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Christine Roberts TTh6
Citation:
The American Experience: We shall remain: Trail of tears. Chris Eyre. PBS. Online,
Hulu.
Purpose:
The purpose of this film is to inform. It is rare for an American to spend much time at all
on the darker spots in the nation’s past, and this film wanted to make sure the information is out
there in a form that people can enjoy. An entertaining documentary is one of the few ways a
person can get people to learn about history and target a large audience, which is what PBS
clearly intended on doing. PBS wanted to target the general public, not just those who find the
film relevant because of ancestry or to those deeply interested in history. This film is shot more
like a movie than a documentary, making it more appealing to all.
Summary:
The films topic, the forced move of the Cherokees to the west, is a topic that is hardly
discussed in a basic level history class, since it isn’t part of much later, more historical events
like the passing of the Dawes Act. This gave the director and writers the ability to tell the story
like it had rarely been before, which was telling the story of the families and events leading up to
the march west.
Trail of Tears starts out by telling the story of Major Ridge, a high up member of the tribe
that was responsible for negotiating with the American government for the safety of Cherokees
members. It then moves to his son, John Ridge, who went to a missionary school after the
