The War of 1812

A forgotten war for sure, but one that made the difference between Canada and the US, which is a lot to say about its importance. Two countries in need of heroes; natives that had to chose one side over the other and who would lose whatever their choice. All this historical significance bathing unfortunately in a soundtrack that too often overcomes anything that is said off screen. I really wanted to know more about what happened but every time there was a voice off screen explaining something, there was that insipid background music marring it all. And I struggled on, painfully trying to adapt my hearing to what was said above the obnoxious music. Sad to say, this kind of thing is frequent in documentaries, even good ones. It's as if there was competition between the sound effects and the story being told. The series The Civil War should be an example for producers: if you need to put music, at least make it uplifting, or sad, even joyous, not this syrupy hodgepodge we get in this documentary. And give us some quiet moments, perhaps nature sounds like the wind in the trees, the sound of rain... A few seconds of silence even, some time to reflect on what we see. All this I'll get eventually when it's translated into French. All that crap will be thrown out and we'll certainly get a better soundtrack, one where we can actually hear what is being said.

I just read Pierre Burton's 800+ page The War of 1812 and wanted a quick synopsis of the events. This movie does a good job in doing so. As Pierre Burton points out the artifacts and written documentation of this wars are not intensely partisan or national. Many groups characterize this war as important milestone in their history. Future Canadians, Indians, Britons, Americans, Kentuckians, Slaves, etc. The reality of the motivation for this war and it's outcome is very complex. The movie does an outstanding job in narrating the event. Of course you cannot expect an in depth analysis in just two hours. Seems to me the subject would be prime material for a Ken Burns sequel.

Quick Google facts: 1) Canada didn't declare independence until July 1st,1867, more than fifty years after the War Of 1812. Canada was a colony of Great Britain and therefore its citizens were British subjects, not citizens of a nation named Canada that didn't exist yet. Conclusion: the militia that fought alongside were no more professional soldiers than the United States militia they faced on the battlefield. 2) In 1931 Canada was granted "full autonomy" (internal and external), along with Australia, by Great Britain by the Statute Of Westminster. BUT Great Britain's Parliament retained the ability to modify the Canadian Constitution. 3) The Canada Act Of 1982 passed by Parliament removed their own ability to modify Canada's Constitution.

1982 was 36 years ago at the time of this writing: A statistically 45% of the people reading this were alive when Canada became a full fledged member of the international community of sovereign nations. This has been some background into some easily researchable FACTS: Like virtually all of Holt, Garey, and Chowder's work, this film is also revisionist and slanted for some goal known only to them. A truly remarkable lack of QUALIFIED experts marks this work as well; individuals with their doctorates are VERY VERY happy to share their knowledge for such shows; let's be honest, history is neither sexy nor particularly engaging for those of us destined to repeat it. How come they couldn't find and QUALIFIED experts? Not one doctorate: This is virtually unheard of in the world of documentary infotainment. Every "expert" they interviewed had several well recognized counterparts they would have been happy for their 15 minutes of fame! (Spoiler: Documentarians with an agenda rarely use qualified, recognized experts. Such experts generally are emotionally neutral and stick to facts without emotional overtones. This makes it hard to slant the bits of the interview they use for their programs.) CONCLUSION: IF YOU HAVE THE BRAIN POWER (AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET) WATCH THIS SHOW FOR THE TIMELINE OF THIS LITTLE KNOWN CONFLICT, BUT DON'T GET SUCKED IN MY THE RHETORIC. DO A LITTLE RESEARCH OF YOU OWN AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND THAT LIKE ALL ARMED CONFLICTS, WAR AND DEATH SUCK.

I have no idea what PBS is attempting to perpetrate with this film. Referencing James Madison as "Republican" is factually incorrect. He was a Democratic Republican which was the forerunner of today's Democratic party. The film was rather accurate except for the obvious political slant While the Democratic-Republican Party is formally known as "Republican", it would be wise to inform viewers that this party is not the "Republican" party of today nor it's predecessor.

At the end of the film the narrator says "the US had gained nothing" by the end of the war. That statement alone gives reason to question the viewpoint and motives of this documentary. This film is pure and utter revisionist trash. Save two hours of your life and skip this "documentary"