Simon Schama's The American Future: A History

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Customer reviews

review by: Rowena the Red date: 2008-10-29 rating:
An understanding of modern America: highly recommended
This four-part BBC series provides an educational, insightful tour of American history. Simon Schama's detailed TV essays explain much of the history, mystery and contradictions of modern American society.
This is not a lightweight, frothy or frivolous series so don't expect the kind of giggles you get from Stephen Fry's adventures.[ASIN:B001C4QLBA Stephen Fry in America [2008]

Instead, watching The American Future should help you understand how American political and social attitudes have been formed. It's been timed perfectly to coincide with the 08 presidential election, and Schama brings to bear his considerable historical expertise and his personal enthusiasm for the subject matter. The result is compelling and well worth watching more than once. We've been enthralled by it.

Schama follows a theme for each episode and explains the historical context behind current affairs. So we learn how America has been shaped by war (Independence and Civil, long before WW1, 2 and Vietnam), and how the need for water has dictated the development of the west and the engineering feats of the 20th century. In the episode about faith, Schama shows how religion was originally part of American rebellion and how it has come to be part of American conservatism. Finally, Schama tackles the tricky subject of immigration: how a nation of émigrés defines itself.

Each episode uses a fair amount of talking-to-camera segments but the series also uses a lot of archive footage to set the scene and occasionally comedic old movie scenes. Schama also interviews relevant characters; a modern-day preacher; a ditchman from the desert whose job it is to keep the irrigation channels flowing to water the crops; the ex-soldiers who campaign to end the current overseas wars. Overall, the opinions come across as reasonably well balanced although we're in no doubt that Schama is fairly in love with the American ideal... although he's not shy about pointing out how far away from that ideal the American reality lies.

The American Future was obviously designed to be viewed during election year and much of its content reflects the two presidential candidates and their campaigns. As such the series will date very rapidly and it's going to be interesting to watch it again in a year or so and see how the same information can be interpreted with a little hindsight.
Tackling `modern' history and making it relevant to current affairs is a risky business, particularly when the subject is a controversial one. Schama's series is well worth watching although it doesn't rank alongside the likes of Civilisation or Ascent of Man (but will any TV series ever be that brave again?).

The American Future educates and entertains and offers plenty of material to mull over during the days after watching. It's the very opposite of soundbite TV; not particularly flashy and devoid of snappy graphics. But packed with information and understanding.
Recommended to buy for repeated viewing.
9/10

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