PBS Video Features Underwater World War II Corsair F4U

Thanks to my good friends at PBS for sending along this information. If you are interested in World War II or in diving this should be of interest. The video is about 9 minutes long.

 

The all new bi-weekly series from PBS Digital Studios, “Under H2O,” captures some of nature’s most exciting underwater events, creatures and locations.

This week’s video, ‘WWII Corsair Wreck Dive’ features amazing underwater footage of the wreckage of a World War II Corsair F4U airplane. In this episode, Dr. Musburger and his team take cameras underwater a few miles south off the island of Oahu. 100 feet down, the coral covered aircraft is a sanctuary for many interesting sea creatures including elusive garden eels and bottom-feeding goatfish. The video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jxKB4zbYSA,

 

To view all PBS Digital Studios videos, please visit http://www.youtube.com/user/pbsdigitalstudios.

Dr. Musburger is a Ph.D. Marine Biologist and winner of a National Emmy Award in Outstanding Camera Work. In 2002, he founded HD Under H2O, a Hawaii-based production company specializing in underwater production for educational, scientific, dramatic, and sports outlets. In teaming up with PBS, Dr. Musburger brings his considerable talent and knowledge to a new audience and takes them along on his exciting journeys.

Video Review--Rebel presented by Voces on PBS

Premiering on the PBS show Voces, May 24, 2013 is the hour long documentary titled Rebel.

Romi Dias stars as Loreta Janeta Velazquez.
Photo: Gerard Gaskin

Rebel recounts the story of Loreta Velazquez, a Cuban born woman who becomes a Confederate soldier before turning Union spy. This work, directed by Maria Agui Carter, is based upon Velasquez's post war memoir titled The Woman in Battle: The Civil War Narrative of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Cuban Woman and Confederate Soldier (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography).

Largely a forgotten figure, through the writings of Velazquez and the commentary of academics and historians such as Gary Gallagher we learn the story of a woman who could be considered a tragic figure who was ahead of her time.

Loreta was born to a well off family in Cuba who in 1849 sent her to New Orleans. Here her spiritedness began to show as she  refused what appears to have been a prepared marriage. She eventually marries a white man (i.e. not Hispanic or black) who appears to only be known by the name William. They quickly have two children with a third on the way when William is sent by the army to Indian Territory. Loretta and her children move to St. Louis where her infant child dies days after birth and soon after her other two children die from a fever epidemic that sweeps through St. Louis.

As the political situation worsens war becomes apparent. William resigns his army commission and joins the Confederacy with his home state (I assume this to be a Texas regiment and not the United States Army but this is unclear in the documentary). He is sent to Pensacola, FL where he is killed though it is called an accident.

With no family, no home, and seemingly no country Loreta transforms herself into a Confederate soldier by the name of Harry T. Buford. As Buford she fights at Bull Run, Shiloh, and other locations being injured several times. While serving as a Confederate she acquires a slave by the name of Bob. Bob serves her well until escaping to apparent freedom at Shiloh. It is unclear the relationship with Bob and if he knew Loreta's/Harry's secret.

In July 1863 it is discovered that Harry is a woman and Loreta is considered to possibly by a Union spy. This charge could mean death. General John Winder however frees her several days later now using her in the Secret Service Corps. Shortly there after she goes to work in Baltimore for the Union Secret Service.

In 1875 she and her book ran afoul of Jubal Early, he of the Lost Cause. Early, who is portrayed harshly in Rebel with a wild eyed and untamed look, refuses to believe her story and essentially calls her a female camp follower; or prostitute. For the most part she disappears though she does show in printed records until 1902. According to the documentary her burial location is unknown.

While seemingly short on detail this is still a worthwhile program to view. In the filmmakers defense there really is little detail about Velazquez available. The filmmakers have used her own limited writings for much of the dialogue. During this story we learn of the race issues common in the south during this period. We also see that Velazquez sees a changing in the role of money and finances as the war drags on. Where strongest however is where we learn about the overall role of women in the time period. It is estimated that maybe 500-1,000 served in the war. The role of a woman was not questioned in the mid 19th century. The clothing and appearance of a woman was not open for debate or interpretation. Sexual roles were firm and not to be changed. Society was not ready for women such as Loreta Velazquez.

Cast
Loreta Velazquez--Romi Dias

Filmmakers
Maria Agui Carter--writer, producer, director
Calvin Lindsay, Jr.--producer

Academics and Historians
Catherine Clinton
Renee Sentilles
Kirsten Silva Gruesz
Christina Vella
Jesse Aleman
Vicki L. Ruiz
DeAnne Blanton
Elizabeth D. Leonard
Richard Hall
Carman Cumming
Gary W. Gallagher

Thank you to CaraMar Publicity for sending a preview copy of Rebel!

