America at a Crossroads: PBS Series Contemplates the Post-9/11 World
Ambitious Documentary Series Explores the Enduring Implications of 9/11 in Eleven New Films
Beginning this Sunday night at 9pm EST, PBS affiliates throughout the United States will participate in a six-day-long television series called America at a Crossroads. Hosted by Emmy-winning journalist Robert MacNeil of the long-running newscast The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (now called The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer following MacNeil’s 1995 retirement), the April 15 to April 20 event will feature eleven independently produced documentaries from diverse international filmmakers. All of the included films have one central characteristic in common related to global society following the catastrophic occurrences of September 11, 2001—the goal of stimulating productive discussion aimed at better understanding the challenges created by “the war on terrorism; the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; the experience of American troops; the struggle for balance within the Islamic world and Muslim life in America; and perspectives on America’s role globally.” These heavyweight issues are simultaneously traumatic, complex, and increasingly a part of daily life in the modern world, making the need to confront them head-on even more crucial.
When the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—the funding company for next week’s series and the accompanying educational, media, and outreach campaigns—first announced its need for documentaries relevant to its America at a Crossroads concept in 2004, the organization received hundreds of proposals from interested parties. It then chose WETA, the PBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., to manage production of the selected projects in 2006. The final crop of eleven films to premiere over six days is only a portion of the nineteen total documentaries produced as a result of the endeavor. The remainder will air on PBS in coming months as specials.
I was one of the fortunate people who received the opportunity to screen several of the documentaries before they air on PBS. Since I’m thrilled to be directly included in what I consider an especially important television event, I plan to publish my thoughts on all of the films I have access to in advance of their scheduled broadcast date, including Sunday night’s two-hour opener, JIHAD: The Men and Ideas Behind al Qaeda. At the same time, I encourage anyone and everyone with the slightest concern about the state of the world today to free their schedule from 9pm to 11pm EST on April 15 to April 20 and tune into their local PBS station for what promises to be among the most intriguing and relevant television programming of the year.
The scheduled documentaries in the America at a Crossroads series are:
Sunday | April 15
- JIHAD: The Men and Ideas Behind al Qaeda—9–11pm EST
Monday | April 16
- Warriors—9–10pm EST
- Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience—10–11pm EST
Tuesday | April 17
- Gangs of Iraq—9–10pm EST
- The Case for War: In Defense of Freedom—10–11pm EST
Wednesday | April 18
- Europe’s 9/11—9–10pm EST
- The Muslim Americans—10–11pm EST
Thursday | April 19
- Faith Without Fear—9–10pm EST
- Struggle for the Soul of Islam: Inside Indonesia—10–11pm EST
Friday | April 20
- Security Versus Liberty: The Other War—9–10pm EST
- The Brotherhood—10–11pm EST
Warriors photo, which depicts Lieutenant Emily Nay of the U.S. Army with a Sunni woman in Iraq, courtesy of PBS/WETA
*PBS times may vary—Check your local listings to verify them
