December 14, 2001

Examining the Phenomenon That Is Ken Burns

By SCOTT McLEMEE

Ken Burns writes history with talking heads and striking images. In Ken Burns's America (Palgrave), Gary R. Edgerton analyzes two decades of the filmmaker's work -- while also treating his career as a cultural phenomenon in its own right. His films manifest "television's inveterate tendency toward personalizing all social, cultural, and ... historical matters within the highly controlled and viewer-involving confines of a well-constructed plot." Mr. Edgerton, who chairs the communication