American Experience: Mr. Polaroid, on PBS

He made the original selfies possible. His company’s instant photography provided immediate gratification, but their photos were still developed on film, so people generally saved it for moments that meant something. His company gave Kodak a run for its money and remains fondly remembered. The entrepreneurial career of Edwin Land and the rise and fall of the company he created are chronicled in director-writer Gene Tempest’s Mr. Polaroid, which airs this Monday as part of the current season of American Experience on PBS.

Tempest almost immediately likens Land, a Harvard drop-out, to some of the tech titans who followed his example, like Jobs and Gates. The comparison is apt. Land started his company developing a polarization technique to minimize car headlight glare. Detroit was not interested, so he ap[plied his technology to other uses, including gun-sights, which led to major defense contracts during WWII. Of course, he knew (and hoped) the war would not last forever, so he started R&D on his instant photography concept.

Eventually, Land launched Polaroid’s first instant camera at a media event that had serious Steve Jobs vibes. At the time, it was big and bulky, but the news photographers were still dazzled. However, it took years before Polaroid refined the process into a handheld device. He also pioneered the more laidback corporate culture that continues to be associated with the tech sector. Yet, Tempest still found plenty of former employees to complain about Land’s policies.

Ironically, Land was unusually progressive for his time, especially in his efforts to hire and promote women and black recruits. Nevertheless, some employees were apparently resentful that Land did not completely adopt every single one of their political positions. Yet, he clearly had a greater social conscience than many of his contemporaries, while also serving as unofficial technical advisor to the U.S. government on aerial surveillance photography.

Mr. Polaroid documents the fascinating ways Land helped shape American scientific and commercial history, but Tempest almost derails his own film by devoting so much time to tangential political controversies. It also neglects to mention Polaroid’s unlikely comeback, albeit in a much-reduced form.

Nevertheless, Polaroids arguably share a kinship with vinyl records, in that both were resurrected as a format after they were presumed to be rendered completely obsolete by new technology. That is quite a legacy. Mr. Polaroid makes a solid case for his significance, when it isn’t tripping over its own feet. Recommended for the subject matter more than the execution, Mr. Polaroid airs this Monday (5/19) on most PBS stations.