This is a two-hour biography about one of the most controversial men in American history, Andrew Jackson. Martin Sheen narrates and much of the film consists of recreation of events from Jackson's life as well as interviews with many historians and biographers. The style is VERY typical of a made for PBS documentary--and this is a very, very good thing.
Much of the film focuses on the extreme behaviors of Jackson's life--behaviors that, in many opinions, made him a bit of a sociopath. However, others view these same behaviors in very positive terms (which I am sure MANY would find offensive today)! This is an interesting dichotomy. So, when he invades Florida on his own and executes a couple British prisoners (which could have started another war), some interviewees were aghast--others saw it as a sign that he was a very determined man! And, when he stole Cherokee Indian land and killed thousands in their forced march to Oklahoma,...well, no one really could defend that but some seemed to ignore it. Nor could they defend his owning 100 slaves, marrying a woman who was still married to another man and his being a blood-thirsty dueler. I should point out that, in some ways, the biography actually way underplayed Jackson's blood-lust, as it only talks about his having fought one duel--while he actually fought several and had two bullets embedded in his body during most of his life as a result of these bloody fights! He's the only president that I can think of that has killed people not in warfare (and I am not counting one president who hung a man during his capacity as a lawman-- not a murder or manslaughter).
While this was a very good film about Jackson, there were two problems with it. One was that SOME of the folks who talked about Jackson seemed to almost have a slobbering love affair with him. How could they tout his great successes while completely ignoring his dark side? This does NOT mean I wanted everyone to hate the man and say nothing but ill of him, but I was confused how people today who are well-educated and know all about him can just ignore the things that don't fit into his image as a champion of democracy. Another problem is that although the film did discuss both the good and bad of Jackson, it never tried to analyze him in a psychological sense.
I have an unusual perspective, having been both a psychotherapist and history teacher. I've always just assumed Jackson was nuts--and the documentary did little to change my opinion--with large doses of Paranoid, Antisocial and Narcissistic personality disorders. In modern terminology, he was a type of Borderline Personality--and an extremely successful one at that. So why couldn't the film find someone who could say all this or give their own perspective on the emotional health of this man? This critical analysis is missing and would have clearly raised the quality of this film--giving the viewer additional insight into this very confusing yet great man.
Much of the film focuses on the extreme behaviors of Jackson's life--behaviors that, in many opinions, made him a bit of a sociopath. However, others view these same behaviors in very positive terms (which I am sure MANY would find offensive today)! This is an interesting dichotomy. So, when he invades Florida on his own and executes a couple British prisoners (which could have started another war), some interviewees were aghast--others saw it as a sign that he was a very determined man! And, when he stole Cherokee Indian land and killed thousands in their forced march to Oklahoma,...well, no one really could defend that but some seemed to ignore it. Nor could they defend his owning 100 slaves, marrying a woman who was still married to another man and his being a blood-thirsty dueler. I should point out that, in some ways, the biography actually way underplayed Jackson's blood-lust, as it only talks about his having fought one duel--while he actually fought several and had two bullets embedded in his body during most of his life as a result of these bloody fights! He's the only president that I can think of that has killed people not in warfare (and I am not counting one president who hung a man during his capacity as a lawman-- not a murder or manslaughter).
While this was a very good film about Jackson, there were two problems with it. One was that SOME of the folks who talked about Jackson seemed to almost have a slobbering love affair with him. How could they tout his great successes while completely ignoring his dark side? This does NOT mean I wanted everyone to hate the man and say nothing but ill of him, but I was confused how people today who are well-educated and know all about him can just ignore the things that don't fit into his image as a champion of democracy. Another problem is that although the film did discuss both the good and bad of Jackson, it never tried to analyze him in a psychological sense.
I have an unusual perspective, having been both a psychotherapist and history teacher. I've always just assumed Jackson was nuts--and the documentary did little to change my opinion--with large doses of Paranoid, Antisocial and Narcissistic personality disorders. In modern terminology, he was a type of Borderline Personality--and an extremely successful one at that. So why couldn't the film find someone who could say all this or give their own perspective on the emotional health of this man? This critical analysis is missing and would have clearly raised the quality of this film--giving the viewer additional insight into this very confusing yet great man.