CNN'S MILLENNIUM SERIES: THE 20TH CENTURY, THE CENTURY OF THE GLOBE {THE TWENTIETH CENTURY} {EPISODE 10} (TV)
Summary
The final episode in this ten-part miniseries documenting historical events and developments around the world in the individual centuries of the past millennium. This episode focuses on the 20th century. In Europe, Sigmund Freud pioneered the analysis of the subconscious mind, focusing on the symbolism of dreams and examining different areas of sexuality and gender. This new “unstable” sense of reality was reflected in art, particularly in the works of Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Science also began to question the “iron laws” of life, and Albert Einstein presented his theory of relativity in early 1900s. X-rays and microscopes provided an up-close look at the construction of the human body, and Alexander Fleming discovered the use of penicillin against harmful bacteria in 1928. Contraceptive medicines also had a profound affect on women’s rights and cultural ideas of sexuality. However, some scientific advances were more harmful: the atom was isolated and then “smashed,” and it was discovered that splitting atoms led to a great expansion of energy, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Many, including its primary architect, J. Robert Oppenheimer, were awed and disturbed by its great destructive power. Indeed, in Europe, “mechanized firepower” led to massive devastation and loss of life in war, including WWI. In the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin’s cruel regime led to a famine in the Ukraine, and some 22 million people died in his work camps. Elsewhere, Japan invaded China and slaughtered thousands. It was the “age of dictators,” most notably Adolf Hitler, who contributed to the deaths of over 50 million people worldwide in WWII, including six million Jews in the Holocaust. WWII ended when America dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wiping them out in seconds and releasing harmful radiation into the air and land. In China, Mao Tse-tung proposed a “great leap forward” for the people in which landowners were shamed and people moved to the farms, but the overworked earth yielded no crops, leading to the worst famine in history that killed 30 million. In Cambodia, Pol Pot waged war on his own people, killing a third of the population. Many other countries experienced their own wars and high death tolls, aided by technological advances and new, efficient killing methods. North America gained many more immigrants and the population grew to 6 billion, with people gradually moving from the country into more urban areas. Consumerism rose, and the gap between the rich and the poor rose. After WWII, many immigrants flocked to Britain to fill the labor shortage, including those from the previously British-controlled India. Hindus in London “exported” a temple from India, continuing to practice their faith in a new land. A border was erected between Mexico and the United States, with many attempting to cross into America every day. Los Angeles developed a significant Mexican community, increasing the spread of the Spanish language, and Latinos grew to make up half of America’s immigrant population. The American economy made grand strides over the century, with advances in communication technology as well as the popularity of Hollywood and various radio, TV and film stars. The imagery of advertisements began to affect culture, and soon humans moved into outer space, putting a man on the moon in 1969. Advances in computer technology, including the invention of the microchip, “reduced the world to a village” where imagery and events across the globe became instantly accessible anywhere on Earth. The East also made significant strides over the century; Japan became an “economic superpower” over time, and China, though still holding on to many old traditions, began to make some moves away from communism and towards capitalism. With a population over one billion, China is sure to be a very important player in the 21st century as culture and technology leap ever further ahead. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CNN
- DATE: December 12, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:90866
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: Pat Mitchell Collection, The; History
- SERIES RUN: CNN - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "CNN's Millennium Series" home video and companion book
- TV - Commercials - 1800flowers.com website
- TV - Commercials - Ford Outfitters automobiles
- TV - Commercials - New York Stock Exchange
- TV - Commercials - Oppenheimer Funds investment group
- TV - Commercials - Qwest internet provider
- TV - Commercials - RealEstate.com website
- TV - Commercials - Samsung cameras
- TV - Commercials - britannica.com website
- TV - Commercials - iMac Apple computers
- TV - Promos - CNN/Time programming
CREDITS
- Pat Mitchell … Executive Producer
- Jeremy Isaacs … Executive Producer, Director
- Jody Gottlieb … Coordinating Producer
- Vivian Schiller … Senior Producer
- Cate Haste … Producer, Director
- Gillian Widdicombe … Associate Producer
- Peter Sommer … Assistant Producer
- Xiaosong Atiyah … Assistant Producer
- Sarah Newman … Development Producer
- Janina Stamps … Line Producer
- Neal Ascherson … Writer
- Felipe Fernández-Armesto … Based on the book by
- Ben Kingsley … Narrator
- Richard Blackford … Music by
- Salvador Dali
- Albert Einstein
- Alexander Fleming
- Sigmund Freud
- Adolf Hitler
- Edvard Munch
- Julius Robert Oppenheimer
- Pablo Picasso
- Pol Pot
- Josef Stalin
- Mao Tse-tung