MovieChat Forums > America: The Story of Us (2010) Discussion > Get the celebrities off of the show, ple...

Get the celebrities off of the show, please!

posted 14 years ago by PiperCharmed
16 replies | jump to latest

Ugh! Don't the producers realize how much credibility they lose just by having celebrities talking on their show?! This is ridiculous. I don't want celebrities talking to me about America like they experience the country the same way we do and that we all have the same views as them. Plus, I think experts would know a lot more than they do.

I'm really surprised History Channel did this. They have lost a lot of credibility, and they should have known they would have.

[–] TheRaceIsLong 14 years ago

Totally agree. I don't want P-Diddy or Cheryl Crow telling me what they "think" of 1850's slavery. I want objective facts from educated and unbiased historians. They've turned this into an MTV version of American history, which is really disappointing. I think the history channel is forgetting who their fanbase is, and it generally isn't 15 year old kids switching from My Super Sweet 16.

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[–] bryanac625 11 years ago

I don't want P-Diddy or Cheryl Crow telling me what they "think" of 1850's slavery.

But when real historians like Peter Carmichael, Chandra Manning, Gary Gallagher, James McPherson, Drew Gilpin Faust and David Blight have told the truth about 1850s slavery and the causes of the Civil War, I've seen too often where people on the internet reject their years and years of study of primary source material- i.e., the actual writings of the people who were there during the Civil War Era.

[–] kandice-nicole 14 years ago

Yeah, I was pretty turned off by that, too. I mean, why do we need to hear the opinion from an "NFL Star" who probably doesn't know anymore about history than I do? I would like to hear historians point of veiw, or at least someone who is well-known for being a history buff.

...because pointless stories are my thing

[–] worthingtons 14 years ago

I couldn't agree more. And this is what they are giving away to any school that wants a copy. Really?

[–] spencershark 14 years ago

school dumbs down history even less than what is presented in this film not to mention both mediums are extremely biased.

[–] marlou1967 14 years ago

I agree. I don't mind having the interviews or commentary if they are from credible sources such as historians or or university professors. But P. Diddy or Michael Douglas? What expertise do they have to be speaking about any kind of history. Totally reduces the credibility of the entire series.

[–] rjherzbe 14 years ago

Well, Michael Douglas did portray a fictional president in a movie once. I'm surprised they didn't include Martin Sheen, but then again, Sheen is enough of a history buff to know better.

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[–] advocate_for_the_devil 14 years ago

I think they should get rid of all the interviews.

"C'mon...you're better than that!"

[–] b-nott-1 14 years ago

I'm really surprised History Channel did this. They have lost a lot of credibility, and they should have known they would have.

I'm not. This is the same channel that gives you unending 'alien astronaut' and '2012' specials, after all.

Most of their 'history' of late has been crap. If it wasnt for their 'blue collar' reality shows (Ice Road truckers, Pawn Stars, Axe Men, etc), the network would be total garbage.

--
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[–] DarkSidegirl_26 14 years ago

Am I the only one who isn't that surprised or disgusted?

Is it odd at first? Yeah. But the program is called America: the story of us. Opinion of America people, even if they're celebrities (would've been awesome to have all sort of views from various people across the nation, etc.). It's not as though they really took anything away from the program for me. If they said something that was highly incorrect and WTF, then I can understand. But many of the comments (so far, that I have seen) are general and aren't really that bad. If it bothers someone that much then the next time you record it, then edit out the celebrity input.

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[–] wayne_witt 14 years ago

But it's so shallow to have the celebrities on the show BECAUSE their comments are very general. Why even waste the time and film with them in the first place? Use that time for academics to ADD something to the show. Even little anecdotes would have been great, partly because people remember those better than they remember general facts. (One of my favorite parts of Ken Burns' The Civil War was the little oddball tidbits by Shelby Foote. They really brought the history to a personable level, and I think if this series had something like that then it would be that much more helpful and educational).

And what annoys me even more is the fact that instead of academics and scholars being interviewed they have celebrities offering their (extremely uneducated) opinions on American history, presumably because their celebrity apparently is the equivalent of a Phd. I just think it's a really sad commentary that people are more interested in seeing and hearing actors and singers, on what is supposed to be an educational show, rather than being actually educated by it. This celebrity worship in America has gotten pretty disgusting when it invades even education shows. I avoid Access Hollywood and those shltty shows; I really don't want them intruding into where they don't belong. It really doesn't give me a lot of hope for the future that mindless entertainment seems always to trump education.

[–] PiperCharmed 14 years ago

You sound just like me, Wayne! I agree with everything you've said and have said it many times myself. :)

[–] ry-the_stunner 9 years ago

That's what surprised me the most when I started watching this on Netflix.

Usually you'd have interviews with actual historians or maybe direct descendants of people involved. Instead, I'm sitting here watching Episode 1 and Donald Trump pops up with commentary.