To: History Channel
From: Mitch Berg, Mere Peasant
Re: “America: The Story Of Us”
Dear History Channel
I watched an episode of “America: The Story Of Us” – an episode focusing on the history of slavery.
In and among all your traditional low-budget camera herky-jerkery, there was a fairly well-told story there.
Your show follows the current fashion, interspersing commentary from experts – or “experts” – into the cinemetic story. Anyone who’s ever watched a PBS cinementary knows the technique; academics adding bits of, well, academia to a larger story.
Now, some of the “experts” you picked – Colin Powell, Al Sharpton, Henry Louis Gates – are pretty predictable in a story on slavery. So far so good.
But “Mack” Machiewitz, the overdramatic former SEAL whose claim to fame is having hosted “Future Weapons?”
Bill Maher? I say again, Bill Maher?
Who, to be fair, was at least more measured and sober than noted historian Sheryl “Share Your Toilet Paper” Crowe, whose comment “I think in the south today there are still people who believe in the rightness of slavery?” still strikes me, three days later, as one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard?
History Channel is usually best when it sticks to pre WWII history. They have some mind-numbingly uniteresting shows like Modern Marvels. I mean, Salt? Big structures? That stuff should be on Discovery, but Discovery is only interested in motorcycles. Five days a week. 11:00 to 6:00 PM.
History has another problem. They have a very narrow focus. It’s either A) Nazis, B) Nostradamus, C) UFOs or D) Nostradamus predicting Hitler would harness UFO technology. Oh and E) Disaster Pron.
In some of its programming the History Channel mirrors public school curriculum. The . . . Story of US series does this.
You will never see criticism of the federal government as such on this kind of program, only criticism of the federal government when it acts in a non-progressive way. It’s the same old story, the federal government is a good institution occasionally corrupted by bad ideas, while states are bad (or at least outmoded) institutions rescued, occasionally, by good people and the federal government.
Sad to see you turn into an apologist for the confederates, Mitch.
Sorry to see you have one of the dumbest replies ever, Bozo.
Angry Clown is an apologist for the government that interned American citizens during WW2 and put racist restrictions on immigration.
It’s sad.
But “Mack” Machiewitz, the overdramatic former SEAL whose claim to fame is having hosted “Future Weapons?”
Isn’t he now one of the hosts for Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior”? I normally don’t care for “reality” TV but I found the show to have pretty high entertainment value right up there with “Mythbusters.”
Kermit you forgot about Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and American Restoration, all top notch shows that I love. But in all seriousness that mini-series was, I think, one of the best things that the History Channel did with the possible exception of the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I am a huge nerd and love the channel but I do have to admit it gets a little weird sometimes. Of course as I type this I’m watching Ancient Aliens on it.
Bill Maher seemed a totally inappropriate case followed by Donald Trump. “Professor” Henry Louis Gates seemed a very odd choice following “Beergate”. It’s seemed like a forced effort to rehabilitate his public image following “Beergate”.
Sheryl Crowe meant Blacks when she said they wanted a return to slavery, because in those days their Master gave them crappy housing, food, clothing, medical care and jobs. The only chance to succeed was to run away.
Now their Government Master gives them the same stuff except for the jobs and there’s nowhere to run.
.