American Experience: Chicago - City of the Century

Buy This Item American Experience: Chicago - City of the Century  List Price: $79.99  Available from Amazon  $71.99  on 12-6-2008     Features Actors: American Experience Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC Language: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 3 Rating: Studio: Pbs Paramount DVD Release Date: September 28, 2004 Average Customer Review:   2 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0) See all 2 customer reviews...   (2 customer reviews) Reader Reviews The subtitle is "City of the Century" because it stops at 1899, roughly. Thus, the infamy of gangsters and the mayoralty of the Daleys, father and son, are never brought up. At the very last second of the 3rd, really last, DVD they mention the arrival of African Americans. I can't even think of Chicago without blacks. They made the blues and house music. Harold Washington made history. This city still suffers from severe segregation. But I guess all of that arose in the 20th century. This DVD gives scant attention to Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable and every black school in the City emphasizes that he founded Chicago. Actually, Chicago has more Polish people than any city besides Warsaw and yet they scarcely get brought up either. Heavy attention is placed upon the Irish, however. This documentary focuses heavily upon business leaders. One learns much about famous names like Fields, Pullman, and others. This work seemed to emphasize that class and ethnicity were the big dividers in that era. It seems so different from now when race plays that role, and has done so for decades. For real, this series could have been held on 2 DVDs, rather than 4. I guess it looks better as 4 in the libraries and dens of those who collect it. The last DVD gives you a great tour of the City now. I think it's actually not related to the first 3 discs. However, it does cover much info that those discs miss. It emphasizes churches and I found that surprising. I love the way the last disc shows that communities are in flux. Something that was majorly Irish in the past can be majorly Mexican-American now; places that once were home to European immigrants are now home for Asian and Latino newcomers. Don't get me wrong: this was a fantastic work. It's about time that documentarians accept that Chicago is worth serious study just as New York City has been. Still, I don't know if non-Chicagoans would be as interested in this. True, it does show that cities become huge for a reason. Chicago connected the MS River with the Great Lakes which led to the Atlantic Ocean. Then again, Chicago means "Land of the Wild Onion," so Native Illinoisans found it stinky and useless. I guess history is both utilitarian and created by chance.  Comment | Permalink |  function showYesNoCommunityResponse(uId,result,value) { var msgLayer = getElement("thanks" + uId); if ( result == "SUCCESS" ) { msgLayer.innerHTML = "Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.com readers and reviewers. Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."; } else { showVoteErrorResponse(msgLayer,result,value); } } (Report this)

American Experience: Chicago - City of the Century List Price: $79.99 Available from Amazon Price: $71.99 Updated on 12-6-2008.

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