Frontline

It was nice to see more documentaries from PBS on Netflix. I chose to watch Frontline: To Catch A Trader and was immediately intrigued by the program. So, I decided to watch "Battle Zones: Ukraine & Syria," another Frontline documentary. After viewing that I went on to "Losing Iraq." It was then I found out that some episodes are heavily more bias than others, and "Losing Iraq" was one of those episodes. The documentary was filled with ex-Bush Administration and affiliates who lacked objectivity. Not only that but many facts or controversies were left out such as issues involving Dick Cheney and Halliburton or the legality of the invasion of Iraq. This episode of Frontline felt like pure propaganda.

This is so biased it is almost funny. Biden as a boy, is a stutterer. He overcomes this with characteristic bravery. He loses his wife and daughter in a car accident. He is always a victim, even when he is caught plagiarizing. Trump is shown to be, even as a boy, a bully, a liar, and a thief. I wonder who the folks at PBS are going to vote for?

A journalistic documentary series that works with sufficient running time and a good, serious presentation. Of course, the nail on the head is not always hit here, but the direction is right and the claim is respectable. Only rarely, but quite sometimes, do scattered ideological aspects determine the scientific approach of the journalistic presentation - especially in the Ireland episode, for example. But all in all a good documentary series that you can be happy about that it still exists today.

PBS's Frontline has been a source of both information and enlightenment. It's one of the shows that is sorely not advertised enough because it's on public television. They show an unbiased, objective point of view regarding any issue, situation, or circumstances. One of the episodes is about climbing Mount Everest in May 1996 where several experienced climbers died after reaching the summit, a rare accomplishment for anybody. In fact, watching the documentary makes me want to climb it even though I would never get past first camp where you have to spend 3 weeks to get accumulated to the thin air. Everybody in the documentary regarding the climb on Mount Everest comes across as real and authentic. For those of us who would never make it to Everest, this documentary allows us to experience through the people's voices and memories that come alive in their re-telling almost better than any film version.

The systems and politicians didn't do enough for them despite the nice speeches. I appreciated seeing this perspective of the American story. It resonates strongly for so many of us. So many of us played by the rules and still came out with a basket half empty. Debt, poor health and expensive insurance and the only option for retirement is no retirement and continued working until the end. Regardless of how much we pay for taxes. I wish the best for all of us who are looking for options as we age. The American dream is now a hope to survive. Whe previously we had dreams of thriving and building legacies for our families.