The shakers: hands to work, hearts to god season 1

Ken Burns American Stories

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About Ken Burns American Stories

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God

Ken Burns American Stories

About Ken Burns American Stories

PBS presents works from the Ken Burns library, including some of his early work. Each film includes a new introduction by the filmmaker, providing commentary and context for each subject.

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They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them “Shakers.” Though they were celibate, they constitute the most enduring religious experiment in American history. They believed in pacifism as well as natural health and hygiene; for more than 200 years, they insisted that their followers strive for simplicity and perfection in everything they did. The Shakers put their “hands to work and their hearts to God,” creating an exquisite legacy of fine furniture, glorious architecture and beautiful music that will remain and inspire long after the last Shaker is gone. The Shakers is a portrait of this particularly American movement.

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They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.

Read A Note from Ken Burns

David McCullough narrates this early documentary by Ken Burns--before Burns became a PBS celebrity. It's a film about the Shakers--an offshoot of the Quakers that was formed in 1774. The membership was quite large in the 1840s and consisted of, I think, 19 communes spread across the northern and central United States. Members lived very austere lives--devoting their time to hard work and worship--and complete abstinence from sex. Not surprisingly, this lack of sex, ultimately, meant that the group was doomed--as new members could only be recruited from the outside world. When the film was made, less than a dozen Shakers still alive back in 1984. Best internet source indicates there are 3 left in one facility in New England.

The look of the film is pure Burns. Lots of vintage photos were used and his use of zooming and moving the camera about made the images seem to come to life. Additionally, a few surviving members were interviewed and even sang. The singing, though in some ways rather sweet, was also a bit hard on the ears. While the film did a great job of showing the history of the Shakers, it did seem incomplete in one way. What the Shakers exactly believed was a bit vague in the film. How their beliefs coincided or diverged from mainstream Christianity never was discussed other than the form of worship. It left me curious to know more. Still, it is a finely crafted film and interesting (provided you are willing to give it a chance). Worth seeing.

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God [1] is a 1984 documentary film by Ken Burns.

Narrated by David McCullough, this hour-long documentary [2] features interviews with several living Shakers and with historians and philosophers.[3]

Ken Burns has said that he chose the topic of the Shakers in large part because his first project, the Oscar-nominated Brooklyn Bridge, was devoted to urban American history; Shakerism offered him an opportunity to explore rural American history.[4]

It was released part of Ken Burns' America DVD set on September 28, 2004.[5]