The Need for The Continued Resilience of the American People during the Later Days of The War as Exemplified in MGM’s “They Were Expendable”.
During the latter parts of World War II, the war news was encouraging, and Americans were starting to tire of war bond drives, scarcity, rationing and the constant trickle of dead American men fighting for acres of other people’s land and freedoms. Reversals like the “Battle of the Bulge” in December 1944-January 1945 promised that defeating Nazi Germany would continue to be immensely costly, while Pelileu and the Luzon campaign in the Pacific showed that the Japanese were willing and able to go to inhuman lengths to defend their Imperial heritage. It was one thing to motivate Americans to pay to destroy enemy aircraft carriers, battleships, and divisions from the air, it was quite another to induce them to finance the exploration of occupied “spider holes” by their own sons for the sake of conquering a beach of an inhospitable speck of an island that seemingly had little significance in the war as a whole.
World War Two was marketed to the civilians of every nation as a cataclysmic struggle requiring unprecedented public sacrifices and involvement, and in the early years of the war, the fear of defeat, invasion and scenarios all too horrific to comprehend motivated Americans to sacrifice, work hard and build the staggering infrastructure that produced the Allies to certain victory. In these early years of the War (1941-1942), propaganda did not need to be more than fear-mongering, yet America was not yet fully invested in open warfare. American airmen, sailors, Marines and soldiers were fighting and dying, but the vast majority of the American military- to say nothing of its civilian p...
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...t, reflection that led to the continued resolve to just end the war, but with the stated policy if unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire.
Works Cited
"They Were Expendable". Dir. John Ford. Perf. Robert Montgomery, Ward Bond, et al John Wayne. 1945. Full length movie.
Brig General Jerome Hagen, USMC (ret). "War in the Pacific" Book II. Honolulu: Hawaii Pacific University, 2007. Book.
Doherty, Thomas. Projections of Power-Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II. New York City: Columbia University Press, 1993. Book.
P T Boats Inc. www.ptboats.org. 1967. Web. 1 Jan 2014.
Richard B. Stolley, et al. Life: World War II-History's Greatest Conflict in Pictures. New York City: Time Inc.-Bulfinch Press, 2001. Book.
US Naval History and Heritage Command. www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-5.htm. n.d. Web. 1 Jan 2014.
Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II. Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that 'there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books.' (115)
“When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within.” During the late 1940s and early 1950s, these words of Abraham Lincoln were all on the minds of Americans (McCarthyism). After fighting against Communism for decades, the fear of it taking down the country terrorized people’s thoughts. Even more so, people were extremely frightened of the idea that there could be Communists within the spotlights of American influence that were plotting the destruction of the United States. A fear swept the country for almost a decade, and it transformed every aspect of American culture. This transformation began in the entertainment industry and hit here the hardest. The fear of Communism completely spun the industry upside down and distorted everything that made American showbiz so distinct. Even today, the controversies of the 1940s and 1950s have left an impression on the current entertainment industry.
Gailey, Harry. The War in the Pacific: From Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. Novato: Presidio, 1995.
Often, we find ourselves facing dramatic events in our lives that force us to re-evaluate and redefine ourselves. Such extraordinary circumstances try to crush the heart of the human nature in us. It is at that time, like a carbon under pressure, the humanity in us either shatters apart exposing our primal nature, or transforms into a strong, crystal-clear brilliant of compassion and self sacrifice. The books Night written by Elie Wiesel and Hiroshima written by John Hersey illustrate how the usual lifestyle might un-expectantly change, and how these changes could affect the human within us. Both books display how lives of civilians were interrupted by the World War II, what devastations these people had to undergo, and how the horrific circumstances of war were sometimes able to bring out the best in ordinary people.
World War II opened a new chapter in the lives of Depression-weary Americans. The United States of America had an unusual importance in the war, it had been spared the physical destruction that had taken place throughout the world. Americans on the home front did not see the fighting and brutality as other countries experienced it. However, the events and changes on the home front due to the World War transformed America. One of the greatest conversions was that of the American woman. Women around the country were transformed from the average house wife into a person with a voice and most importantly a purpose.
Suid, Lawrence. "The Pentagon and Hollywood: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)." American History/ American Film: Interpreting the Hollywood Image. Eds. John E. O'Connor and Martin A. Jackson. Boston: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1979.
Adams, Michael C. C. The "Best War Ever: America and World War II" Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 1994. Bailey, Ronald H. The Home Front, U.S.A. Time-Life Publishing, Chicago, IL. 1978 Bard, Mitchell G.
Jeffries, John. Wartime America: The World War II Home Front. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Print. American Way.
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