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jvrm1993 t1_iqspzir wrote

Reply to comment by Jacques_Ellul in The U.S. & the Holocaust, Episode 1: “The Golden Door” (2022) A xenophobic backlash prompts Congress to restrict immigration. Hitler and the Nazis persecute German Jews, forcing many to seek refuge. FDR is concerned by the growing crisis but is unable to coordinate a response. [02:08:43] by s_y_s_t_e_m_i_c_

They literally discussed the Nazis using Jim Crow as a model, discussed with experts and survivors about the topic of the US not bombing the concentration camps when they had gotten very detailed information about them, in addition to discussing Breckinridge Long’s involvement in denying Jewish refugees (and lying about it) and followed the timeline throughout the 3 episodes about both how the US didn’t allow many refugees and how reported/underreported the genocide was by media in America at the time.

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Jacques_Ellul t1_iqsrhji wrote

I'm glad to hear that. I never would have imagined they'd see the light of day given the accounts of his previous 2 war films. Maybe my impressions were incorrect, I appreciate the edification.

But it was surely reasonable to be skeptical when the myth of the lost cause has been documented to the point of nauseum. And Vietnam is exactly the propaganda one would expect in an account where most know nothing of the actual conflict other than that it was unpopular. That's not to say they aren't entertaining or that they don't contain aspects of interest. When one proclaims to offer truth value in regards to the most significant events in modern history you have a tremendous moral duty to the elevation of historical memory; when such claims are accompanied by mere shadows you have only reinforced the dominate illusions.

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coachfortner t1_iqt3182 wrote

what specifically led to your critical appraisal of ‘The War’ and/or ‘The Civil War’?

do you have the same opinion of all of Burns’ documentaries?

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newphonewhodis2021 t1_iqtsxvd wrote

I read this thread and it makes me feel that your fellow redditor hasn't watched ANY of the documentaries in question. It appears that they are making their decision based on accounts shared with him. So other people's opinions but not his own

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13Zero t1_iququzg wrote

The Civil War gets a lot of criticism for heavily featuring Shelby Foote, who is controversial at best.

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Jacques_Ellul t1_iseaaql wrote

I'll try and answer through a couple questions. What impression do the documentaries create in relation to the reason the Civil War or the Vietnam war occurred? What is the essence of US policy with regards to South East Asia? Why did the Civil War occur?

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Jacques_Ellul t1_isebzil wrote

From the opening:

>It was begun in good faith by decent people out of fateful misunderstanding; American overconfidence, cold war miscalculation...

This simple assertion is so far removed from reality as to operate in another universe. The origins of the Vietnam war date to the late 1930s and 1940s when America was crafting massive studies of the probable post-WWII world; and the foreign policy that would guide US foreign policy to the present. A key component to the stability of the world economic system is the absorption and integration of Japan; whose economy is heavily based on having South East Asia as a market for exports, raw materials, etc. If Vietnam successfully nationalized their economy, US planners understood, as early as 1942, that Japans economy would likely collapse (in the model that was being constructed at the time). This is the real origin of the 'domino' theory. Furthermore, the idea that the US lost the Vietnam war or somehow didn't achieve its objectives is nothing short of a complete fabrication of historical fact. The US had always regarded a stalemate (preventing the Vietnamese people from gaining power outside of Western frameworks) as not only highly desirable but likely. So the invasion of Vietnam was carried out, an act which the Nuremburg Trials regarded as the most egregious and flagrant violations of international law, human rights, and human decency: the preparing and launching of a war of aggression. The greatest possible war crime a state can commit.

This is the kind of shit you'd find if you watched a documentary in China about their history with Japan or in Nazi Germany concerning Poland or whatever. That people don't fall over from laughter at the complete absurdity of such propositions and that what follows in that film is regarded as 'history' reveals all one need know about the complete elimination of historical memory.

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