The history of the Revolution is lost” – so says John Adams in last night’s 7th and final installment of HBO’s masterfully done mini-series, John Adams.
A most prophetic statement if I ever heard one – can I name one person (myself included) who would put themselves and their families at risk in today’s world to revolt against the government to liberate our apathetic, resource-gobbling, corporation-lorded USA asses? Nope.
That’s what amazes me the most about this story, who in present America would undertake such an endeavour? But they did – maybe it was their lack of available dentistry or anathesthia for mastectomies that made such hardy souls. Eeeww – I actually changed the channel when their daughter Nebby had her fully-awake, bite down on a stick breast cancer surgery. Just the thought makes me shudder, don’t need the visual to kick it in any more than that.
I’d have to say my favorite part was when 91 year old Adams is brought to see the newly painted Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull as the 50th anniversary of the original July 4th approaches. He absolutely hates it and berates the artist – explaining that none of the Continental Congress ever sat together watching each other signing the Declaration – as it was a time of war, they all popped in to sign it whenever they happened to be in town. His cranky disdain for the historical propaganda nonsense emerging 50 years later is awesome.
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P.S. In the painting Adams (the little short guy next to Thomas Jefferson) is standing to the immediate right of Connecticut’s Roger Sherman – I’ve heard I’m distantly related to him somehow – would be fun to find out!
Again – bravo to Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney – I was very sad to see it end. One of the best things I’ve seen on television.
