pop culture and the declaration

Cullen says that the Revolution is not of immediate interest to many Americans.  This disinterest is in contrast to our irritated interest in the Puritans and uncomfortable awareness that the issues of the Civil War are not settled.  Cullen suggests that contemporary Americans are still interested in the Declaration of Independence.  I'm sure he is pointing to its ideals more than to the document itself as an artifact.  And yet there is the movie, "American Treasure."  It is fun and fast paced and plunges viewers into arcane details of the Revolutionary era.  It makes me laugh out loud.  It almost convinces me to like Nicholas Cage.  Of all the bits and pieces in the movie, I like Ben Franklin's glasses the best.  Sure, this is partially because I have bifocals, but it is also because the notion that Franklin manipulates how we see so many decades after his death seems in character.  I think he would have been pleased as well as amused.