Benjamin Franklin

Like the rest of Ken Burns' series, especially those that are biographical in any way, this two-part biography of Ben Franklin is well done, well-organized, and very informative.

And as always with Ken Burns, the series gives you warm fuzzies while at the same time teaching you so much you never knew. It's this human + informational + stylistic genius that makes Ken Burns the master of his form.

There are very very few Ken Burns programs that have left me uninterested or cold, and this is definitely not one of those! I enjoyed this entirely.

Out of all American political figures who were not presidents, Benjamin Franklin is probably the one with the most interesting life. Similarly to Leonardo da Vinci, he was a kind of Renaissance Man who possessed incredible skill in many different subjects and endeavors. During his lifetime, he was an inventor, a scientist, a postmaster, a father, an ambassador to France and the UK, a patriot, and at the time the most famous American on Earth. Without him, the US might not even exist today. This rather short Ken Burns series goes over Franklin's life in the intriguing and smartly written fashion we've come to expect of his documentaries. While historical subjects outside of the World Wars or late 1800s are typically beyond my interest, Burns is somehow always able to make essentially any time period fun to learn about. As per usual, we get a good narrator in the form of Peter Coyote (who also narrated Burns' masterpiece on Vietnam), a musical score that wouldn't sound out of place if it were composed in the 18th century, and various historians weighing in when it comes to Franklin's decisions and activities. While it is quite hard to go over every important detail of his life since the series presents a lot of them, some highlights include how he came up with an instrument using an array of glass bowls to produce sound with friction called a glass harmonica. Beethoven and Mozart composed pieces for it. His son, William Franklin, was royal governor of New Jersey during colonial times and wanted to see the american colonies remain friendly with England. A surprisingly large portion of Ben's life was dedicated to trying to uphold a good relationship between england and its possessions in north america, something that would sadly end in failure as Franklin eventually came to understand there was no future for him or anyone like him in england. Although he thought of himself as a Brit for much of his life, he would ultimately become an american during the Revolutionary War, and broke off relations with his son as he was unwilling to change his loyalist stance. As most already know, Franklin was also an accomplished scientist and arguably knew more about electricity than anyone else in the world at the time. His famous experiment involving a kite attracted praise from such legends as John Locke. Franklin was present in france when he witnessed the first piloted ascent by humans in history, when the Montgolfier brothers tested a hot air balloon. As for the documentary itself and how it's presented, I found it to be still really good, but not as good as many of Burns' other efforts. Don't get me wrong, there are still a wealth of beautiful outdoor shots of historical places Franklin was present in (one of which I live very close to), and mentions of Franklin's dislike of and rivalry with John Adams, but the problems arise when you notice how patronizing many of the historians are. Of course, it's basically impossible to discuss the time period Franklin lived in without bringing up slavery, and the documentary certainly has no shortage of mentioning it. Franklin did own slaves, but people now are going to get very hung up on this, acting like events from almost 300 years ago should conform to their sweet and innocent view of the current world. History is history, and it doesn't care about how you might feel about something immoral. If people can't learn to accept what's already happened, they will mentally destroy themselves since you can't alter the past. In all, I found this series to be a good overview of Franklin and what made him such a crucial figure in american history, even if the leftist overtone surrounding it was shoved in my face a little too much. Come to think of it, every single Burns documentary I've watched so far suffers from this to at least some degree, but this is the most up front it's ever been.

Full Disclosure: Benjamin Franklin is one of my favorite Americans. I've read his 'Autobiography' and have seen multiple programs about his life, including the mini-series by PBS from the early 2000s and various History Channel programs (e.g., "Founding Brothers"). His accomplishments are legendary to me and so, when I heard about this new documentary from Ken Burns, I was all-in. I've enjoyed Burns's work over the years, especially the "Baseball" series, Lewis and Clark, and the Jack Johnson film. Great stuff!

So why only a '7' rating? Well for one, there wasn't a lot of new information here for me. That might be because I've read his Autobiography and have seen those aforementioned shows. So if Franklin is new to you, or you only know about him from your school textbooks, then you will likely find this much more edifying than I did. It covers most of the highlights of his life, which is good, but sometimes they get a curious short shrift. His 'Franklin Stove,' for example, only gets something like a two-sentence passing mention in a 4-hour program. Odd. Other facets of his life, like his experiment with vegetarianism, aren't even mentioned.

