jcrodden Review of Swing Out, Sweet Land

Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970 TV Movie)

I remember seeing this as a child...

[7 November 2005]

...and yes, it was theme park quality song-and-dance, variety show with a history outline. But it was not meant to be anything else. It was entertainment. PBS has done more "serious" in-depth, and well-researched history TV documentaries in later years as have the History channel, A & E, etc. But please note that these are just as much entertainment for audiences, otherwise the ratings wouldn't be there, the audience would not be there, and the motivation for the makers (at least enough money to live on) would not be there to make them. I remember this and others like it fondly, perhaps through rose-colored glasses of remembrance. But I also remember (and I don't know why this has stuck in my strange memory) that when it came to a Civil War section some mention was made of current racial unrest and the continuing themes of equality.

I would enjoy seeing it again if only for a glimpse of the celebrities that are gone and seeing a time when such did not hesitate to say patriotic things for fear of being hissed at.