Editor's Pick: Film

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Director Ken Burns will lead a discussion following this special advance screening of the film's first episode. The series premieres on PBS this fall. The subtitle is the story, says co-producer Julie Dunfey '80: "This film is about democracy, and what it means to be an American, with some of the most spectacular landscapes on earth as its backdrop." VOX of Dartmouth spoke with Burns this month:

Grand Teton National Park (Photos courtesy PBS)

Get out: Burns worries that time spent in looking at screens and in virtual worlds makes us "forget to do." He explains, "The call of the wild has always been a part of the human experience, and it's not a good thing when we stop hearing it."

On art: "Arts funding  is changing in a dire way because of the economic crisis," but it's wrong, he says, to think we can do without. "A country's art is one of the things that makes it worth defending."

Inspired by?: Naturalist John Muir (1838-1914), "one of the top ten Americans, ever." Burns calls "getting to know Muir" through making this film "one of the great pleasures of my life."

Interview by Kelly Seaman

• Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m.
• Hopkins Center, Spaulding Auditorium
• $15, $5 with a Dartmouth ID
• 646-2422