Wooo! I'm on Day 50! That means I've watched 50 documentaries! The really cool part is that I'm nowhere sick of watching them yet. Which is good, as I still have another 315 to go.
George, Simpsons-style
In honor of President's Day and ole' George Washington's b-day, I picked a doc that celebrates the nation's first president. While technically less of a documentary and more a conversation with an author, it's posted on a documentary website, so I'm not gonna fight it. Author Joseph Ellis wrote "His Excellency: George Washington" about, you guessed it, George Washington and his role in the founding of a nation. He sits down on 'Books of Our Time', a book talk show I guess.
What I learned: Guess I never gave a lot of thought to the time and era of GW. I openly admit I don't know much about our founding fathers. I can barely keep them separate actually. All old rich white men tend to look alike to me. I knew that they had their fair share of disagreements, but it's always been hard to remember what those disagreements were and who was on what side.
One point that stood out was the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. I recognize the points behind both, but never realized that while most supported the DOI there was some debate on the necessity of a new Constitution. Colonists were ready to separate from Europe but didn't know for certain that a brand new country should be established. I wonder what they would have done instead? Just hung out till Mexico colonized them?
What I liked: Ellis does an amazing job painting a detailed picture of who Washington was; this guy obviously did his homework. I was taught about what the man had done, but was told nothing about who the man was. Did you know he married Martha for her vast fortune? That he preferred everyone to refer to him as "His Excellency"? That he was effing huge (tall and broad), and was so quiet it made others uncomfortable to spend time with him?
What I didn't like: Well, as exciting as GW was, this was still just two dudes sitting and talking. Also, the host kept coughing which was kind of gross and took me out of the conversation.
It's sparked an interest in learning more about our founding fathers. If they are all as interesting as GW, I'll be in for a treat.
The film can be found here:
His Excellency George Washington
How could I not post this?
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