‘Banner’ a Useful but Sketchy History Lesson

The intentions are all in the right place in “Save Our History: The Star-Spangled Banner,” an hourlong documentary that serves as the initial element in the History Channel’s outreach campaign to preserve the history of the American flag.

The problem is that the production devotes most of its space to discussing a specific American flag--the huge banner that hung over Ft. McHenry in 1814--rather than the flag as a historical and symbolic entity.

In doing so, the film divides roughly into two segments. The first explores the circumstances surrounding the battle scene in September 1814 as British warships bombarded the entrance to Baltimore harbor. Mixing atmospheric shots of contemporary tall ships with period paintings, inter-cutting reenactments of costumed soldiers with spectacular pyrotechnics and images of the flag flying freely, the production creates an impressive sense of action.

It also describes, in some detail, Francis Scott Key’s inspired writing of the poem that became the lyrics for our national anthem, as well as the extraordinary work of seamstress Mary Pickersgill, who created the flag in a mere six weeks.

The second part of the film shifts gears drastically, concentrating upon the efforts to preserve that flag from the ravages of time.

All well and good, all of it informative and undoubtedly useful. But a lot gets left out in the process. No mention, for example, is made of Betsy Ross. And, despite the current politically correct doubts about her actual contribution, it’s the rare person who doesn’t recall being told in elementary school that Ross made the first American flag. At the very least, the documentary could have noted that the flag was specifically identified in an action of Congress in the 1770s, rather than imply that Pickersgill designed it on her own.

Nor is anything said about the various designs of the flag (the use of five-pointed stars, for example), the layout of the stars in the blue field, or the symbolism behind each of the elements and colors.

Still, it’s a good start in the right direction. With appropriate supplemental overview information, the program can fulfill its goal to serve as a useful educational tool.

* “Save Our History: The Star-Spangled Banner” airs at 9 tonight on the History Channel.