Worldwar2 Essay Research Paper WWII

Worldwar2 Essay, Research Paper

WWII INVOLVMENT OF ARTS IN WORLD WAR II OUTLINE: Thesis: During W.W.II, there was a great effort on the home front to help keep up morale of the troops and to provide support in any way possible. One very effective way to support the troops was by use of arts including movie stars, singers, actors, and actresses. Introduction: W.W.II, in all of its destruction, was an effort to destroy the Axis powers, and totally involved was our country, giving support in any way it could. I. Home front participation A. Sports programs B. Broadway 1. June 6, 1944 C. Movies derived from war 1. Casablanca 2. Thirty Seconds over Tokyo 3. Guadalcanal Diary II. Stars and performers helping war effort A. Bob Hope 1. U.S.O. involvement B. The Andrews Sisters III. A personal perspective on the War A. Doyle Petty Conclusion: Movie stars, singers, actors, and actresses all played an important role in the war effort, in that they kept up the morale of the troops. The Involvement of the Arts in World War II B.J. U.S. History II Mrs. Faulkner Wednesday, March 31, 1999 WORK CITED Ambrose, Stephen E. “The War on the Home front” Timeline. Nov./ Dec. 1993; p. 2-21 Ambrose, Stephen E. “The Home front” Us News and World Report . V 116 #21. H-I p. 54-60. Ledgerwood, Tom. “Attack that ended an era” WWII Remembered Dec. 91- Jan. 92. p. 48-65. The New Groiler Multimedia Encyclopedia. Groiler Electronic Publishing Inc. 1993. IBM – PC – DOS. Petty, Doyle. Personal Interview. Saturday, March 27, 1999. The Involvement of the Arts in World War II World War II, was an effort to destroy the Axis Powers. The Axis powers is the name coined to the enemies of the U.S. during World War II. These nations included mainly Germany, Italy, and Japan. The United States was involved in giving support to our troops. With the first few sporadic shots of the war, started the great effort to help our nation’s soldiers. For some the only way to help was by their talents and popularity. So started the home front participation and began the involvement of the Arts in World War II. Such artists included: actors, actresses, singers, stage performers, comedians, and instrumentalists. During World War II, there was a great effort on the home front to keep up the morale of the troops and to provide support in any way possible. One very effective way to support our troops was the use of the most popular Arts of that era. When the first bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor, the War effort took a front seat to all other programs on television, radio, stage, and even in the work place. Most factories either stopped work all together or stopped immediate production on civilian goods and began producing such goods as would help the war. In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, most people did not own televisions; so essentially radio, word of mouth, newspapers, and the weekly picture shows at the local theater were the only forms of communication from U.S. combatants to the public on the home front. People would listen to the radio, go to dances, attend concerts and private parties, all to benefit the war effort. Many people went to the movies (some 85,000,000 each week in 1945). They would go, not only to see a movie, but also to see the news reel. It was a short newscast played before the feature, giving up-to-date information on occurrences and events of troops overseas. Some popular movies during that era were: Casablanca, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, Bambi, and The Guadacanal Diary (Ambrose). Three of the four most popular movies in 1945 were derived from the war. One of the most popular of these was Casablanca. Starring Humphry Bogart, Casablanca is a movie about the war effort in Casablanca. In some places, baseball games and racing programs were canceled. The question was raised about whether all sports events should be canceled until the war was won. With the outbreak of World War II, many of the players in America’s new favorite pastime, baseball, were shipped overseas to fight for their country. This left a multitude of fans without anything to do. This was just one of the many areas where women stepped up to fill in for their men. During World War II there was officially started a professional women’s baseball league. They played for two consecutive seasons in 1944 and 1945. They had immense popularity for a time, but when the male players returned after the war’s end, women’s baseball lost its fame. By 1948 women’s baseball was virtually unheard of (Ledgerman). New York City, the home of the bustling prosperous Broadway, became the home of hourly news reports broadcast from center stage. On June 6, 1944, Broadway shut down. The more talented and popular actors and actresses went to local boot camps and performed scenes from plays such as Hamlet, written by Shakespeare at the canteens (Ambrose). Local radio newscasts were extended, and several newscasters became famous during this era. Some of these reporters that will be remembered most, are Gabriel Hearern and Edward R. Murrow (Petty). Gabriel Hearern was a reporter for The New York Daily News, a very popular newspaper in New York City. He was well known for his editorial columns. Hearern was a bold reporter. He went out among the troops and interviewed them. He also gave detailed reports of what was going on in Europe. He first was stationed in Europe to cover the war effort there. He stayed for several months in the trenches with the soldiers. When the European phase of the