BIRTH OF A NATION (THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT)

THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT

250 years is still relatively young in terms of the lifespan of any nation.

But today, cities, towns and villages across the United States will turn out to celebrate its anniversary and revel in the sights and sounds of the Fourth of July.

US President Donald Trump is planning a speech in Washington DC's National Mall during a celebration event that will culminate with a massive fireworks display.

A heatwave has put paid to the President's plan for "Freedom 250" concert performances, while another musical celebration saw a number of acts pull out due to concerns over the political nature of the event.

The jury is also out on the Great American State Fair that the Trump administration has organised.

At a time when the US is coping with possibly the most controversial President in its history, the 250th anniversary is a good time to reflect on the vision of The Founding Fathers and whether it still endures.

Enter Netflix, then, with the five part docuseries 'The American Experiment'.

Executive produced by Tom Hanks, it's a worthy trudge through the key moments and personalities in the build up to the War of Independence from Britain, the Declaration of Independence, the framing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Featuring an impressive array of talking heads from academia and politics, it is very handsomely filmed with faithful recreations of key battles and political debates.

Director Brian Knappenberger meticulously examines key events from the Boston massacre of 1770 to the battles of Bunker Hill, Trenton and Yorktown to the constitutional debates featuring George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.

Difficult truths are confronted about the Founding Fathers' fudging of the slavery issue and their treatment of the Native Americans.

Questions are asked about whether the separation of powers between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary remains fit for purpose and whether the Electoral College is an appropriate way to elect a President.

Rather unsurprisingly, Martin Sheen, the actor who played everybody's favourite fictional President Jed Bartlett in 'The West Wing,' turns up to provide the voice of George Washington.

Vice Presidents Al Gore, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris are among those giving their penny's worth.

Senators Ted Cruz, Jamie Raskin, Jeff Flake and Rand Paul, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, former National Security Advisor HR McMaster and former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi provide insights too.

And that may be the docuseries' biggest weakness.

Given the sharply divided nature of US politics right now, Republicans will no doubt roll their eyes as Rodham Clinton grumbles about the electoral college system.

Similarly, Democrats will find it hard to stomach Cruz quoting the opening lines of 'The Godfather' and wax lyrical about the attraction of the US to fugitives from foreign lands given his rhetoric on shutting borders over the past decade.

In an era of partisan social media shaping political perceptions and a President not afraid to line his politics with bitcoin revenue while in office or use the National Guard and ICE agents against his own citizens, the question Knappenberger's documentary poses is: has America regressed and has its Constitutional protections simply disintegrated?

Where you stand on this issue will very much depend on how you regard the Trump Presidency, the Republican Party and the doctcom and bitcoin billionaires who have weighed in behind him.

As for Knappenberger's docuseries, it certainly is informative and genuine - although it lacks the panache of Ken Burns' great American documentaries.

But in a world where the vast majority of people half heartedly engage with politics and history and only on a surface level, will it really reach an audience that could benefit from it?

Probably not, much to the detriment, unfortunately, of the US and the world.

('The American Experiment' was made available for streaming around the world on Netflix on June 24, 2026)