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329:question:329--week_11_questions_comments-2020 [2020/11/05 08:32] – 72.43.62.101329:question:329--week_11_questions_comments-2020 [2020/11/05 14:08] (current) – [I.How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history?] 72.43.62.101
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 I think that this works really well as a secondary source. It does a good job of showing some of the things that the veterans would have gone through coming back from the war, from PTSD and job hunting, to getting to know their families again. Homers character was also a good look into what a soldier coming back with a disability would have gone through with his anxiety of coming home, seeing his family and girlfriend and having them see him, getting married, and going through everyday life. The added mention of certain public opinions was also true to the time, such as views on the war and the veterans, the concern about a depression, and the concern about veterans taking jobs, were all common concerns among the public. Overall this movie would make a good secondary source to talk about the climate of the post World War pre Cold War time and environment that the soldiers returned to. --Kimberly Sak  I think that this works really well as a secondary source. It does a good job of showing some of the things that the veterans would have gone through coming back from the war, from PTSD and job hunting, to getting to know their families again. Homers character was also a good look into what a soldier coming back with a disability would have gone through with his anxiety of coming home, seeing his family and girlfriend and having them see him, getting married, and going through everyday life. The added mention of certain public opinions was also true to the time, such as views on the war and the veterans, the concern about a depression, and the concern about veterans taking jobs, were all common concerns among the public. Overall this movie would make a good secondary source to talk about the climate of the post World War pre Cold War time and environment that the soldiers returned to. --Kimberly Sak 
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 +This movie serves as an accurate secondary source almost automatically because it was filmed at essentially the same time period that it portrays.  However, the film did still take steps to portray the story accurately.  One way they did this was by having the actors get their own clothes for their roles.  This way, the film seemed much more real and natural.  There would be more authenticity to the film if the actors wore their own clothes instead of some type of costume.  Also, because veterans both acted in and filmed the movie, there was even more authenticity due to the fact that at each level the film was made in, the characters being portrayed were either written by or acted by veterans in some capacity. -Daniel Walker
  
 //The Best Years of Our Lives// does a great job at portraying the life of veterans and post-war issues. I really like that the film doesn't make the men seem like absurd, fanatical people, rather they portray them as every day men who suffered after the war. The fear that Homer feels after considering what Wilma will say about his hands is a real thing that people felt after the war. The emotional trauma is a very real effect of veterans, past and present. I think that this film is a great secondary source that shows the trauma and struggles of veterans, like getting a job and meeting women. --Tara Scroggins //The Best Years of Our Lives// does a great job at portraying the life of veterans and post-war issues. I really like that the film doesn't make the men seem like absurd, fanatical people, rather they portray them as every day men who suffered after the war. The fear that Homer feels after considering what Wilma will say about his hands is a real thing that people felt after the war. The emotional trauma is a very real effect of veterans, past and present. I think that this film is a great secondary source that shows the trauma and struggles of veterans, like getting a job and meeting women. --Tara Scroggins
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 This film was a surprisingly decent depiction of postwar attitudes after WWII highlighting many of the problems and struggles faced by veterans returning home. **The production of the film itself's proximity to the war and being contemporary to the time it represents lends credit to its ability to portray some of the major fears and conflicts of the time such as the fear of another postwar depression, fear of the effect of soldiers entering the workforce, and concern over the growing nuclear threat and rising tensions with the Soviets.** I like that the film is clear not to cookie-cutter all soldiers into one group but rather portrays the experience of several different veterans throughout the film and their postwar experience, even addressing the experience of those disabled in the war through Homer. They showed some of the PTSD faced by returning soldiers through Fred, and also the increase in divorce rates after the war. I was overall very impressed with the film and think it can serve as a good look into a veteran's and their family's experience in post-WWII America.  - Ashley Dimino This film was a surprisingly decent depiction of postwar attitudes after WWII highlighting many of the problems and struggles faced by veterans returning home. **The production of the film itself's proximity to the war and being contemporary to the time it represents lends credit to its ability to portray some of the major fears and conflicts of the time such as the fear of another postwar depression, fear of the effect of soldiers entering the workforce, and concern over the growing nuclear threat and rising tensions with the Soviets.** I like that the film is clear not to cookie-cutter all soldiers into one group but rather portrays the experience of several different veterans throughout the film and their postwar experience, even addressing the experience of those disabled in the war through Homer. They showed some of the PTSD faced by returning soldiers through Fred, and also the increase in divorce rates after the war. I was overall very impressed with the film and think it can serve as a good look into a veteran's and their family's experience in post-WWII America.  - Ashley Dimino
  
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 +**I think an interesting discussion to have could center around weather or not this film really can even be considered a secondary source.** Its written when it was made, and while some of it is an outside interpretation of other people's experiences, it still gives their perspective on their own time. Thus, I would argue that it cannot be considered a secondary source at all. **Since it is interpreting it's own time, the film by it's very nature is just one type of primary source, not a secondary one**. -Ethan
 ====== II. Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ====== ====== II. Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ======
  
