American Masters, Becoming Helen Keller

Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 9 PM

Repeats Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 2 AM

Airs on Fusion on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 9 PM and Sunday, Oct. 24, at 3 PM

Nearly all know her name, the legend and maybe the jokes, but Keller’s story is so much bigger. Taking her from the poorhouses and segregated blind and deaf schools of her 19th century childhood to her work as an advocate for the poor and people with disabilities, this innovative film brings Keller’s story vividly to life from her point of view and from the perspectives of those who knew her.

With hundreds of rarely seen photographs, historic film clips and a marvelous performance by actress Cherry Jones, the film illuminates how Keller became one of the 20th century’s human rights pioneers. Interviews with scholars and community activists help to reveal how Americans have changed their definitions of the public good and the means to achieve it from one generation to the next.