Political Correctness v. Artistic Vision
July 13th, 2007 by ANGELA WINTERS
I’ve been following this back and forth over Ken Burn’s new WWII documentary between Ken and some (not all) Hispanic groups who were upset that their contributions weren’t included. After hearing their complaints, Ken gave in and offered to add shorts that would be spread throughout the series, but they wanted more. He took the offer back and they put together protest groups and put up websites labeling him a racist. Now, it looks like he is giving in again. Ken Burns and the Old Soldiers Who Wouldn’t Fade Away - washingtonpost.com. Does anyone have the heart to tell him it still won’t be enough?
Yes, it is unfortunate that he didn’t include their contribution, but his artistic vision isn’t required to keep up with a census report. And yes he is famous, but that doesn’t mean he has to change his vision to suit others. He’s a storyteller and he isn’t obligated to check with the local ethnic chamber of commerce before he tells his story. It would have probably been a better story with that added nuance (I would have liked to see it), but it is his story and the writer and lover of the 1st Amendment in me is angry that it has become some group’s PC victim of the moment. This is not a government film, isn’t government sponsored or held up as the beginning and end of absolutely everything that happened. That’s like suggesting that Burn’s Civil War documentary is the “official record” of the Civil War and included every perspective.
Also, let’s not suggest that because its PBS its kind of like the government in that it serves the public. If you actually watched PBS, you would know the station is very focused on individual artistic impressions, popular and unpopular, and that is why people like it. If groups can continue to bully their vision onto someone else’s canvas, what can we say is really a genuine work of art? If it’s forced on the artist, what’s the point? If Ken only wanted to cover the experience of red-headed, fat women in the state of Kansas during the Great Depression, that is his right. If PBS thinks it will sell, they’ll pay for it and if people want to see it, they’ll watch.
As a black woman, I know it hurts to not have your contribution to an important event included, but it isn’t an excuse to hijack someone else’s artistic vision. You can’t make a creator change her painting, book, play or documentary because you know many people will see or read it and you want them to see or read about you. I’m not saying they have no right to voice their complaints, especially considering it will likely be watched by millions. I’m just saying maybe they should stop demanding other people tell their story and transfer all that energy into telling it themselves. With the Internet and the Independent film industry, it is possible to tell myriads of stories that couldn’t be told before without studio backing and millions of dollars. www.politopics.com.
This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 2:34 pm and is filed under As Yet Unassigned. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
