NEW YORK – PBS promised Wednesday to amend Ken Burns’ upcoming documentary series on World War II to include stories about Hispanic veterans after activists complained he ignored their contributions to the American effort.
Burns has also agreed to hire a Hispanic producer to help create the additional content, PBS said.
The 14-hour documentary, “The War,” is scheduled to premiere in September. PBS hopes it becomes as popular as Burns’ “The Civil War” was a decade ago, and plans to sell a companion book and DVDs.
At least based on the initial reaction, PBS executives appear to have pulled off the delicate trick of satisfying a disgruntled constituency while not alienating Burns, its best-known filmmaker.
“I think this is a terrific, terrific win-win situation,” Burns said.
Burns’ film focuses on the wartime experiences of people from four communities across the country – Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Luverne, Minn. He tells their individual stories about combat and how the war changed lives.
From the start, Burns said he never tried to be comprehensive; it was just too big a story. Rather, he wanted to tell about human experiences that everyone affected by the war could relate to.
But when some Hispanic groups learned that Burns had not spoken to any Hispanic veterans, they began applying pressure to PBS to change the documentary to reflect their stories.
Burns’ film, which is already done, will remain intact. Instead, he will seek out Hispanic veterans to interview about their experiences to run either during breaks or at the end of each hour. The details still haven’t been worked out. Stories about American Indians will also be included.
“We’re not changing the film,” he said. “Think of it as an amendment to the Constitution.”
Paula Kerger, PBS president, said she did not tell Burns what to do – the solution was his.
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