The Homefront

Brings the war effort to life
I have been using this film in my US history classes for 22 years. While other films became dated or better ones were made, this one has stood the test of time. It is relevant, accessible, funny, tragic, and real. It covers the changes caused by the watershed events of WWII--for teens, women, Integration, internment, men, child care, disabilities, economics, etc., as well as highlights of the war theaters.

One of the best documentaries on WWII ever!!!
I've been teaching history at the college-level for fifteen years and I'm always looking for documentaries that that offer complexity without boring students to death. If a teacher design the perfect documentary, it would educate but also enthrall students by drawing them into the drama of the historical moment. The Homefront does this in spades--it somehow walks this very nuanced line between evoking pride in one's country for the remarkable wartime efforts of ordinary people on the homefront while at the same time excavating the underside of the wartime experience--the internment of Japanese Americans, race riots and discrimination, juvenile delinquency and latch-key kids, the social pressure placed on women to marry GIs, etc.... It does this all with wonderful interviews with ordinary people, amazing footage, and a classic soundtrack. Using personal stories, it highlights the way that the war transformed individual people's lives on the homefront, but also shows the larger...



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