Burns explores Roosevelt legacy in new documentary

[Cooley Hurd]

http://www.rr.com/articles/2013/11/02/b/burns-explores-roosevelt-legacy-in-new-documentary

WARM SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) — Filmmaker Ken Burns said Saturday that he wants to tell the story of three of the most famous Roosevelts, their strengths and weaknesses, in an upcoming documentary on one of America's most famous political families.

He previewed part of the 14-hour series that will air next year during a reunion of the extended Roosevelt family at the former polio clinic in rural Georgia that President Franklin Roosevelt purchased after coming to seek a cure for his crippled legs. Roosevelt built a home here known as the Little White House, where he died in 1945.

Burns' film explores the political and family ties between President Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor. The filmmaker acclaimed for documentaries on the Civil War, baseball and World War II said he aimed for an honest portrayal of political figures who were sometimes reduced to caricatures.

Contrasting American ideals of heroism with those of the heroes of ancient Greece, Burns remarked that the Greeks "saw heroes as having very obvious strength but also very obvious and sometimes equal weaknesses."

"Achilles had his heel," Burns said. "And so I think for us, it's always been what kind of American history do you show? One that's sort of treacly and superficial or one that gets deeper?"

Defining a common legacy between the three figures is tricky since their lives span from 1858 to 1962. The political populism of Theodore Roosevelt — for example, his anti-monopoly stances and efforts to improve food safety and regulation — arguably found a new expression in the New Deal politics championed by Franklin Roosevelt to alleviate the suffering inflicted by the Great Depression.

The film follows Eleanor Roosevelt as she emerged from her role as first lady after Roosevelt's death and successfully worked to adopt a United Nations declaration of human rights. She was the niece of Theodore Roosevelt and a distant relation to Franklin Roosevelt.
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Something to look forward to!!!

[Cirque du So-What]

1. After gophers start delivering their mail

nobody will laud the reprehensible Koch brothers for any accomplishments they made during their empty, greedy, hate-filled lives. I am thankful, however, that the legacy of the Roosevelts is still being examined, as they could easily have become members of the 'idle rich' and done nothing worthwhile for humanity...and, yes, I'm referring to the worthless Kochs.

[nyquil_man]

2. TR's influence on FDR was enormous.

In many ways, their careers mirrored one another. Both state senators, assistant secretaries of the Navy, governors of New York, vice presidential nominees. Both faced tragedies - for TR, the death of his wife and his mother on the same day, for FDR, polio - which sent their lives into unexpected directions. Underlying that is the rivalry between the Oyster Bay (Republican) and Hyde Park (Democratic) wings of the family.

That's without even discussing Eleanor, the shy, awkward little girl who grew into a liberal icon.

It should be fascinating viewing.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. K&R! I guess so!