‘The Civil War’ made for a reflective July 4 stream
‘The Civil War’ made for a reflective July 4 stream
Revisiting the Ken Burns docuseries to commemorate the anniversary of America’s founding wasn’t exactly the plan, but it became my favorite stream of the week nonetheless.
I didn’t find myself wanting to watch a ton of new TV this week. With a break in the heat, I took the chance to get outside for a little fun in the sun. One minor foot injury later, and my weekend appears destined to be spent catching up on the TV I missed, or revisiting some old TV plans that were disrupted in some way.
Last weekend, for example, I had a whole plan laid out. I was finally going to watch Ken Burns’ docuseries “The American Revolution.” I still hadn’t watched it, and it seemed the perfect way to observe the July 4th holiday weekend. But before diving in, I decided to refresh myself on Burns’ style by watching an episode of his landmark series “The Civil War.” By the end of that episode, my weekend plans had changed, and my revisit of the docuseries was my favorite stream of the week.
“The Civil War” is a nine-part documentary series directed by Burns that discusses the war’s key battles, as well as the political situation behind the lines from 1860 through 1865. Using experts in Civil War scholarship, primary sources from citizens who lived through the war, and footage of the war’s bloodiest battlefields, the series is an immersive historical experience from start to finish.
The academics used by Burns to try to condense a topic as broad as the Civil War into a nine-episode series do an excellent job. The series assembles names like Ed Bearss and Shelby Foote to discuss the military history of the war, as well as Barbara J. Fields and Stephen Oates to give a broader scope of the country’s shattered political landscape.
I’ve seen “The Civil War” before, but not since my school days, and I’ve forgotten large parts of the series. My jaw dropped when 104-year-old Daisy Turner, oral historian and daughter of a person formerly enslaved on a plantation, appeared on the screen. It gave a true sense of how little time has really passed between the war and the modern era.
The show’s use of historical (and historical-sounding) music is another big part of what makes it so immersive. And its voice-over cast is sterling; David McCullough is unmatchable as the show’s narrator, but names like Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman, Julie Harris, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons, Kurt Vonnegut, Sam Waterston, and others also contributed excellent performances.
Watching “The Civil War” against the backdrop of a politically tumultuous time gave me ample reason to reflect on the history of the country during its 250th anniversary weekend. As Foote points out in the documentary, before the Civil War, citizens would say “the United States are.” After the war, it became “the United States is.” That resonated deeply in a period of such deep political divisions and gave the hope that perhaps such divisions can still be healed.
Viewers can find “The Civil War” streaming with a subscription to PBS Documentaries. The service is available to stream through Prime Video for an additional $5 per month, and includes a great selection of Ken Burns’ other documentaries.
PBS Documentaries
Get access to the past 50 years of documentaries with the Amazon Prime Video add-on channel, PBS Documentaries. The ad-free streaming service provides over 1,000 hours of programming, which is mainly PBS’s original documentary films and television shows and features.