Cast:
Featuring Wanita Allen, Gladys Belcher, Lyn Childs, Lola Weixel, and Margaret Wright. Produced and Directed by Connie Field.
Review:
One of the main draws to doing a month dedicated to women directors is the idea of covering film from a variety of interesting perspectives that have not received attention in the past. In particular, the documentary is one area that always merits attention, and Connie Field is a filmmaker that has earned considerable curiosity in a filmmaking career that has spanned four decades (with an Academy Award nomination and Emmy Award win to her credit). She was born in Washington, D.C. to a Jewish family; she worked as an organizer for several movements, both feminist and anti-war during the 1960s. Her work for Newsreel (distribution for independent films) got her into filmmaking, and it was the discussion over a late 1970s reunion of "Rosie the Riveter" near her that interested her in making a documentary, one that would surely seem interesting involving the perspective of women from a time not too far removed from the current woman. This film was her directorial debut. Over the next couple of years, she would focus on a variety of subjects such as American veterans of the Spanish Civil War, the story of the 1961-64 Mississippi voter registration movement, and the struggle of anti-apartheid activists against South Africa's system (a series of seven films). The icon "Rosie the Riveter" involved work in the factory and shipyards that would produce munitions and war supplies, and the term was used for songs and film (nineteen years later, the Canadian perspective was covered in Rosies of the North). The movie proved quite suitable in both the festival circuit and on television, having first premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1980 alongside broadcasting on the PBS program American Experience in 1988. The runtime is 65 minutes (as edited by Lucy Massie Phenix and Connie Field).
As you might guess, one will be quite interested to hear the recollections of five women, ones based in Los Angeles (CA), Brooklyn (NY), San Francisco (CA), Richmond (CA), and Detroit (MI) that all worked during World War II (hundreds were interviewed, but only these five are shown). Well, actually it starts with a recollection of the late 1930s from the perspective of the five women, whether that involves molasses making or housework (with one account even stating how she got a job on the thought that she was a man, considering how "tough" the job was). There is plenty of old footage utilized to go along with the recollections, most notably with The March of Time newsreels, specifically footage imploring the importance of women to join the war effort (and stay in the effort). As one might see, it was an interesting time, one that wasn't always rosy (whether that involved welding or union), but it is the prospect of making something meaningful that attracts one more than anything. Of course, making more money than before helps too, but it is pride in riveting that drove one forward that is universally relevant, where the ordinary is extraordinary. The history that one hears from this film is quite fascinating, with one account even talking about putting a torch up to help defend against a Filipino worker being mistreated by an officer. Sure, the war propaganda made them to be heroes, but that didn't mean there wasn't discrimination and sexism to be found. Of course, the end of the war meant a push to "return to normalcy", which pushed away the people working during the war, where co-workers were now competitors for the jobs that were left over, as if going back to homemaking was just something one could snap right back to, even with a "baby boom" - the film shows footage of Marynia F. Farnham, M.D, who actually co-wrote a book about "psychologically disordered" contemporary women. Sure, one can go to working in kitchens, department stores and mimeographing, but it just isn't quite the same (interestingly enough, Wright actually ran for president as an independent, receiving over 49,000 votes in 1976). The last words in the film strike especially, with one of the women (Weixel) talking about how that particular time of war produced a smart looking group of ladies that loved one another in a feeling that one would wish for this country again, but not for war. Now more than ever, one can still see the importance of such a film in its perspective on history from the people who lived it that makes a suitable hour to spend that will make you look further.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: The Loveless.
No comments:
Post a Comment