Independence 250 Kick-off Event
Screening of a highlight reel from Ken Burns' "The American Revolution"
Upcoming event:
Independence 250 Kickoff
January 10, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Mason House, Museums of the Bethel Historical Society
14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
At a time when questions about democracy, unity, and national identity feel especially urgent, Ken Burns’ documentary The American Revolution reminds us that the United States was born from debate, conflict, and a bold belief that people could govern themselves — even when the outcome was far from guaranteed.
This is why the Independence 250 committee has chosen to screen a highlight reel at the kick-off event for our year-long program series. If you have already watched the documentary, you will be prepared for the short discussion session after the screening. If you haven’t seen it yet, this highlight reel will definitely whet your appetite.
Want to learn more? Here are a few essays and reviews that dive deeper into the documentary’s themes, commenting on and critiquing it from a variety of different perspectives:
“Ken Burns’s Wake-Up Call,” Susan Brynne Long, Law & Liberty
“What was the American Revolution for?” Jill Lepore, The New Yorker
“Ken Burns on his American Revolution documentary: ‘We won’t work on a more important film’”, interview with David Smith, The Guardian
“The Incoherence of Ken Burns’s ‘The American Revolution’” Adam Rowe, Compact
“The Catholic stories Ken Burns left out of his new American Revolution documentary,” Anthony D. Andreassi, America: The Jesuit Review