The NAACP and Its Architects

American Experience

History Series / 15 Seasons

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Watch Latest: S37 E1

1h 52m / TV-14

Interview: Snow White as the Ideal 1930s Woman

1m 19s

"Snow White is the perfect embodiment of 1930s culture," says art historian Carmenita Higginbotham. In this original interview, Higginbotham explains how Walt Disney's Snow White was a reflection of American women during the Great Depression. "Walt Disney" premieres Sep. 14 & 15 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Interview: Walt Disney the Storyteller

1m 27s

"Walt just knew how to tell a story." In this original interview, animator Floyd Norman shares his experiences working for Walt Disney and why Disney may just have been "the world's greatest storyteller." "Walt Disney" premieres September 14 & 15 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Interview: Working for Walt Disney

1m 31s

"Walt had a very interesting way of complimenting you," says composer Richard Sherman. In this original interview, Sherman recalls Walt Disney's leadership style and how he drew great ideas out of his staff. "Walt Disney" premieres September 14 & 15 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Walt Disney's Big Gamble: "Snow White"

2m 11s

What Walt Disney was proposing for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" had never been done before: a feature-length, story-driven, animated film. His brother Roy was skeptical, but Walt insisted that the project would be a success. "Walt Disney" premieres September 14 & 15 on PBS American Experience.

Mickey Mouse's Big Break

2m 56s

The premiere of "Steamboat Willie" blows audiences away with its innovative use of sound. Mickey Mouse soon becomes a phenomenon. "Walt Disney" premieres September 14 and 15 on PBS American Experience.

Pitching "Snow White"

37s

One evening, Walt Disney gathered his animators and studio staff together and told them of his newest idea: a feature-length, story-driven animated film called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." "Walt Disney" premieres September 14 and 15 on PBS American Experience.

Walt Disney's First Failure

2m 19s

After Walt Disney's distributor failed to pay, Disney had to come up with something "new and clever in animated cartoons" to save his Laugh-O-grams company. "Walt Disney" premieres September 14 & 15 on PBS American Experience.

Blackout, Chapter 1

8m 12s

July 14, 1977 dawned hot and humid in New York City. By 9:30pm the city would be plunged into darkness for more than 24 hours. In the wake of the power outage, tensions that had been simmering for years erupted into looting and violence. "Blackout" premieres July 14 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

The Station House was in Darkness, From Blackout

2m 32s

While workers at Consolidated Edison electric company scrambled to restart their failed power system, New York City's police force tried to maintain order with no lights or radio equipment. "Blackout" premieres July 14, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

"It went from being light to being looting," from Blackout

2m 40s

"Every single borough in New York City was affected by the looting, and it happened very very quickly." Watch more clips from "Blackout," which premieres on PBS American Experience July 14, 2015 at 9/8c.

Blackout Preview

30s

On the night of July 13, 1977, lightning strikes took out several critical power lines, causing a catastrophic power failure and plunging some 8 million people into darkness in the New York City area. First responders, journalists, shop owners, Con Edison employees, and other New Yorkers tell about what happened when the lights went out. Premieres 7/14 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

"I Had Lost Everything"

2m 7s

Kiem Do, a colonel in the South Vietnamese Navy, remembers the solemn flag-lowering ceremony aboard the U.S.S. Kirk after the fall of Saigon. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28 on PBS American Experience.

"A Terrible Moral Dilemma"

52s

Col. Stuart Herrington recalls the struggle of members of the South Vietnamese Military in staying behind to fight while their families were evacuated. Last Days in Vietnam premieres April 28 on PBS American Experience.

The South Vietnamese Officer's Story

2m 59s

In April 1975, Dam Pham was an Army Officer Lieutenant in the South Vietnamese Central Intelligence Service. When the North Vietnamese arrived in Saigon, Pham stayed in Vietnam with his family rather than evacuate. After 13 years of hard labor in a re-education camp, Dam Pham was released and made his way to America.

The Pilot's Story

2m 59s

Captain Gerald "Gerry" Berry was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps during the fall of Saigon in April 1975. Capt. Berry was tasked with evacuating U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin from the U.S. Embassy, an order which proved to be more complicated than he expected.

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