Description
In this episode, we explore how WW2 media creates myths, with our guest Sam from the Philippines, and critically analyze films and shows from different perspectives. This two-part episode kicks off with a discussion on how historical media shapes our understanding of the past and what truths may be hidden in plain sight.
Also listen to part two of this WW2 media themed episode.
Sources and recommendations
For our main book recs, see below.
In preparation for this podcast, we read and watched a lot of things. While it’s impossible to list absolutely everything, here are our sources and things we recommend you check out:
- “B(r)and of Brothers: The Undermining of “Bit Player” David Webster’s Parachute Infantry” by Emily Hoffman (you can create a free account to read this paper)
- “Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines” by Gregory Daddis
- “The Good War: An Oral History of World War II” by Studs Terkel
- “What Is America?: A Short History of the New World Order” by Ronald Wright
- “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz
- “The Cambridge History of America and the World” | Part II | Challenging a World of States | Chapter 13 – Imperial Visions of the World (we don’t have a link for you to read this, sorry)
- WWII Myths – a WW2TV series on YouTube (fun, bite-sized discussions about big and small myths)
Book Recs
*This section contains affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we get a small percentage, and you get a book and help Rosie stay afloat. Thank you!
“Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness” by Elizabeth D. Samet is about the media that emerged in the wake of WWII, what it has to tell us about American identity, and how it has influenced American perspectives. This book was recommended to Sam when she first began to take an interest in this topic, and it provided an excellent roadmap when she was researching for our podcast episodes. Samet will take you places you never thought about – how post-civil war mythmaking provided a framework for post-WWII mythmaking, for example, or how the post-war western reflected the attitudes of returning GIs. This book has the double-benefit of being wildly interesting, and also making you think critically about the media you love.
“Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper’s Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich” by David Kenyon Webster is a profoundly personal account of Easy Company’s time in the war. Written shortly after the war and untouched by the Band of Brothers phenomenon, it differs from other Easy Company memoirs focusing on brotherhood, instead offering a much more critical view of military life. In this candid retelling of his experiences, Webster isn’t afraid to show his shortcomings, fears and sometimes even cowardice. It also happens to be beautifully written.
“Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific: A Young Marine’s Stirring Account of Combat in World War II” by Robert Leckie follows Leckie from his enlistment, through basic training, to the very end of the war in the Pacific. He spares no details of the horrors he faced or the sacrifices of war, poignantly ending with a criticism of the atomic bomb that is sure to give you chills. This book is eloquently written with a human approach—our favourite memoir.
“Easy Company Soldier: The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from WW II’s ‘Band of Brothers'” by Don Malarkey is Maartje’s favourite Easy Company memoir besides David Webster’s (disclaimer: she hasn’t read them all). It’s an easy read and very engaging. Malarkey shares his experiences, sometimes funny and occasionally tragic and emotional. You get a few glimpses into his closest friendships within the company and a little more context to the Malarkey we see in Band of Brothers. Maartje finished this book in one night.
