Friday, October 17, 2008
Attitudes Towards World War II
It was interesting to me that Miranda seemed more disgusted by the war effort at home than the war over seas. This is the only time that I have ever heard of anyone criticizing the war effort during World War II. Miranda was more critical of the Liberty Bond salesmen, the knitting of socks, and the dances arranged with soldiers on leave than she was of the futility of the war itself. All of my grandparents were about the same age as Miranda during World War II, and I guarantee that none of them ever shared any of the feelings that Miranda did towards the war. Obviously it was financially impossible for her to support the war financially by buying bonds, but it does not seem unreasonable to expect her to go along with all of the other fanfare involved in publicly supporting the soldiers and the war. Perhaps if she had been morally opposed to the war and had given more of a reason for her distaste of all things surrounding the war than her belief that it was a distraction from the real horrors of war it would have been easier for me to sympathize with her. However, I believe that it was necessary to make all of the Americans at home believe that they were directly involved in the war to distract them from the guilt and shame of sending other people to the front to die. I know that my grandmothers on each side of my family approached the rationing of sugar, the knitting of clothing, the buying of war bonds, and the other elements of the war effort at home with zeal and enthusiasm at the idea that they were aiding their husbands, brothers, cousins, and neighbors overseas. It is important to rememeber that while some of the things that Miranda opposed to may have been frivolous, World War II was a war that needed to be fought and the propaganda that surrounded it was necessary to keep the general population from experiencing the depression and cynicism that Miranda experienced.
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4 comments:
Well, it's world war I but your comments are still valid. I think the general American conception, spread through elementary schooling and history texts, of World war I (and II) is of a nation absolutely united against an indefatigably evil foe. When I think of WWI, I think of propaganda posters describing the "vicious hun" and showing dough-boys slapping down bond payments in their best attire. This was a time in America when free-speech could be completely overridden in war time. There were laws against "sedition," which included pacifism and peaceful objection. People could be literally thrown in jail just for saying something against the war effort. So, PHPR is also very interesting for me in showing alternative attitudes towards war in this supposedly uber-patriotic times. It reminds me of the depiction of pacifism during WWI found in books like a People's History of the United States, Human Smoke, and even East of Eden.
I also thought it was very interesting that Porter would write about a woman who wasn't thrilled to do her part during WWI. I think some of the war efforts actually did help, or they thought they did during that time. I am sure that some efforts felt futile, and may have been futile in actuality, but I am sure that some efforts did help, even if it was just to show support, that is a big job. I also thought it was interesting that this story was written in 1939 (as far as I know from the internet) when WWII was gearing up and America declared that they would remain neutral during WWII (depending on the month) and this was also during the Great Depression. It is almost like she was reminding people of what happened the last time, and supporting WWII neutrality. It is like the
Honestly I think the views of the war are directly related to the flu epidemic, it does seem a little odd to be worrying and placing so much value on a war, that yes does effect people, but when there is an epidemic that is attacking your own home it just seems like we should be more concerned with that rather than foreign affairs. I do not want to get into politics but that is a common belief throughout time many times we become involved in foreign affairs. Such as today's war and Kennedy's involvement in other countries.
I think that in general, war creates a sort of hyperreality. "In semiotics and postmodern philosophy, the term hyperreality characterizes the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technologically advanced postmodern cultures" (According to Wikipedia...I know it's a super academic source to use in asserting my ideas...lol). Furthermore, Most aspects of hyperreality can be thought of as "reality by proxy." For example, "...a viewer watching pornography begins to live in the non-existent world of the pornography, and even though pornography is not an accurate depiction of sex, for the viewer, the reality of "sex" becomes something non-existent. Some examples are simpler: the McDonald's "M" arches create a world with the promise of endless amounts of identical food, when in "reality" the "M" represents nothing, and the food produced is neither identical nor infinite" (Again, courtesy of Wikipedia). But regardless, war creates a hyperreality in that before a war occurs, we do not have the mental ability to imagine what how our environment would actually be altered by war. Likewise, in times of war we are mentally unable to understand the full implications of peace. Thus, the character of Miranda within PHPR grapples to understand what her world would be like without war. She remembers what her world was like prior to the war, but during the war the idea of peace becomes a fantastical paradigm, which she perceives to be perfection, when, in fact, this is an unattainable ideal and is not truthful. I feel that this idea of hyperreality is true even in today's war in Iraq. Immediately, after the attacks of 9/11 we idealized war. We sought revenge on our attackers for the lives lost in 9/11. However, once our troops were deployed and lives were lost on the American side, we began to understand and see war as negative. Thus, many of our fellow Americans are pushing for peace and to "bring our troops back home." Just today I saw people protesting on a street corner, carrying signs that said things like "impeach Bush" and "Military dad against the war." Interesting. Any thoughts on this idea of hyperreality? I didn't really do the idea too much justice in this response.
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