David Bushman

Curator, Television

October 8, 2013

"The Americans" and Me

by Craig Solomon, guest contributor

I started thinking about my Russian history class from junior year of high school recently, remembering endless days of Doctor Zhivago, a movie that took up over a month's worth of class time. In the corner of the classroom sat Mr. Weisberg, an insightful middle-aged pedagogue with a profound respect for the past. Last Friday (October 2) I was in the audience at a Paley Fest: Made in NY event where Mr. Weisberg eagerly answered fan questions about his new television show, The Americans.

By the time Joseph Weisberg came to Long Island High School for the Arts he was already exceptionally accomplished. He had published one novel, for young adults, called The Tenth Grade, and was in the process of finishing up his second, An Ordinary Spy, which draws direct inspiration from Weisberg's former profession—in the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Weisberg hardly looked the part of dashing spy; a person could easily walk by Joe Weisberg on the street eating a slice of pizza and it would never occur to him that here was a master of clandestine behavior. Likewise, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, the two main characters of The Americans, are required to hide in plain sight, although the similarity with Mr. Weisberg ends there: ostensibly an ordinary married couple—working as travel agents, parents of two young children—they in "reality" function as KGB spies who risk their lives for the Motherland every day they spend on American soil.

After I took a second look at the first season of The Americans (the second season of the FX show premieres in January), the significance of Mr. Weisberg's lessons was reinforced. When our class watched Doctor Zhivago, he reminded us that it was a story about people and how they behaved in circumstances that would alter their way of life forever. The film creates a fictional narrative to guide us through major changes in Russian politics, including the formation of the U.S.S.R., conflicts with the White Army, and the Second World War. Doctor Zhivago's central characters, Yuri Zhivago and Larissa Antipova, are star-crossed lovers simultaneously bound together and pulled apart by violent conflicts in their homeland. The Americans takes place nearly thirty years after the closing section of Doctor Zhivago, yet in some respects can be interpreted as a spiritual descendant.

The Americans emphasizes the humanism of its characters without compromising their strict codes of beliefs. This friction is also a major component in Doctor Zhivago. Yuri Zhivago is a conscientious objector to the brutal tactics of the Russian political wars, yet his pivotal decisions correlate with his growing devotion to Lara. However, he ultimately chooses to abandon her in order to avoid the political manipulation that is ravaging their Motherland.  

The Jenningses' loyalty to the Soviet Union is constantly being tested, and their trust in Soviet covert methodology appears at times to crack over the course of the season (as when they are captured and tortured by Soviet agents posing as Americans), but they still blindly follow their chain of command. The development of the U.S.S.R. so brilliantly re-created in Doctor Zhivago reveals a window into the system that the Jennings live to protect. In the concluding portion of the film, Yuri Zhivago dies from heart failure chasing after Lara after catching a brief glimpse of her on a train. Elizabeth is critically injured in the line of duty in "The Colonel," the season-one finale of The Americans; in the most poignant moment of the episode she begs her husband in their native language to "Come Home." Despite all that the Jenningses have suffered through both personally and professionally, will their intimate bond trump all?

I walked away from the panel with extreme gratitude toward Mr. Weisberg. With The Americans, he has found the perfect medium for his kind of history lesson. His insights into Doctor Zhivago all those years ago provide a critical lens on the TV series. In each case the Soviet cause is the backdrop to a profound, moving story about love, devotion, loyalty, and honor.

Craig Solomon is an intern in the Curatorial Department at the Paley Center.



Watch Joseph Weisberg and the cast and producers of The Americans at PaleyFest: Made In NY.

   

 

 

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About

David Bushman

Curator, Television

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Before joining the Paley Center in 1992, David Bushman was senior television editor of Daily Variety in Los Angeles and weekly Variety in New York. He also served as director of programming at TV Land from 1997 to 1998. He has taught and lectured on TV at numerous institutions, but on only one continent. He may be the only person in the world pining for an E-Z Streets reunion.

Interests:

Noir, Fantasy Baseball, The Pogues, Soccer, Running

Contact

David Bushman
dbushman@paleycenter.org

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