TVSquad

You'll recall my recent post where I said Ken Burns documentary about World War II angered some in the Latino community for its lack of coverage of Latinos who fought in the war. Well, Burns apparently took the protest to heart and has decided to not only go back and retool his 14-hour documentary to include the overlooked footage, but has also hired a Latino producer to help him create the new content. The War is scheduled to hit PBS in September. The series will focus on four communities in the United States and how they were impacted by the war.

As I said in my previous post, it has to be almost impossible to make a documentary about something as substantial as World War II and not inadvertently leave some stuff out. I do think it's admirable that Burns has decided to go back and amend his documentary, but at the same time I wonder what else he may have overlooked, and whether or not more people will come forward to accuse his documentary of being incomplete. People have the right to protest, of course, but I imagine pleasing everyone is almost impossible.

Ken Burns' upcoming PBS documentary about World War II has angered some veterans and leaders in the Latino community.

The protest was sparked by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, who runs an oral history project about Latino veterans for the University of Texas.

Burns points out that not every story could be told in The War, his 14-hour documentary slated to air on PBS this September, but the documentary contains no interviews with Latino soldiers whatsoever. Unfortunately, going back and splicing in stories from Latino veterans is easier said than done, and satisfying Rivas-Rodriguez's desire to have at least an additional two hours dedicated to Latino veterans is a rather tall order, considering the documentary focuses on four specific communities and Latino veterans from each of those communities would have to be found and their stories spliced in to fit the overall narrative.

The temptation to make the headline "America salutes America" was great, but I resisted. Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis took the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday to salute America Ferrera for her Golden Globe win and for "breaking down barriers for Latinos in prime-time television...I commend America and everyone involved in Ugly Betty for helping break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas." (Heck, she deserves praise for being one of the only non-Brits to snag an award. It was a regular Anglophile-o-rama at the Globes on Monday.)

Solis' own work in "breaking down barriers" isn't too shabby either. She was the first Latina elected to the California State Senate, and she is serving her third Congressional term. She was also the first Latina to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Maybe giving Betty this nod will win her a guest spot on the show where she can come and convince Betty to give up the frivolous world of fashion for a turn at politics.