Prohibition (miniseries)
Encyclopedia
Prohibition is a 2011 documentary film
for television
directed by Ken Burns
and Lynn Novick
with narration by Peter Coyote
. It describes how alcohol and its effects were connected to many different cultural forces. Immigration, women's suffrage, the income tax, and the temperance movement led to the passing of Prohibition, the Eighteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. The enforcement and gradual dissatisfaction with the amendment built up to its repeal thirteen years later. The series originally aired between October 2, 2011 and October 4, 2011.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
for television
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
and Lynn Novick
Lynn Novick
Lynn Novick is an American director and producer of documentary films known for mostly for her work with Ken Burns. Among her most notable collaborations with Burns are The War , Baseball: The Tenth Inning . and Prohibition . Their next project is a Vietnam War history planned for 2016...
with narration by Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
. It describes how alcohol and its effects were connected to many different cultural forces. Immigration, women's suffrage, the income tax, and the temperance movement led to the passing of Prohibition, the Eighteenth Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...
to the U.S. Constitution. The enforcement and gradual dissatisfaction with the amendment built up to its repeal thirteen years later. The series originally aired between October 2, 2011 and October 4, 2011.
Episodes
- "A Nation of Drunkards" describes how immigration, alcoholism, women's suffrage and the temperance movements led up to the passing of the 18th Amendment, Prohibition.
- "A Nation of Scofflaws" addresses how the enforcement of Prohibition was inconsistent and caused unintended consequences, including making criminals of a large portion of the population.
- "A Nation of Hypocrites" follows the gradual swing towards repeal of Prohibition as the Great Depression focuses attention on other priorities
On-Air Advisors
- Zeke Alpern
- Jonathan EigJonathan Eig-Biography:Eig was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Monsey, New York. He attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, graduating in 1986....
- Noah FeldmanNoah FeldmanNoah Feldman is an American author and professor of law at Harvard Law School.-Education and career:Feldman grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Maimonides School....
- Pete HamillPete HamillPete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
- Edwin T Hunt Jr
- Michael Lerner
- William LeuchtenburgWilliam LeuchtenburgWilliam E. Leuchtenburg is William Rand Kenan Jr. professor emeritus of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Chapel Hill and a leading scholar of the life and career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He is the author of more than a dozen books on 20th century history ,...
- Martin E. MartyMartin E. MartyMartin Emil Marty is an American Lutheran religious scholar who has written extensively on 19th century and 20th century American religion. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1956, and served as a Lutheran pastor from 1952 to 1962 in the suburbs of Chicago...
- Catherine Gilbert MurdockCatherine Gilbert Murdock-Background:Catherine Gilbert Murdock was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Her father was a chemical engineer, her mother a nurse. Along with her only sister, novelist Elizabeth Gilbert, she grew up on a small family Christmas tree farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. The family lived in the country...
- Daniel OkrentDaniel OkrentDaniel Okrent is an American writer and editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of The New York Times newspaper, for inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books, most recently Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.-Education and...
- Ruth P. SmithRuth P. SmithRuth Proskauer Smith was a pro-choice and reproductive rights advocate.-Career:In the 1940s, Smith worked for the Massachusetts chapter of Planned Parenthood. As an executive secretary of the organization, she unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the state's banning of birth control...
- John Paul StevensJohn Paul StevensJohn Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
- Margaret Loines Wilkie
- Joshua M. ZeitzJoshua M. ZeitzJoshua M. Zeitz was the Democratic nominee for the 2008 election for the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey's 4th congressional district. The incumbent was Republican Chris Smith, who defeated Zeitz in the general election by a large margin of victory.He was born in Trenton and...
Voices
- Adam ArkinAdam ArkinAdam Arkin is an American television, film and stage actor and director. He played the role of Aaron Shutt on Chicago Hope. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony as well as 3 primetime Emmys, 4 SAG Awards , and a DGA Award...
- Philip BoscoPhilip Bosco-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
- Patricia ClarksonPatricia ClarksonPatricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
(Carrie NationCarrie NationCarrie Amelia Moore Nation was a member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America. She is particularly noteworthy for promoting her viewpoint through vandalism. On many occasions Nation would enter an alcohol-serving establishment and attack the bar with a hatchet...
) - Kevin ConwayKevin ConwayKevin Conway is an American actor and film director.-Early life:Conway was born in New York City, the son of Helen Margaret , a sales representative, and James John Conway, a mechanic...
- Peter CoyotePeter CoyotePeter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
(narrator]) - Blythe DannerBlythe DannerBlythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
- Paul GiamattiPaul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
(George RemusGeorge RemusGeorge Remus was a famous Cincinnati lawyer and bootlegger during the Prohibition era. It has been claimed that he was the inspiration for the title character Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald....
) - Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
- Jeremy IronsJeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
- Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
- John LithgowJohn LithgowJohn Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
(newspaper) - Josh LucasJosh LucasJosh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
- Amy MadiganAmy MadiganAmy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
- Carolyn McCormickCarolyn McCormickCarolyn Inez McCormick is an American actress best known for her role as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet on Law & Order franchise.-Life and career:McCormick was born in Midland, Texas to a father who owned an oil drilling company...
- Oliver PlattOliver PlattOliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
(Al CaponeAl CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
)
- Campbell ScottCampbell ScottCampbell Scott is an American actor, director, producer, and voice artist.-Life and career:Scott was born in New York City, the son of George C. Scott, an actor, director, and producer, and Colleen Dewhurst, a Canadian-born actress. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1983. His brother is...
(F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
) - Frances SternhagenFrances SternhagenFrances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.-Personal life:...
- Joanne Tucker
- Sam WaterstonSam WaterstonSamuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
(newspaper)