"The American Revolution" created and directed by Ken Burns is garbage and has nothing to do with the American Revolution:
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1/9 At 12 hours long, one might have expected a comprehensive and insightful analysis of what was the greatest revolution in human history. Such is not the case.
Thread 🧵
1/9 At 12 hours long, one might have expected a comprehensive and insightful analysis of what was the greatest revolution in human history. Such is not the case.
2/9 There are a couple of giveaways right off the bat. Titled The American Revolution, the numerous “voice actors” employed in the production include a whole slew of Hollywood personalities who notoriously suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, including Jeff Daniels, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Mandy Patinkin, Edward Norton, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson and Ethan Hawke, among many others. Trump haters each and all.
3/9 The worst feature of the work is the insistence, hammered away at over and over again, that in allegedly fighting for human liberty, the intention of the American colonists was actually to establish an empire based on black slavery and the extermination of the Indians. Unbelievably, the twin subjects of black slavery and the murder of Indians and theft of their land takes up a THIRD (!) of the total running time.
4/9 More incredibly, in enumerating the crimes against Blacks and Indians, the British are held up as the friends and defenders of both races. Not just in passing but repeatedly. The British are portrayed as the champion of the Indians against the American imperialists and land speculators.
5/9 The monumental evil of the British Empire is never addressed. The British control of the Trans-Atlantic slave traffic, the British creation of global narcotics trafficking, and the massive genocide carried out by the British in all of their colonies are not mentioned. Britain’s actual intention in America is completely misrepresented. Instead the picture put forward is one of an American “tax revolt” against foolish policies demanded by foolish British politicians.
6/9 Ben Franklin is reduced to a near non-existent role. His opposition to the Stamp Act is mentioned, and his role in negotiating the Paris Peace Treaty is also mentioned, but very short shrift is given to those events, and otherwise he receives less attention than many very minor figures.
7/9 The long-standing slander that George Washington was an incompetent military commander is stated over and over again. One of the “historians” compares him very unfavorably to the “brilliance” and “courageousness” of the traitor Benedict Arnold.
8/9 Overall, it was 12 wasted hours watching this nonsense. Not surprisingly, The American Revolution received rapturous praise in Trump-hating media outlets, such as the New York Times, the Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair and Politico.
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