Press Release--PBS to Air Program on Female Latino Confederate Spy

VOCES ON PBS PRESENTS REBEL, PREMIERING

ON PBS FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2013 AT 10:00 P.M. ET

New Documentary Explores the Secret Life of Loreta Velazquez --

Cuban immigrant, Confederate Soldier turned Union Spy

Romi Dias as Loreta Janeta Velazquez. Credit: Gerard Gaskin

Shrouded in mystery and long the subject of debate, the amazing story of Loreta Velazquez is one of the Civil War’s most gripping forgotten narratives. While the U.S. military may have recently lifted the ban on women in combat, Loreta Janeta Velazquez, a Cuban immigrant from New Orleans, was fighting in battle 150 years ago — one of the estimated 1000 women who secretly served as soldiers during the American Civil War. Who was she? Why did she fight? And what made her so dangerous that she has been virtually erased from history? Directed by María Agui Carter, REBEL premieres as a special presentation of the Latino Public Broadcasting series VOCES ON PBS, airing nationally on PBS on Friday, May 24, 2013 at 10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings).

 

Deftly weaving lushly dramatized scenes of Loreta’s riveting tale with historical commentary and archival material, REBEL explores the story of a complex woman, a myth and the politics of national memory. The story of a wealthy Cuban planter’s daughter sent to New Orleans in 1849, REBEL chronicles Loreta’s rebellious relationship with her traditional family and her early marriage to an American soldier known only as William. After the devastating sudden death of William and her three young children, Loreta turned her grief into transformation. She embarked on a new secret life, disguising herself as a man and, under the name of Harry T. Buford, served first as a soldier in the Confederate Army and later as a Union spy.

REBEL is based on Loreta’s 600-page memoir, A Woman In Battle, which caused a sensation when it was published in 1876 and remains in print to this day. For over a century, Loreta was dismissed as a liar and a prostitute, but new evidence indicates she was no hoax. “Loreta’s memoir gives us rare insight into war from a woman and a Latina ’s point of view. She was an immigrant serving her country by fighting for it, as so many generations have done. Growing up in New Orleans she naturally aligned herself with the South and even kept a slave, but records show she would end up spying for the North. She was a complex woman who ultimately turned against war as a solution to the world’s problems,” says writer/director María Agui Carter. Although Loreta’s memoir, which most historians acknowledge to be somewhat embellished, was dismissed as a hoax for over a century, historians have recently discovered documents in the National Archives as well as newspaper articles and letters proving that she did indeed exist. “Loreta Velazquez was a rebel who flouted all the rules to become a part of American history,” says Ms. Agui Carter.

“We’re delighted to present REBEL as a special presentation of VOCES ON PBS,” says Latino Public Broadcasting’s Executive Director Sandie Pedlow. “The film rescues this fascinating story from obscurity, and shines a light on an amazing Cuban American woman who was not afraid to defy expectations and blaze her own path.”

REBEL is a co-production of Iguana Films, L.L.C. and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), in association with WPBT2/Miami and Latino Public Broadcasting with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

* * *

About the Filmmakers

María Agui Carter (Writer/Producer/Director) emigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador , grew up an undocumented “Dreamer” in New York City and graduated from Harvard College . A filmmaker and scholar, she has won George Peabody Gardner, Warren and Rockefeller Grants, been a visiting scholar at Harvard and Tulane, and her work has shown at film festivals and been broadcast internationally. Based in Boston , she is an advocate for Latino and social issue filmmakers, serving as Chair of NALIP, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers.

Calvin Lindsay, Jr. (Producer) has worked in television production for more than two decades, beginning at WGBH-TV where he served as Series Producer for Say Brother, one of public television’s longest running local series. Lindsay has produced seven Emmy Award winning documentaries and productions and has collaborated on countless others.

 

 

If you are interested in reading her book The Woman in Battle: The Civil War Narrative of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Cuban Woman and Confederate Soldier (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography) please click the link for further information.

PBS--American Experience Announces The Abolitionist Map of America

American Experience ANNOUNCES THE ABOLITIONIST MAP OF AMERICA

Interactive Map Explores the Legacy of the Anti-Slavery Movement

Through Its Impact on Local Communities

BOSTON , MA - DATE, 2012 - AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has announced the launch of The Abolitionist Map of America, an interactive website that explores events, characters and locations connected to the anti-slavery movement, one of the most important civil rights crusade in American history. The map engages communities around their local history, connecting the stories told in The Abolitionists, premiering Tuesdays, January 8-22, 2013 on PBS, to real geographic locations, bringing events from the past to life and integrating them into present-day American cities.

