Take a look here for an intriguing article in today's Washington Post.Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams
Something Sacred by Acidqueen
4 months ago
Sunday, April 20, 2008
For Those of Us Watching HBO's 'John Adams'...
Take a look here for an intriguing article in today's Washington Post.Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams
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6 comments:
Thanks so much for pointing me to that excellent article. It's a very interesting insight into the politics of the time, which I desperately needed :)
But I think the author was being somewhat unjust to the show itself, if not to John Adams the person - it seems to me as an unbiased viewer that Adams' faults are thoroughly revealed in the show.
Without knowing anything at all about the historical/political background, I came to understand just through watching the show that Adams was vain, self-pitying, self-righteous, paranoid and sometimes misguided (as shown by the French navy issue cited by the author of the article, and explored in the show).
I also understood that Adams was honest, eloquent, a fervent patriot and an able lawyer who did make real personal sacrifices on behalf of his country. I wonder how the author of the article would have faced down King George III - I was flinching on Adams' behalf throughout that encounter. Not to mention the very understandable fear that he might be hanged as a traitor to the Crown.
So I do think the show is presenting a fairly balanced picture, based on what the author of the article describes as Adams' real character.
The above is me, Francine. Someday I'll remember that I have no blogger ID.
Hi Francine!
I agree with you--and I think Rakove, the author of the article--agrees too:
"In the spirit of his feisty, cranky, self-righteous, vain, opinionated yet inquisitive subject, Giamatti [presents] a compelling portrait of America's least understood founder...To their credit, HBO and Giamatti do not present Adams solely as he so often saw himself, as the victim of disrespectful, scheming rivals...even in HBO's basically appreciative portrait, viewers cannot be sure where their sympathies should lie."
I think, however, that Rakove believes HBO gives Adams a bit too much credit when they advertise him as the man "who united the states of America." And I think he's saying that--as the show itself proves--Adams is a problematic hero.
On the other hand, if HBO claims too much for Adams in their advertisement, perhaps Rakove criticizes him too harshly here. As you point out, it's hard to downplay Adams's accomplishments as an "honest, eloquent, a fervent patriot and an able lawyer who did make real personal sacrifices on behalf of his country."
Well said!
~Rose
P.S. I'm changing my description of the article in my blog entry from 'fair-minded' to 'intriguing,' lol.
I agree with both of you, Francine and Rosemary. But what Rakove left out of his article is the fact that Adams sacrificed--or at least jeopardized--his re-election as president by persuing peace with France, despite popular support for war. Adams knew that our young country could ill afford war at that time, nor did he wish to shed unnecessary blood.
HBO shows this in "John Adams"--it's a shame that Rakove didn't mention it.
Hi Rosemary and d. ward moss,
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your discussing this show with me. Nobody up here in Canada seems to be watching it, and I find it fascinating, most especially because they haven't idolized Adams (or to me they don't seem to have).
Hee, Rosemary, don't change your description from "fair-minded" to "intriguing" based on my remarks. I failed to grasp that Rakove was criticizing the HBO advertising rather than the show itself :)
But d. ward moss also makes the point about Rakove ignoring facts in favour of Adams' personal integrity - doing what he felt was right rather than what was expedient for him personally. Very different from the politicians of today...
Francine
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