John Adams Mini Series Essay Example for Free

John Adams Mini Series Essay The epic HBO miniseries John Adams is far more than a simple historical drama or biographical account of the life of one of the United States’ founding fathers. The series is a glimpse of a period of American history of which many Americans today are unfortunately ignorant. When most modern Americans think of the period of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the country, barring those that study history during school or as an occupation, they think merely of stilted figures that are more myth than reality. When they think of George Washington, they think of a stoic, almost superhuman figure, that is best known for being so honest that he could not tell a lie as a child when he chopped down a cherry tree. When they think of Thomas Jefferson, they think of a genius that so poetically created the country’s most important documents and made the Louisiana Purchase that doubled the country’s size. When common Americans think of Benjamin Franklin, they think that he invented electricity. And, when they think of John Adams, most Americans unfortunately do not really know what to think, and more than anything else, the miniseries sets forth to enlighten the masses. John Adams, while a seminal figure in the birth of the U. S. , is largely unknown by so many of young and old citizens that can rattle off facts of popular culture faster than American history. Like many of the other founding fathers, he is viewed less as human and more as a mythological figure in history, though his actual contributions are not as pronounced as Jefferson, Washington, and even Franklin. The miniseries sheds light on the mystery of John Adams by showing him as he was: a man. Not only do they portray him as a man, they portray him as flawed, awkward at times, easy to anger and to feel slighted, but always honest and upright. He is also ceaselessly prudent and refuses to shy away from work or duty. If anything, this is the main attribute that allowed a hard-working self-made man like John Adams to elevate himself to the level of president, despite all the odds that seemed to be stacked against him. He lacked the charisma of his cousin, Sam, the finances of many founding fathers like Jefferson, and the leadership skills of Washington, but he still managed to elevate himself through hard work and his sense of duty. By portraying John Adams as a regular man that elevated himself through reason and duty, the makers of the miniseries are trying to remove the myth from the founding fathers and replace it with something far more valuable: the truth. Adams, like Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin were merely men at a pivotal time in history with strong ideals and the courage to not back down from them. Adams was also portrayed as having many of the problems and home life of common Americans today. Though his children were on the whole upstanding, he still experienced problems with his son Charles, who drank and caroused and felt neglected by his father. This aspect of Adams’ duty was portrayed excellently in the miniseries, as his wife Abigail and his children often felt the pain of having their father and husband away so often. Adams, too, was not devoid of feeling the absence, and his love for his wife often kept him grounded, if not feeling lonely on the long journeys to Europe. The relationship between Adams and his wife is one of the most humanizing aspects of the film, and it portrays the intimate life of a founding father without any romantic idealization. The Adamses loved each other deeply, and Abigail would often soothe her husband’s doubts and insecurities, while also instilling in him the confidence to succeed. As a strong, intelligent woman in a time where women were expected to live nothing more than a domestic life, the miniseries portrays Abigail as contributing a great deal to her husband’s views, and therefore a great deal in his actions concerning the founding of the country. At times, she would take a hard line with him, though never browbeating him, and she would remind him of his abilities when he would sometimes forget. This helps make modern viewers understand the humanity of life in America over two-hundred years ago, with a reality previously unseen in historical films and television shows. There are also many intricacies of Revolutionary society which are rarely portrayed, but dealt with so well in the miniseries. Fashion is a huge issue, and the wigs that men wore make a modern person wonder about such trends, possibly even questioning current fashion trends. Today, successful men wear suits with ties around their necks, and rarely wear hats. While in Adams’ time, no men went out without their hat, and few men went out without their wigs. While this could be a substitute for male pattern baldness, it seems more like a status symbol, where men can be judged by the elaborate nature of their wigs and their curls. The time spent on such things like the fashion of the French court, the powdering of the wigs, and the white wigs worn by the King of England and those in court seem to suggest an intricacy that most modern Americans may find strange, but can be no stranger than the Windsor knot. This, like many other things in the miniseries help modern viewers understand that while things like fashion changes throughout time, men do not. The miniseries John Adams is about much more than a man or a myth, but it serves as an adept chronicling of history that personalizes events significant to the founding of America. Not only does it humanize John Adams, it helps explain to modern Americans that might not know the contributions he made and how much everything they take for granted is owed to his hard work and sacrifices. The ideals that Adams held sacred are still echoed in the fabric of America, even if Americans cannot see it. The hard work, the individualism, the sometimes inexcusable lack of diplomacy in exchange for brutal honesty are all characteristics that have been respected and emulated by Americans throughout the past two centuries. Adams had few pretensions, and though he had more than a few character flaws, he was human. More than anything else, the miniseries adeptly portrays that history is not merely words in a history book or romanticized in film, but history is the collected actions of humans throughout time, warts and all. History is created by men that are flawed, all the problems and benefits of family and love are the same, and sometimes, a few regular men rise up and change the world, like John Adams.