Revolutionary
Sunday, 5 July 2015 01:50![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_phil_physicsAh, the annual watching of 1776.
The movie version of the terrific musical play is a near perfect thing, with a stellar cast, very quotable lines and wonderful songs. There's some compression of characters, and "stuff", I'm sure. But as a discussion of the sausage making of a country, it is a worthy companion to the brats and potato salad of the day. Frankly, there really aren't many movies about the Revolutionary War, so it's no wonder that the faded single page document isn't better known or understood, let alone the Revolution or the first century of our country.
So, History Channel is doing Sons of Liberty right now. I can't help but think they have sexed up the cast. And the actual passage of the Declaration -- and I've only seen a few minutes of Part 3 of 3, mind -- is shown as less contentious. Or in TV parlance, they sped up the end. So they could cut to Washington reading to his troops. If the movie/play is focused on John Adams, it looks like this production zeroed in on Sam Adams. I suppose it's disingenuous of me to be suspicious of the Samuel Adams beer sponsorship... naw, not in 2015...
The Sons of Liberty might, in fact, be less problematic than my first impression. I'd need to investigate further. How old were these men? Did Patrick Henry address the Continental Congress? I shouldn't -- and have not -- felt that a musical should be considered canon. But History Channel simply can't be thought of an authoritative source these days, which is a terrible shame.
Oh... maybe I shouldn't be so generous. A quick Google search produced a lot of snark, so rather than quote the L.A. Times, I'll go with the more incendiary History Channel Presents Laughably Inaccurate 'Sons of Liberty'. (grin)
Great. But, it's not like people today need to know any facts.
Anyway, it's after midnight and we are under mortar bombardment from the neighbors. Damned representative government in Michigan thought pulling most of the restrictions on fireworks in Michigan was a good idea. Hopefully the grasses aren't dry enough that they'll burn the house down.
Viva le Revolution!
Dr. Phil
The movie version of the terrific musical play is a near perfect thing, with a stellar cast, very quotable lines and wonderful songs. There's some compression of characters, and "stuff", I'm sure. But as a discussion of the sausage making of a country, it is a worthy companion to the brats and potato salad of the day. Frankly, there really aren't many movies about the Revolutionary War, so it's no wonder that the faded single page document isn't better known or understood, let alone the Revolution or the first century of our country.
So, History Channel is doing Sons of Liberty right now. I can't help but think they have sexed up the cast. And the actual passage of the Declaration -- and I've only seen a few minutes of Part 3 of 3, mind -- is shown as less contentious. Or in TV parlance, they sped up the end. So they could cut to Washington reading to his troops. If the movie/play is focused on John Adams, it looks like this production zeroed in on Sam Adams. I suppose it's disingenuous of me to be suspicious of the Samuel Adams beer sponsorship... naw, not in 2015...
The Sons of Liberty might, in fact, be less problematic than my first impression. I'd need to investigate further. How old were these men? Did Patrick Henry address the Continental Congress? I shouldn't -- and have not -- felt that a musical should be considered canon. But History Channel simply can't be thought of an authoritative source these days, which is a terrible shame.
Oh... maybe I shouldn't be so generous. A quick Google search produced a lot of snark, so rather than quote the L.A. Times, I'll go with the more incendiary History Channel Presents Laughably Inaccurate 'Sons of Liberty'. (grin)
Okay, it wasn't quite as bad as "Sam Adams: Vampire Hunter" but it was close. I am referring to the History channel's series "The Sons of Liberty" in which the real life Sam Adams, who was a middle-aged portly guy by the time of the opening scene in 1765, comes off as a young athletic urban ninja hopping up to the rooftops of Boston to evade arrest by British troops. And that was just one of the many laughable inaccuracies of the History channel's presentation of the era leading up to the American Revolution.And that article precarious other sources who end up calling it worthless.
Great. But, it's not like people today need to know any facts.
Anyway, it's after midnight and we are under mortar bombardment from the neighbors. Damned representative government in Michigan thought pulling most of the restrictions on fireworks in Michigan was a good idea. Hopefully the grasses aren't dry enough that they'll burn the house down.
Viva le Revolution!
Dr. Phil
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