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 https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/post-war-united-states-1945-1968/overview/-Morgan Gilbert  https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/post-war-united-states-1945-1968/overview/-Morgan Gilbert 
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 ====== IV. How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers? ====== ====== IV. How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers? ======
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 +By casting Harold Russel as Homer, the filmmakers, I think, created a historical source of their own. Russel was an actual vet who actually lost both of his hands. He actually used hooks like those in the film for the rest of his life. Thus, Russel's performance - especially, since he was not a professional actor - is his own unique, contemporary expression of the struggles of disabled veterans. -Ethan
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 This film probably works better as a primary source than any other film we've watched this semester. The fact that it was released a year after V-J day and V-E day says a lot in regard to being a primary source. **There was a lot of uncertainty about how America was going to function after the war, and there were fears of the economy reverting back to how it was in the thirties, and the film does a good job in portraying that.**  This film probably works better as a primary source than any other film we've watched this semester. The fact that it was released a year after V-J day and V-E day says a lot in regard to being a primary source. **There was a lot of uncertainty about how America was going to function after the war, and there were fears of the economy reverting back to how it was in the thirties, and the film does a good job in portraying that.** 
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 The movie The Best Years of Our Lives could absolutely be used as a primary source regarding post-war America that servicemen faced. This movie focused on three main characters, from all different military war backgrounds and followed them through the struggles of returning to peacetime at home. As well as the fears and stressors that the American people were also experiencing with the return of the military members. I think this movie could be viewed as a primary source as this movie reflects the same time period that was happening around the movie's release date. -Kaylee Williams  The movie The Best Years of Our Lives could absolutely be used as a primary source regarding post-war America that servicemen faced. This movie focused on three main characters, from all different military war backgrounds and followed them through the struggles of returning to peacetime at home. As well as the fears and stressors that the American people were also experiencing with the return of the military members. I think this movie could be viewed as a primary source as this movie reflects the same time period that was happening around the movie's release date. -Kaylee Williams 
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 +The film shows the fear that many Americans had going forward after the end of the war.  Al Stephenson, the banker, shows the conflict that would have come with giving loans to veterans.  His boss and colleagues demonstrate apprehension about giving loans to people simply on the basis of their being veterans.  Also, each of the three veterans has difficulties readjusting to civilian life.  Al Stephenson seems like he is a very different man than he used to be and has a hard time rebuilding his relationship with his family in some ways.  Fred Derry cannot get a good job despite advancing in rank when in the military.  Homer has to deal with a physical disability and how people treat him at home.  Each of these characters' portrayals shows how people viewed veterans at the time the movie was filmed. -Daniel Walker 
  
 Overall, I think that //The Best Years of Our Lives// portrayed the time period of World War II veterans coming back to civilian life in a pretty accurate way. The period when veterans were coming back home and getting settled into their civilian life was definitely struggling at times for them just as the characters portrayed in the movie. With the fears of an economic depression, they were trying to find jobs that they were able to do such as Al going back to his banking job and Fred not wanting to go back to being a soda jerk but he didn't really have any other options. This is definitely parallel to the post-war period because when veterans came back and were looking for jobs, the majority of them were either already filled or they refused to go back to their previous job. The movie does a great job of portraying the uncertainty and tension that America was going through in the mid to late 1940s. This is due to the movie being made during this uncertain time in the 1940s as the primary source. -Lauren Simpson     Overall, I think that //The Best Years of Our Lives// portrayed the time period of World War II veterans coming back to civilian life in a pretty accurate way. The period when veterans were coming back home and getting settled into their civilian life was definitely struggling at times for them just as the characters portrayed in the movie. With the fears of an economic depression, they were trying to find jobs that they were able to do such as Al going back to his banking job and Fred not wanting to go back to being a soda jerk but he didn't really have any other options. This is definitely parallel to the post-war period because when veterans came back and were looking for jobs, the majority of them were either already filled or they refused to go back to their previous job. The movie does a great job of portraying the uncertainty and tension that America was going through in the mid to late 1940s. This is due to the movie being made during this uncertain time in the 1940s as the primary source. -Lauren Simpson    
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 I found a very early scene to be interesting when Al’s son asks his father about the effects of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima.  John Hersey’s 1946 Hiroshima article that described the horror of nuclear bombs contradicted the government’s denial of radiation and nuclear consequences, yet to many Americans radiation was still Japanese propaganda.  I found it to be an interesting statement because it almost challenged the dropping of the bombs and when Al presents his son with Japanese “souvenirs” he makes a statement about Japanese culture.  As a Japanese American I know that this was not how many Americans felt right after WWII.  **By the end of the readings it is clear that many of these veterans would have been insulted by these statements, especially those who lost limbs or a comrade’s life.**  -Janis Shurtleff I found a very early scene to be interesting when Al’s son asks his father about the effects of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima.  John Hersey’s 1946 Hiroshima article that described the horror of nuclear bombs contradicted the government’s denial of radiation and nuclear consequences, yet to many Americans radiation was still Japanese propaganda.  I found it to be an interesting statement because it almost challenged the dropping of the bombs and when Al presents his son with Japanese “souvenirs” he makes a statement about Japanese culture.  As a Japanese American I know that this was not how many Americans felt right after WWII.  **By the end of the readings it is clear that many of these veterans would have been insulted by these statements, especially those who lost limbs or a comrade’s life.**  -Janis Shurtleff
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 +For the purpose of this class, one of the reasons why it stands out from the other movies is because it was filmed during the same period that it is portraying.  As a result, this film gives us a glimpse as to what life was like during that period in a way that no other film so far has.  Now that we are decades past the World War II period, people can watch a movie like this and see how people dressed, how they talked, what cars looked like, and witness many other aspects of life at this period.  Because we are far enough along in American history in this course, there are now movies like this one where they are essentially both primary and secondary sources.  This is a reason why movies can be very important as a medium of history.  They can provide direct glimpses into history. -Daniel Walker
  
  
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