How Did Ken Burns Become a Leading Documentarian? | Joe Rogan Experience #2336

TL;DR

Ken Burns became a leading documentarian by pursuing authentic emotional storytelling and making deeply researched historical films with PBS. He says every one of his films is a director’s cut, and his Vietnam War documentary took 10 and a half years to create. His conversation with Joe Rogan reveals why autonomy, time, scholarship, and personal tragedy shaped his career. Read on for the full story.

Transcript

Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day. Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. All right, we're up. Mr. Burns. Pleasure to meet you. It's my pleasure. Thank you. I'm a huge fan, dude. I've been watching your work for so long and I've always had so many questions about how a person like you becomes a person like you. H... Read More

Key Insights

• Ken Burns has spent over 50 years creating documentaries, focusing on American history and its complexities.
• Burns values the autonomy and time PBS provides, allowing him to create in-depth historical documentaries.
• His work is characterized by a deep dive into scholarship and a commitment to presenting multiple perspectives.
• The American Revolution is his upcoming six-part series, emphasizing the complexity and significance of the event.
• Burns believes in the power of storytelling to educate and inspire, making history accessible and engaging.
• He attributes his career choice to a desire to explore authentic emotional experiences, inspired by personal tragedy.
• Burns emphasizes the importance of understanding history's complexity rather than simplifying or sanitizing it.
• He values the collaborative nature of documentary filmmaking and the dedication of his long-time team.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Ken Burns become a leading documentarian?

Ken Burns built his career by making labor-intensive documentaries that explore history through extensive scholarship and multiple perspectives. His partnership with PBS gave him the time and autonomy to complete each film as his own director’s cut.

Q: Why does Ken Burns make his documentaries for PBS?

Burns says PBS lets him develop ideas over time, investigate scholarship deeply, and preserve creative autonomy. He also values its national reach through 330 stations, including stations serving rural communities.

Q: How much time did Ken Burns spend making his Vietnam War documentary?

Burns says the history of the Vietnam War took 10 and a half years to make. He believes a streaming service or premium cable company might provide $30 million for such a project but would not necessarily allow that much production time.

Q: What was Ken Burns’s first Academy Award-nominated film?

His first film nominated for an Academy Award was Brooklyn Bridge. Despite suggestions that its success should draw him back to New York or take him to Los Angeles, he remained in his small New Hampshire village.

Q: What inspired Ken Burns to become a filmmaker?

Burns traces his filmmaking ambition to childhood and the death of his mother, who developed cancer when he was 2 and died when he was 11. After seeing his father cry while watching Odd Man Out, he recognized that film could provide a safe place for authentic emotional expression.

Q: How does Ken Burns research complex historical subjects?

Burns describes taking a deep dive into scholarship and comparing different scholarly viewpoints. His goal is to create a shared space for discussing a subject’s complexity and underlying currents rather than reducing it to one perspective.

Q: How long are some of Ken Burns’s documentary series?

Burns says his Civil War series runs 11 and a half hours. His Vietnam series lasts 18 hours across 10 episodes, illustrating the depth that his long-form approach and PBS relationship permit.

Q: What documentaries and subjects does Ken Burns discuss with Joe Rogan?

Burns mentions Brooklyn Bridge, The Civil War, Vietnam, Country Music, The National Parks, Jazz, Baseball, American Buffalo, Leonardo da Vinci, and The American Revolution. He identifies Leonardo da Vinci as his first non-American subject and says his team was finishing The American Revolution.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Ken Burns is a celebrated documentarian known for his extensive work on American history. He values the time and autonomy provided by PBS, allowing for in-depth exploration of historical events. His upcoming series, 'The American Revolution,' aims to present a nuanced view of this pivotal event.

• Burns's documentaries are characterized by thorough scholarship and diverse perspectives, making history engaging and accessible. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling in education, believing it can transform complex historical narratives into captivating and enlightening experiences.

• His career was inspired by personal experiences and a desire to explore authentic emotions. Burns remains committed to presenting history's complexity, collaborating with a dedicated team to create films that resonate with audiences and contribute to a deeper understanding of the past.