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| The Ku Klux Klan - A Secret History (History Channel) | 
 enlarge | Actor: Ku Klux Klan
Studio: A&E Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.58
You Save: $9.37 (38%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 19800
Format: Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 100
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 73040
ISBN: 0767083857
UPC: 733961730401
EAN: 9780767083850
ASIN: B000AABL4Y
Theatrical Release Date: 1998
Release Date: September 27, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Description
From its birth out of the ashes of the Civil War to rare interviews with the current Grand Dragon and Imperial Wizard, this is the definitive history of the KKK.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
informative December 12, 2008
My 11 year old son was asking about the subject of the KKK, his interest sparked by a book they were reading in school. I wanted to explain it without prejudice and using facts, that I genuinely did not know. So, I turned to this video. Our whole family sat quietly and watched thie History Channel production. It was done so well. Both my sons, (11 & 13 yrs old) understood all that was being told, the language was common, and the deliverance kept their interest. The only negative is that the video, dated 2005, seemed a bit old and had not been updated. The facts were presented in a chronological, easy to understand manner. Persoanlly, I walked away from the video with more knowledge than I expected. The lesson of good turning evil came through loud and clear, and my sons really got it. This is a good video for educational purposes.
 Not AT ALL objective December 3, 2008
As a professor of political science, I've used this DVD in class as a look into the KKK but more so as an examination of bias. Don't ask me how, but the History Channel managed to get through this entire production without using the word DEMOCRAT. They're quick to point out Republican klan involvement in 1920's Indiana, but manage to turn a blind eye to the Democratic Party's klan involvement in the South. It's a valuable lesson in how bias can come in the form of OMISSION. Unless that's your purpose, I strongly recommend avoiding this DVD.
The Seamy Side of Our Democracy October 5, 2008
The History Channel does a fine, if occasionally subjectively nuanced, job of presenting the viewer with a history of the Ku Klux Klan from it's beginnings in post-Civil War America.
The Klan is an ugly organization, no matter what form it takes. Any group that actively espouses the suppression of others as part of its core beliefs is ugly by definition. When that suppression takes the form of lynchings and bombings and other brutalities, "ugly" as a word does not suffice.
Although some other reviewers have stated that the "Why" of Klan history is missing from this film, and that this film does not present matters from the perspective of Klan members, those criticisms are misplaced. The "Why" of the Ku Klux Klan is part of the fabric of this documentary, and there are certainly enough film clips and short interviews with Klansmen to present a Klan-based perspective. Certainly, comments by robe-wearing Klansmen that "I got no problem if somebody kills a [black]; they don't have the right to breathe free air," and "The only reason [blacks] are free is because some liberal Jew[ish] teacher types freed them," can be taken as statements of creed to judge from history, and not merely individual opinions.
The script does occasionally slide into a less than journalistically neutral tone, but describing the bombing of a church and the killing of four young black girls as a "disgusting" and "terrible" act of violence is not stating more than the truth. The idea that the Klan nowadays is "merely" a Christian fraternal segregationist organization is a dangerous oversimplification. If this is so, then why use the symbols and language of hatred and oppression?
It is far too easy for a viewer to deride the traditional pointed hoods of the Klan as being form-fitting for the membership, but an understanding of the Klan is crucial to understanding our nation. A group which once boasted over 4,000,000 members and effective political control of the entire State of Indiana, not to mention numerous municipalities throughout the United States, is a group which must be reckoned with, even today, if for no other reason than they represent one dark aspect of the underpinnings of our diverse and dynamic society. Xenophobia seems anachronistic in an Internet world shrunk to the size of the head of a pin. Still, it continues to exist, and the whys and wherefores of that existence must be addressed.
 Very informative! August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Package arrived in two days! Very nice. Content of DVD was factual, only slighly biased and very informative for races, creeds and religions.
Great Documentary on the Terrible Hate Group November 19, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
---an excellent historical account on the history of the ku klux klan, america's most enduring 'hate' group, and effectively the longest lasting 'terrorist' outfit..
The documentary traces the groups roots to the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, when the resentful, reactionary elements of various white communities saw fit to end any notion of political and economic equality for blacks newly freed in by the Emancipation proclamation. Virtually nothing was beneath them in terms of how far they were willing to go to achieve their goals: vandalism, arson, theft, kidnapping, assaults, and most of all, murder.
The core Klan membership at its initial onset was quasi-Pagan/quasi-Masonic in its philosophies (i.e., the Skulls & Bones fraternity), but that eventually evolved by the turn of the 20th century to using fundamentalist evangelical Christianity as a recruitment tactic, targeting anyone from a WASP background as a potential member, while also now incorporating Jews and Catholics on their list of enemies (early 20th century immigration by Irish, Italian, Poles, and Eastern Europeans contributed to reactionary fears among the "established" white Americans).
Marketed as a men's social club no different than the Elks, Masons, or other groups, the Klan had widespread national membership by the first few decades of the 20th century. By the early 1920's, avowed members had achieved real political power in the State of Indiana-- the governor and most of state board of legislature were members of the Klan. A heinous murder and rape of a politician's mistress caused a scandal that sent shockwaves throughout the organization; dossiers on documented bribes & blackmails were revealed, and national board members were internally charged with financial impropriety.
This led to a splintering of the Klan into regional factions that has virtually continued until the present day.
Still existing to varying degrees in the contiguous USA, the most prominent factions emerged from the American South as the American Civil Rights Movement got momentum in the 1950's. white attacks against blacks became even more brazen than before, only during the televised confrontations this was perhaps the first time it was visually documented in any form.
existing Footage is seen of klan leaders and other segregationists; US historians are interviewed as are historical and contemporary civil rights activists.
As the documentary reveals, from the dawn of the Reagan administration, the Klan morphed its image yet again; self-identified KKK members are (at least officially) barely a few thousand in number; however, their philosophical ken now largely exist in the ranks of the far-right "Patriot" militia movements and the youth-heavy white-supremacist 'Skinhead' culture.
The documentary could have benefited from more interview footage from the persons involved; and little attention is given to the post-Klan movements like the militias/skinheads, etc. Still, this is an effective work.
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