Manhunt TV series review

[Rob Wick]

(03-18-2024 07:44 PM)jbarry Wrote:  Every bit of criticism of the Manhunt series could be true, and yet there remains a simple question: why would we NOT watch it? Because it takes liberties with history? It's not a documentary. What else is there on TV right now that deals with the Lincoln assassination? I loved the movie First Man, even though it takes liberties with the history of Neil Armstrong. If the Manhunt series gets dozens of new people interested in the assassination, it is a net positive.

While you are completely correct that it isn't a documentary, either history is presented as correctly as possible, or what's the point? It's one thing to combine items to move a story forward, but it's quite another to butcher the story in favor of the entertainment value.

Several years ago, I was asked to participate, along with several other historians, in a documentary that would appear on the National Geographic Channel. It was developed to be aired around the time the Harrison Ford movie of "Manhunt" was to be shown. Although the Ford project fell through, the documentary still aired, although its audience was much diminished since the channel didn't promote it as strongly as they would have had the Ford movie not fallen apart.

The one thing I came away with was that producers approach these projects not with historical accuracy first in their minds but with a specific story to tell. They asked us to read the script before being interviewed, and I discovered numerous errors of fact that I suggested be changed. The most egregious was that Everton Conger worked directly with Stanton to capture Booth (at least this Stanton had a beard!). I told the producers that Conger worked under Lafayette Baker, who worked directly under Stanton. That didn't change their minds. They proceeded along with their preferred narrative.

Most of what they aired was generally accurate, but their insistence on putting Conger with Stanton ruined my experience forever. What bothered me about it was that people who are generally historically illiterate on most subjects would see that and think it was the way it happened. Only if they went on to read would they know it wasn't. However, given what they saw, it could very well produce confusion given what they "knew" from the program.

So, no, the world won't fall apart, but as I stated before, without as much accuracy as is humanly possible, what is the point? I'm sure you wouldn't accept only half the story in a book.

By the way, welcome to the forum gentlemen.

Best
Rob