV, there's a simple fix for that. There's a little button on the remote marked 'On/Off', you press that, and the bad men will no longer trouble you. If that seems too drastic a step, there's also a little button marked 'channel' with a up arrow and a down arrow, that will take you to a program less likely to offend.

[Donnachaidh]

19. what a *thoughtful* response

:wow: Bet it took a while to formulate.

NOT.

[Moochy]

20. What would the internet be without someone reminding everyone who does not like something

that they have a remote?

I wish I had a picture of a cat to express my slight disappointment.

[Art_from_Ark]

30. Maybe Are_grits_groceries

will let you borrow her "Meh" cat

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

48. Where would the internet be...

without somebody complaining about watching a television show they for some reason decided to watch and could turn off any time they want to.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[donco6]

24. And the same works for threads. n/t

[Bluebear]

36. And you signed up here just to impart this poorly written sarcasm?

[pipi_k]

22. Sometimes it's necessary to weed through the "shit"

and read between the lines.

Like a couple of others here, I've been finding the series to be quite interesting.

And if the worst thing that happens is that some kid develops an interest in History, then what's wrong with that? Once the interest itself develops, there's always time for finding out the real story, much like I did when I saw a particular movie a couple of times and researched the story and found that there were a lot of errors.

One person's "pile of shit" can be someone else's catalyst for learning more.


:shrug:

[donco6]

23. It wasn't COMPLETELY terrible.

Although the constant Bank of America infomercials in the middle got to be a bit much.

That and the "we are the saviors of planet Earth" theme.

And the comments about "America once again led the way in . . . "

Okay, fine, it was a jingoistic pile of shit.

[Ron Green]

25. This is Television's job. And yes, we should all turn it off, but that's simplistic.

There's really nothing on TV, with the possible exception of poor little FSTV, that's worth watching. And yet people DO watch TV, and it's of concern to thoughtful people what is the overall worth of the content of these programs.

Remember who owns TV, and what their motivation is: to maintain the ruling class and to confuse and frighten the middle and lower classes.

People who watch expecting something better will be disappointed.

People who keep saying "Just turn it off" are pushing a RW talking point.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RandomThoughts]

28. Just turn it off, is an individual view.

not a societal one.

You might turn the misinformation off, but there is an argument that people that do not know it is misinformation will not, so it brings up societal questions of truth in broadcasting requirements.

[Quatermain]

31. individual view

Being an individual, the individual view is the only one I can take. I'm not responsible for 'society.' If other people want to watch it, that's their business and their responsibility to weed out any possible misinformation that they might encounter. And if they don't, they'll keep doing what they've always done, which means they'll keep getting what they've always gotten. And maybe one of these days, they'll wake up.

[RandomThoughts]

33. Well when the tv tells your neighbor to burn your house down.

And you don't know it because your tv is off, it becomes your business.

And in a societal context much of societal destruction can be from manipulations that some turn off and think the problem is solved.

So I would say it could be your problem in some contexts, hence the concept of society.

Although that is to show how interest of society is also a self interest, it is also true that if it hurts your neighbor it is possible for it to be your problem, if you can address the problem without thinking you are correct all the time, with learning, and with the concept of finding and making things better for many people.


No man is an island
My brothers keeper,

and many other concepts.

[Quatermain]

35. tv shows = ephemera

"Well when the tv tells your neighbor to burn your house down and you don't know it because your tv is off, it becomes your business"

I'm glad to see we're dealing in the realm of things that might actually ever happen. :sarcasm:

"And in a societal context much of societal destruction can be from manipulations that some turn off and think the problem is solved."

I'd be a lot more concerned if the 'manipulation' is question wasn't a basic cable TV show. TV shows are ephemeral at best, and as a general rule, not worth getting all concerned about, especially when there are larger problems looming.

[RandomThoughts]

43. Ok let me simplify that metaphor.

When the TV tells people to ignore ecological problems by omission or admission, or when the TV distorts what people are doing that are trying to solve problems and then those distortions lead to violence and suffering. Or even the inability for suffering to be removed because people are not thinking about issues, then it might be an idea to comment on that.

As far as not worrying about TV, I use the term as information systems and forms of education, and TV is one of the most common forms of education for many people. They get there views of society from it. So if some part of that system is used to distort or advocate for something bad, then it seems pointing that out with discussion and thought, while also trying to learn to be sure a person is correct, would be a good idea.



As far as other things to worry about, I don't think in those terms, and am not worried about what is on TV, just making a comment that what effects a persons neighbor can effect that person also.

[Bluebear]

37. "Retarded" - how evolved.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Quatermain]

42. call a spade a spade

Hey, I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

[Bluebear]

46. Get some glasses then, your vision is cloudy

[donco6]

50. Me too

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

49. "but that's simplistic."

Yeah, exactly. Even a total drunk moron with brain damage can figure out how to turn off a TV.

"People who keep saying "Just turn it off" are pushing a RW talking point."

lolwut?

[IcyPeas]

29. Hannity

I watched it for a while until Hannity was on my tv screen. I had to turn it off at that point. knowing he was involved I can only think the entire show is sucky and probably full of sh*t

[Raine]

39. I liked it and I found it interesting.

Informative facts on the building of Hoover Dam,Mt. Rushmore, prohibition, the dust bowl etc I love history, some of the flag waving was over the top but I still like to learn things wherever I can. :shrug:

edit: changed word

[lame54]

41. Is Seth Rogen in it?...

he's in everything

[TwilightGardener]

47. I liked a lot of it. However, too much Rudy/ Hannity/Newt bullshit commentary

and they spent way too much time on Reagan.