Posted by George Borgman on January 29, 2001 at 22:27:55:
I have heard people say that the Ken Burns' jazz series is good, even with its numerous faults, because it is bringing jazz to young people, many of them hearing it for the first time. I really hope there are not young children watching the series, for not only do they see and hear about lynchings, the endless naming of jazz musicians who have used drugs, and in the ninth episode Brandon Marsalis comes out with the f-word! And in prime time on PBS! I am not only complaining about the jazz series but also about PBS where the f-word and even frontal nudity are not strangers. But, people who complain about the violence and less obscene words on present-day commercial network programs say nothing about the use of obscenities and nudity on PBS. Oh, well, at least Burns hasn't presented nudity in his so-called documentary. But I'm glad I have no young children begging me to see it to learn about jazz.