The men who built America — Documentary — Review
Documentaries are something that I only watch if I’m really interested in that particular topic. Or else, I will sleep on the couch. But “The men who built America” came to me quite randomly. Actually I was looking at a clothing brand label illustrating working class in the denim golden era. “For men who have made tales of America” it said. Then I wonder how America became like what it is today. I used the key word “men who built America” and thought myself silly since it was pretty straight forward. However, there is an actual documentary with the very title “The men who built America”. I watched 5 mins, then I finished the whole series. An incredible documentary I must say!
When we look at America, we see a country representing super power in terms of economics, politics and military. Superman is the icon of America. But when and how America achieved this status?
The documentary sets out right after the end of American Civil War, when the country was devastated. While the country was struggling to find its way out of such situation, a few individuals emerged as visionaries to build their empires, and built the nation, literally. These visionaries are:
- Cornelius Vanderbilt — King of Railroad.
- John Rockefeller — King of Oil.
- Andrew Carnegie — King of Steel.
- John P Morgan — King of Banks.
- Henry Ford — King of Automobile industry.
So, as the title suggested, the course of this documentary evolves around these men, who built America. It started with Cornelius Vanderbilt who connected the country by his railroad empire. And as the story went on, all the visionaries had their roles to perform. But rather than separately appears in the plot, their stories blended nicely in with the others. This is what I love about the documentary. It does not just feed me some dry facts but really give me a well-organised story. How Rockefeller built his 418 billion dollars (today money) empire from scratch? How Carnegie’s steel was mass produced and became the foundation of American’s construction industry in the era that steel was made only for the nobles and considered as luxury material? What role did bank hold in the time and how banking industry influence the market and the country? And many more crucial questions are answered during the documentary.
Besides a carefully crafted and informative content, the documentary’s cinematography is terrific. It depicted an America with labours and capitalists, questions and faith, depression and hope, disasters and miracles. A nostalgia vibe was softly presented through each scenes. However, the delivery approach was relatively modern, not obsolete.
“The Men Who Built America” has accomplished many important factors for a documentary, from a solid content, beautiful cinematography, dedicated guesses etc. However, the very entrepreneurial spirit of the visionaries was what hooked me from the beginning to the end. I believe the documentary has successfully demonstrated what qualities and values which an entrepreneur need, not at the time of the story was told, but even today, it is still relevant. They had the guts to pursuit their dreams and made them reality. They seized opportunities and took risks. They determined and strived, soared in the sky and becomes the kings and fathers of the backbone industries which make an America like today. While I’m quite disappointed with the casts’ bland acting, I was blown away with Campbell Scott’s narration. He performance was the holy adhesive which brought together everything to make a fine documentary. He definitely made the story comes to life.
Long story short, I love this documentary. And I think it’s way underrated. I spent a whole weekend to finish it without switching to any other series or movies. Besides the core values which a documentary should provide, I found inspiration while watching “The Men Who Built America”. I saw people who were not easily satisfied, not settle for less and they would not stop until they become the best, not one of the bests. They were the people who dare to think big and take risks. They went all in and brought the best out of what they had. The whole country was connected by railroads, built up by steel, lighted up by kerosene then electricity. No matter what the visionaries’ initial purposes were, their works contributed significantly to the development of the America itself, and also to the rest of the world. Their legacies will still live on and will not be forgotten.
As one of the last lines of the documentary said “America was not discovered, it was built”.
