Posted on 09/30/2007 5:10:22 PM PDT by VOA
Please see following posts for URL links to the
discussion threads for Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the series.
(VOA's boilerplate from prior threads)
All commentary regarding personal experience, family tales of WWII,
and critique of how Burns (and PBS) handles topics are welcome.
Hopefully the threads on the seven episodes will serve as
guides when this large documentary becomes required viewing in
high schools.
Comments on how Burns handled the documenatry (positive,
negative, or neutral) will come in handy when "the younger
generation" sees the series. Especially if Burns takes a
"Smithsonian" tact to some topics...leaving people to wonder
"who the good guys were" during the epic struggle.
When Hitch was free of studio era censorship in 1972’s Frenzy, he filmed one of the most explicit disturbing rape/murder scenes of all time.
Maybe I missed my point. The one letter that was not sent was from the perspective of he was in a war of death. He was honest about his feelings and there was no political slant whatsoever.
The other statement was from a guy who actually made a 180 degree turn. He commented something about if our legislators had to experience war, blah blah blah. That is the statement I thought was hindsight—I question that being a battlefield thought although I suppose it could have been. Might be I perceived it incorrectly. Thus, to me the statement was entirely after-the-fact and did not represent what I thought this series was about.
Not exactly. D-Day on Peleliu was 15 September 1944. Organized resistance was declared over on 27 November 1944, not quite two years.
Your point however has merit. The campaign in the Central Pacific was hamfisted at best. Brute Force and Ignorance, and it cost many American lives, unecessarily.
MacArthur, who gets slammed by Kenny Burns and his buddies was far more judicious in his campaign in the SW Pacific. He tended to attack where the Japanese weren't and bypassed their strong points leaving them to wither on the vine.
But, remember, the idea was to defeat the Japanese and put an end to the Greater Far East Asia Co-Proserity Sphere. This, your uncle, my father, and many others did. What has Kenny Burns done?
Just read through a couple of brief references, and the whole thing started with a decision in 1942 that the US would need the small airstrip on Palau.
Amazingly by the time they decided to invade they didn't need that airstrip because aircraft had been improved substantially.
The whole point was it was a glorious battle with a lot of bravery, and it didn't have to be fought ~ just another island that probably should have been skipped over.
In the future guys on couches who look like they're playing video games will be doing all the combat.
We'll have total replay available of every single action.
Historians will lose their jobs too.
“When Hitch was free of studio era censorship in 1972’s Frenzy, he filmed
one of the most explicit disturbing rape/murder scenes of all time.”
I didn’t know that.
But I did read the recent biography of Jimmy Stewart (by Marc Eliot?).
It had a fair bit about the Hitchcock-Stewart work, including a
lot of psycho-sexual commentary about Hitchcock’s casting of “Rope”.
Hitchcock was an “of his own kind” type of director...and sure sounded
like he had some personal kinks he was working out.
So, I’m a bit suprised about sexual violence in “Frenzy”...
and also not all that shocked.
Well, I guess I should restate: too bad Burns doesn’t stick with
the ‘implication” technique of Hitchcock...pre-”Frenzy”.
from what I understood we were destroying the airfield so Japanese wouldn't use it to attack our forces during the other island attacks.
Related thread on “The War”:
PBS showing right now the Battle of Peleliu during WW2
PBS | 09-30-07 | Me
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1904693/posts
I've also tuned into "The War" at random times as other FReepers have said (I haven't watched it straight through). Seems like an awful downer... constant gloom and doom.
I would love to see MRC or NewsBusters do a thorough analysis of "The War" as well. We were also planning to buy the box set and view it at another (less busy) time, but now I'm having second thoughts.
“Seems like an awful downer... constant gloom and doom.”
I’m sure that was part of the actual experience for a lot of the
people that were actually caught up in WWII.
And maybe it’s more realistic to show that a war just shouldn’t be
viewed as a “great adventure” as in term of having a grand time.
There are times when I think Burns must have watched some History Channel’s
“Dogfight” with aces like Robin Olds (Ace in WWII, leading officer
in Vietnam) and he is just repelled by their “happy hunter” attitude.
Maybe he just feels it’s his duty to provide a downer counter-balance
to all the WWII flicks of optimistic or neutral approach to WWII.
We must be watching different documentaries. None of the episodes insinuated that the ‘japanese’ were the victims in concentration camps. In fact Burns and company never even used the term concentration; it’s called internment camps, and most of these were nisei americans. Regardless, it did happen and what’s wrong with including that storyline if some of the soldier’s profiled had families that were interned? Japanese americans served with distinction and honor in both campaigns of the pacific (their service in the pacific as part of the M.I.S. continues to be one of the more amazing untold stories of the pacific war). Same thing with the Black Americans; yes it points out the racism they went through but it also shows how they fought valiantly and were accepted by their comrades.
This documentary spends plenty of time documenting the cruelty and savagery of the japanese soldiers in places like bataan and in the island hopping campaigns. In fact, as we progress along the pacific island hopping campaign, we are constantly being reminded that these are fanatical people (even highlighting the mass suicides of japanese civilians on saipan and the japanese soldiers that would kill them if they did not commit suicide). The point is that invading japan would be astronomical in terms of casualties, therefore the atomic bomb was totally justified (not exactly a liberal viewpoint IMHO).
Maybe it’s just me but this documentary does an excellent job of pointing out the intricacies of what went on in that time period. It also shows that the World War 2 generation was indeed the greatest; our current spoiled generation would have a hard time comprehending the brutality and savagery these brave men and women had to go through to liberate the world from evil.
I’m not offended in the least by the profanity you mentioned. I was surprised they used it, but not offended.
I have been glued to the series. I have been mad more than a few times at the liberal slant, but still love the history and learning the personal stories. Really wish we could hear from more soldiers about their experiences. He has drilled in the point that the whole country was in the was together enough IMHO. That’s his constant jab at Bush I guess. I’m pretty sure the media was not like today and was with the war too.
After watching so many hours of graphic photos and video of dead soldiers I’ve come to the opinion that it’s too much. Any shock value is lost in the ad naseum stream of such pictures. We all know what dead, mangled bodies look like and we also know that WWII produced many of them. I have felt like yelling at the TV, “WE GET IT!” I also find it disrespectful to continually trot out photos of dead American heroes. Let these men and their families have some dignity and rest in peace.
The word "concentration camp" was DEFINITELY used, multiple times, and that use of the term was never corrected or qualified, either. You must have missed it. The term Nisei Americans was, on the other hand, not used, to my recollection.
actually Burns makes the Democrat party of 2007 look like crap when compared to the WW2 years
just compare the all out war effort of back then with the Pelosi, Reid combo stating just a few months ago that “the surge has failed, the war is lost”
those WW2 heroes you are watching on the War don’t have a thing in common with the Democrats of today
they are much more like Rudy, Fred and Duncan Hunter
Burns isn’t doing the Rats any favors with this series, it is just reminding the American public what defeatest garbage runs that party today
You object to your niece hearing the f word but it is OK for her to see picture after picture of dead mutilated American soldiers. You have some real misguided priorities.
I accidentally came across this movie on cable a few years back. The scene to which you refer was indeed disturbing. It made such an impression of me that I can close my eyes to this day and still see it and the actor Barry Foster in the role of the rapist/murderer. Chilling.
Thanks: I’ll pass it along to my colleagues at NB.
Someone simply forgot to update the battle plans for the area
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