The infamous story of the Donner Party is an interesting but VERY depressing event from American history. A group of very ill-informed pioneers heading to California made some unwise decisions along the way--and became stranded in the mountains. Of the 87 people in this group, when they were finally rescued about a year later, only 46 survived. And, when the story of HOW they survived by eating the flesh of their dead comrades, the story hit the newspapers and became almost legendary.
This episode of "The American Experience" is exactly what you'd expect. Expert narration (in this case by David McCullough), extensive use of vintage photos, really nice music, various interviews and historical recreations help to tell the story. The length of the show (about an hour and a half) was quite lengthy--and tended to make the story drag on and heightened the extreme length of the ordeal. This is not a complaint--just an observation about the extreme detail the story takes. Now you should definitely know, it is a VERY depressing and awful story, but is, in a way, an interesting tale of endurance and perseverance. Well worth seeing--but probably NOT a particularly good episode for kids to see! Creepy but very informative!
This episode of "The American Experience" is exactly what you'd expect. Expert narration (in this case by David McCullough), extensive use of vintage photos, really nice music, various interviews and historical recreations help to tell the story. The length of the show (about an hour and a half) was quite lengthy--and tended to make the story drag on and heightened the extreme length of the ordeal. This is not a complaint--just an observation about the extreme detail the story takes. Now you should definitely know, it is a VERY depressing and awful story, but is, in a way, an interesting tale of endurance and perseverance. Well worth seeing--but probably NOT a particularly good episode for kids to see! Creepy but very informative!