More Shakers in Cinema

In addition to a feature film starring Drew Barrymore, there are several documentaries you can check out to learn more about the Shakers. The most popular is a 1998 documentary by legendary film maker Ken Burns, entitled "The Shakers: Hands to Work; Hearts to God". It can be found from many sources including prime video here. This is the most famous Shaker documentary by far and is an interesting look at the Shaker movement. But this November a new full length documentary was released. "Defining Expertise: The Design of 19th-Century Shaker Communities (Heaven on Earth)" which is described as "[a]n original short-film that explores the incredible design legacy of American Shaker communities, produced by Design Miami/ in collaboration with Hancock Shaker Village and John Keith Russell Antiques" and which is available here, is destined to be a classic. You can also find many videos on the websites of the various Shaker historical sites. A recent example is "Shaker Your Plate: A Conversation about Shaker Cuisine", a collaboration of three Shaker museums: Shaker Heritage Society, in New York, Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts and South Union Shaker Village in Kentucky, and available for viewing here. And, of course, there are always lots of videos about the Shakers on Youtube! I leave you to explore on your own all of the Shaker video material that is currently available. Let me know what you like and I can feature it on a future blog.