Did anyone watch "Lincoln" on the HC last night?

[theHandpuppet]

Fascinating program on Lincoln from the perspective of "historical psychology", ie, how his ongoing battle with clinical depression shaped his life and drove him throughout. Well done, although I'm so sick of the "shaky camera" technique I literally found myself screaming at the telly at some points. Please, this is a sober film about Lincoln, not a teen horror flick!

But I digress. Lincoln's suspected homosexuality was discussed during the documentary. As one might expect, some of the commentators dismissed the evidence while others, if not outright embracing it, seemed accepting of the possibility in a matter-of-fact way. I also learned something I hadn't known about Ole Abe, and that was the trysts he had with a certain Union Captain with whom Lincoln shared his bed at the summer home while Mary Lincoln would be away.

Finally, any opportunity I have to see Gore Vidal discuss Lincoln is just to good to pass up! Vidal also took some really pointed swipes at Georgie Bush. :evilgrin:

I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion about this program on DU, but I guess most folks were busy watching the Golden Globes. The History Channel is running a series on great leaders all week. Tonight's program is on Ben Franklin; I believe Washington, Jefferson and FDR are the other programs. Good stuff!

[AzDar]

1. I agree the' Lincoln's Last Day Alive' perspectives were overwrought

and distracting. Looooved Gore Vidal, also. Although I consider myself to be quite the lil' Lincoln expert, I swear last night was the first I'd heard of Lincoln contracting syphilis via a prostitute. Hubby swears he has heard this before; and he's not very interested in the subject. I was SHOCKED!

[Hissyspit]

3. EVERYBODY in the 19th century contracted Syphilis from a prostitute!

Wouldn't be too surprising.
:7

[Hissyspit]

2. I saw it. I was going to make several postings about material in the show

on DU, but I kept forgetting quotes.

Lincoln - the only president to come under enemy fire while serving as President.

The psychological approach/perspective was blatant and I believe that should have been part of the title. I didn't have any problem with it, but think it should have been "Lincoln - The Mind of a President" or something like that.

I am skeptical of the gay claims to a certain degree, but did not see what they presented in the program, because at one point I switched over to C-Span for the President Gore speech rerun.

Vidal was funny and really ripped the Bush admin at one point.

[theHandpuppet]

8. All the promos I saw prior to the airing...

... had stated the program was going to be about Lincoln's lifelong battle with depression, so I was prepared for the theme.

[azmouse]

4. The first I heard of this program was in today's newspaper.

It didn't say that it had been shown already. Now I'm bummed out! I wanted to see it.

[Wilber_Stool]

5. Don't worry

It's the History Channel. It will be around again and again and again and.................

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. There were two seperate threads on this program that I've seen

one to let people know about the program, and one to discuss it. I'm glad you posted, however, because you brought up the homosexuality angle, and neither of the other two threads I read did. I don't have cable, so couldn't watch the program, but I've studied Lincoln since I was a child.

I know that the views of homosexuality were a bit different in the nineteenth century, when all sexual expression was considered private. I would think that, back then, it would be easier for two men to sleep together without anyone commenting, since beds were scarce and it was a common practice. Like you, I hadn't heard about the Union Captain until recently, and I thought I'd read just about every book about Lincoln that was around. The fact that this information apparently was suppressed makes one wonder. I know the supposed illegitamacy of Lincoln's mother was something that didn't come out for a long time, either. As I said, the attitude towards sexuality was very different back then.

Wished I could've heard Gore Vidal, as his "Lincoln" is one of my favorite books.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

7. Show should include a razor blade for the audience...

to cut their writs with. Good show, but tooo melancholy & long. Made me depressed watching the show. Didn't Abe have any happy moments in his life. He was a tragic figure, but the show made you wonder why he didn't kill himself after he was born. Good Vidal comment bashing Bush - when they try to compare * anti-rights stance with Lincolns during a civil war. Another good part was when it was pointed out that Abe was a great leader because he welcomed talking to folks that had issues or disagreed with him. This is in direct contrast to *. Because Abe suffer so, he could emphasize & feel peoples pain. Only thing * suffered was hangovers.

[Inland]

9. "Too melancholy and long"

You could be describing Abe hisself!

[xchrom]

10. lincoln was one of us.

and that's all there is to it.