Gripping Storytelling
Actor and filmmaker Tom Hanks says most history fails as storytelling. “The writing is often too dull to grab regular people by the lapel.” But Ken Burns’ PBS miniseries The Civil War changed his mind: “I watched that with my son. There was nothing but great music married with talking heads, pan and scan of old photographs and get to the creeks at sunset. But I wept at the end of also every hour of that incredibly powerful entertainment. So I thought there might be other ways [to] make history interesting for people.”—Tom Hanks, “America’s Historian-in-Chief,” actor and producer of new HBO miniseries, The Pacific, in Time magazine, March 15, 2010 URL
Editor’s Note: Gotta reach ’em to teach ’em.
Today’s Wish-I-Were-Here Photo: Button Poppy
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I recently read that Tom Hanks article in Time, and it was enlightening to see what turned Hanks into a history buff. He's committed to keeping history in front of us, and helping us remember why we have the freedoms we do. He's not "just another Hollywood actor." He's an amazing man.
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