One of the most recognizable and popular documentary filmmakers, Ken Burns chronicles those aspects of U.S. history that make us uniquely American. An iconic figure on PBS, Burns is the creator, director and producer of numerous award-winning documentaries, including Jazz, The Civil War, Baseball and most recently, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Burns has also focused his lens on a number of other topics, including The War, an intimate look at the years 1941-1945, Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, which tells the story of the two women who spearheaded the women’s rights movement in America; Frank Lloyd Wright, the story of America’s foremost architectural genius; and Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, which chronicles the first official expedition into the uncharted wilds of the United States. Burns was also co-producer of Mark Twain, a four-hour portrait of one of America’s funniest and most popular writers. A compelling storyteller, Burns speaks on these topics as well as the creative process.
TOPICS
The National Parks (“A Treasure House of Nature’s Superlatives”)
Burns discusses the great gift of our national parks. Here both “the immensity and the intimacy of time” merge, as we appreciate what the parks have added to our collective and individual spirit. This speech begins with a 13-minute clip (the intro to The National Parks: America’s Best Idea).
Sharing the American Experience
Ken Burns reminds the audience of the timeless lessons of history, and the enduring greatness and importance of the United States in the course of human events. Incorporating “The Civil War,” “Baseball” and “Jazz,” Burns engages and celebrates what we share in common. This speech is not illustrated with clips.
No Ordinary Lives
Drawing on some of Lincoln’s most stirring words as inspiration, this speech engages the paradox of war by following the powerful themes in two of Ken Burns’s best known works–”The Civil War”, his epic retelling of the most important event in American history, and “The War”, his intensely moving story of WWII told through the experiences of so-called ordinary people from four geographically distributed American towns. This speech opens with Norah Jones’ 5-minute “American Anthem” clip from “The War.”
American Lives
This presentation combines the biographies of some of Ken’s most fascinating subjects, including Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark and Frank Lloyd Wright. He shares how biography works, and gives insight into the storytelling process.
On-Stage Q&A
This is a less formal, Inside-the-Actors-Studio type of event. Ken responds to questions on all his films and issues in history and contemporary American culture.
