One aspect of American history that might shock you is that the same eugenics movement used by the Nazis to justify the extermination of 'inferior' races was actually originated by Americans. A wave of scientists used dubious scientific methods to justify the notion of sterilizing folks for the good of society as a whole. Such notions, while abhorent today, were VERY popular during the eugenics movement in the early 20th century...and these notions led to forced sterilizations of various groups of people. This show is about the history of this sick movement and shows the evolution of this sick pseudo-scientific thought.
Like nearly all episodes of "The American Experience", this one is constructed using interviews with various experts today combined with photos, film footage and evocative music....and comes off as expertly crafted...even if the subject matter is repellent. Well made...captivating....and incredibly sad.
One aspect of this episode I really appreciated was how it spared no one. It mentioned how many churches and politicians were behind the movement as well as folks still admired today, such as Margaret Sanger and WEB DuBois. In other words, the show seemed more interested in telling the true story instead of any political agenda. Overall, captivating and horrifying at the same time. Well made and worth seeing...though it is NOT something I'd show to children.