Post by hollister on Sept 12, 2009 9:40:30 GMT -7
I just saw an add for this on our local PBS station - it appears that it will be some in December
The Extraordinary Journey of Eastern Europeans of NE Pennsylvania
www.wvia.org/docFilms/exjourney/premiere.htm
The film focuses on the largest eastern European ethnic groups that settled here—the Polish, Slovaks, and Ukrainians. But it encompasses a cultural history in which another 20 ethnicities contributed, including Russians, Lithuanians, Hungarians, and Czechs. These people left almost all material possessions to face the extraordinary risks presented by America ’s complex urban life.
The production blends remarkable personal stories of eastern European immigration with how historical events affected the immigrants’ lives, such as the Red Scare of the 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s, World War II in the 1940s, and the demise of the coal mining industry in the 1950s. These stories are complemented by presentations of popular ethnic traditions in cooking, music and religious faith that produced family values which continue to define northeastern Pennsylvania today.
The film utilizes personal photographs and archival images from six regional historical societies as well as from the Polish Room at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, the Slovak Museum in Danville, and the Ukrainian Museum in New York City. This regional history is framed within the national context of America’s immigration history through the use of historical photographs from the Library of Congress and newsreel footage from the National Archives.
Additionally, WVIA is shooting original footage on-location at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for use as transitional sequences. Stylized compositions and camera movements render these American icons in dramatic textural ways that colorfully contrast with the black-and-white historical imagery. Ethnic folk music underscores many scenes to imbue the film with a rich eastern European mood.
Insightful commentary on diverse topics related to the immigrants is provided by a engaging range of experts, including Diana Pardue, Chief of the Museum Services Division at Ellis Island National Monument, and John Bodnar, Chancellor Scholar of History at Indiana University and a northeastern Pennsylvania native.
The Extraordinary Journey of Eastern Europeans of NE Pennsylvania
www.wvia.org/docFilms/exjourney/premiere.htm
The film focuses on the largest eastern European ethnic groups that settled here—the Polish, Slovaks, and Ukrainians. But it encompasses a cultural history in which another 20 ethnicities contributed, including Russians, Lithuanians, Hungarians, and Czechs. These people left almost all material possessions to face the extraordinary risks presented by America ’s complex urban life.
The production blends remarkable personal stories of eastern European immigration with how historical events affected the immigrants’ lives, such as the Red Scare of the 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s, World War II in the 1940s, and the demise of the coal mining industry in the 1950s. These stories are complemented by presentations of popular ethnic traditions in cooking, music and religious faith that produced family values which continue to define northeastern Pennsylvania today.
The film utilizes personal photographs and archival images from six regional historical societies as well as from the Polish Room at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, the Slovak Museum in Danville, and the Ukrainian Museum in New York City. This regional history is framed within the national context of America’s immigration history through the use of historical photographs from the Library of Congress and newsreel footage from the National Archives.
Additionally, WVIA is shooting original footage on-location at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for use as transitional sequences. Stylized compositions and camera movements render these American icons in dramatic textural ways that colorfully contrast with the black-and-white historical imagery. Ethnic folk music underscores many scenes to imbue the film with a rich eastern European mood.
Insightful commentary on diverse topics related to the immigrants is provided by a engaging range of experts, including Diana Pardue, Chief of the Museum Services Division at Ellis Island National Monument, and John Bodnar, Chancellor Scholar of History at Indiana University and a northeastern Pennsylvania native.