American Experience is working with hundreds of museums, libraries, archives and public television stations to populate the map with geo-tagged historical photos and documents, as well as more than 30 video clips from The Abolitionists. The public is invited to upload their own content with the goal of creating a map that reflects the shared history of the movement and its indelible mark on local communities and the nation.

Developed with innovative technology from public media history platform Historypin, the Abolitionist Map of America allows users to superimpose an archival image of a specific location over the present-day street view of that same location, showing how a significant place has changed over time. Walking tours of Boston , Charleston , Cincinnati and Philadelphia can be experienced by users virtually on the Web or spontaneously as they walk through the city. The Abolitionist Map of America will be available as an iPhone app in December 2012.

View The Abolitionist Map of America here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interactive-map/abolitionists-map/

Institutional partners already collaborating on the Map include the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture (Charleston, SC), Boston Public Library, Cincinnati Public Library, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Library Company in Philadelphia Program in African American History, Massachusetts Historical Society, National Archives and Records Administration, National Museum of African American History and Culture, the New Bedford Historical Society, and the University of Rochester Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.

About American Experience

Television’s most-watched history series, American Experience has been hailed as “peerless” (Wall Street Journal), “the most consistently enriching program on television” (Chicago Tribune), and “a beacon of intelligence and purpose” (Houston Chronicle). On air and online, the series brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America ’s past and present. Acclaimed by viewers and critics alike, American Experience documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including 30 Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, and 16 George Foster Peabody Awards, one most recently for the series represented by Freedom Riders, Triangle Fire, and Stonewall Uprising.

Exclusive corporate funding for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Major funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major funding for The Abolitionists provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. Additional Funding provided by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations: Dedicated to Strengthening America's Future Through Education; the Yawkey Foundations; Members of the Documentary Investment Group, The Gretchen Stone Cook Charitable Foundation, Robert & Marjie Kargman and Gloria & Burton Rose; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Public Television Viewers. American Experience is produced for PBS by WGBH Boston.

Video Review--PBS American Experience Death and the Civil War

The PBS show American Experience has been broadcasting Death and the Civil War over the last week. The good people there were kind enough to send along a DVD review copy that I have been able to watch. Overall I was quite impressed.

Taking it's inspiration from Drew Gilpin Faust's excellent book This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (Vintage Civil War Library) this is a show that anybody interested in the Civil War should take the two hours needed to watch. While not breaking any new academic ground viewers can see photos of and hear the horror of the war. Despite early hopes this was not to be a quick event. With over 700,000 dead nearly every family in the country was affected.

Narration is broken up several ways. The main narrator is Oliver Platt and his voice lends a solemnity to the show befitting the subject. Letter excerpts are read by several others including Amy Madigan. Every documentary like this will have it's share of "talking heads" and this one is no exception. Dr. Faust of course plays a main role. Others, such as George Will, J. David Hacker, and Vincent Brown may or may not be known by viewers. I personally found the contribution by David Blight a highlight. I came to know of him after downloading a course of his from the Apple University site and find him to be an engaging speaker. I have not read any of his books so I can say what I feel about those however. Another surprisingly interesting speaker was Thomas Lynch. Lynch is an undertaker by trade but also an author of note. You can read an interesting, but older, interview with him here.

The video portion of the program is really quite haunting. The photos used are a nice mix of well known and those I have not seen before. The lighting of the whole program is done in such a manner as to constantly remind the viewer of the seriousness of the subject. The background music for the program should be payed attention to. It helps set the mood but at no point is it overwhelming. I was not familiar with the name Brian Keane until searching out the music credits here. He is however quite well known and has scored numerous films and documentaries and has won multiple major awards.

Overall the program is broken into six major subjects including: dying, burying, naming, believing and doubting, accounting, and remembering. A major question that is asked by the program is if it's citizens are expected to make the ultimate sacrifice (death) for the government what does the government owe to it's citizens who make this sacrifice. At the time of the war neither government was able or ready to answer this. Out of the war however came improved medical care including the formation of an ambulance service, an improved ability and desire to remove soldiers remains from the field and to identify them thus giving families closure, and with the formation of national cemeteries soldiers and their families are able to give a proper burial to their brave men (and now women).

Again, while not breaking any new ground this is a show I can highly recommend. The images and subject are likely to stick with you for quite a while after watching this. Be sure to check your local PBS station for times or watch it online at your convenience.