More bothersome, though, was a strange, albeit slight, current that seemed to run through the narrative here. Namely, that it wasn't sure if it wanted to celebrate Franklin and his accomplishments, or downplay them; or, to denigrate him for his failings. One odd example was the following: after explaining how Franklin abandoned his indentured servitude to his brother and ran away from home at the age of 17, and how from this destitute state he was able to build himself up into the man we know today, a strange comment is made in the film. A voice says something to the effect that ..."but Franklin had opportunities that were not available to women or people of color."

Uh, what? I don't even know what means. Is the film suggesting that a woman or a person of color was just waiting to invent the lightning rod, but just didn't have the opportunity? This is silly and sloppy. Franklin was an incredibly unique individual. He was an autodidact and a polymath, and celebrated in his own day as a veritable genius. So I don't understand what the point of "but he had opportunities others didn't" is trying to say. If it's suggesting that there were plenty of people who could have achieved what Franklin did, if only they had the opportunity, well, that's wildly presumptuous, and frankly, just plain dumb. Wow.

At another point, Franklin's famous quote about the Constitution is mentioned. After the Convention, Franklin is known to have said "We have a Republic...if we can keep it." In this film, this quote is remembered, and the story is framed with more detail. Namely, we are told a prominent Philadelphia woman is the person who asked Franklin "what have we got?" after the Convention was over, to which Franklin gave his famous reply. But the film, in telling this story, feels the need to insert a comment that the woman, "whose rights were not considered by the delegates," asked the question. What rights are we talking about here? The right to vote? That pretty much didn't exist for women anywhere on earth in 1787. The idea of women's suffrage wouldn't be seriously considered by most of the world's nations until the 20th century.

So the film's narrative, at times, seemed to adopt a snooty and haughty attitude about Franklin and his contemporaries, and I would say was trying to apply a 21st century morality to an 18th century world. 'Women's Rights" were unheard of at the time. Ditto for LGBTQ rights. And so on. No one was flying a rainbow flag in America in 1787. It was a completely different world. To point this out as some sort of failing is just bizarre, and I think, out of place. So I have mixed feelings on this one.

There were more examples, like one historian questioning Franklin's sincerity in embracing the Abolitionist movement towards the end of his life, suggesting he was reading 'which way the wind was blowing' and so made his choice because of that, instead of doing it because of any heartfelt conversion about the issue. I am not sure how this person claims to know what Franklin was thinking and feeling about it, but it came across as suspect, and actually annoying, for anyone to claim to know what another person's motivations were, while having no proof to make such an assertion. So to listen to this historian, Franklin became an abolitionist because it was becoming popular to do so, not because he really cared about the plight of enslaved people. How can you make such a claim without evidence? And why was such irresponsible conjecture included in the film? I have no idea.

So for these reasons, I have to take my rating down a few pegs. Still enjoyable overall, but the sneering attitude that sometimes comes through makes it a challenging watch. One wonders if this was really a 'passion project' for Burns or not. I can't tell.

7/10. Competent but comes with complications. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Probably, but I might go for the PBS one first.

Burn's "Ben Franklin is an excellent piece of work, bringing in most of the commonly known things about Benjamin. Then it digs into the why of the events in this incredible life. Yes, there is always room for improvement, something that those who believe our current age or any of our current selves have reached the pinnacle of what we could be.

I would be amiss not congratulate the many contributors, historians, writers who appeared in the documentary and added their perspectives, yet remain uncredited by imbd. Especially Stacy Schiff, whose observations added a humor to it all.

I'm not exactly sure how imdb rates diverseness or diversity. There was a considerable honesty about "the original sin" of these United States and Franklin's own perplexing hypocrisy in dealing with it, even while he improved in his appreciation of the enslaved's capabilities. He praised the intelligence and capabilities of the black race, while satirizing the ridiculousness of white slavers, yet he still did not free his own slaves. I suppose even the best and brightest of us are imperfect when changing a vice passed down from time inmemorable.

"Benjamin Franklin" is Ken Burn's latest documentary, and it is a fine addition to his extensive catalog of American historical films. With fine narration by Peter Coyote, supplemented by solid commentary from the "talking heads" (notably historian H. W. Brands), "Ben Franklin" is a must-see for any student or enthusiast of American history.

If you've seen any of Ken Burn's other films, then you know the drill. Some of the music in this film, in fact, seems to have been recycled from earlier Ken Burns films, including "Thomas Jefferson" and "Lewis and Clark." But overall, "Benjamin Franklin" entertains and enlightens, befitting the classic Ken Burns documentary style.

Paul Giamatti makes a cameo appearance as the voice of you-know-who. 😉

Aloha 😊🤙🏼👏🏼

8/10.