CI 5472: Documentary

I watched the documentary Red, White, Black, and Blue which recounted the experiences of two 85 year-old men who fought at the battle for Attu island--of the Aleutian Islands--in 1943. The documentary serves to retell an unknown history of the forgotten battle between Japanese and Americans on Attu Island. In 1942 the Japanese invaded Attu and took control of the island, a year later American troops were sent in--unprepared for the bitter conditions of the island--and the expected 72 hour battle lasted 19 grueling days. The story is told from the point of view of Bill with comments made from his friend and fellow infantryman Andy. By using actual footage of the American troops and still images captured during the battle in combination with moving accounts from Bill and other members of the Attu infantry, the creators of the film are able to capture the forgotten horrors of war waged on American soil. Bill and Andy return to the scenes of battle and photographs and film footage from 1943 match both the newly filmed scenes and the accounts of the two men with shocking clarity and validity. The documentary follows the men from their landing in Massacre Bay through the hardships of weather and fighting until the end of the battle 19 days later. The film crew uses moving images and footage (past and present) of the formidable Attu landscape combined with interviews from Bill and his contemporaries as well as experts--Coast Guard members on the island and an Alaskan historian. These shots are filmed in silence or presented with music that adds to the tone by matching the narrative and images--letting you know how to feel about the shots (as if there even was another way to feel).

The documentary focuses entirely on Bill's point of view with comments from other soldiers that emphasize and reinforce his accounts of the battle. What is interesting about the documentary is that it uses images captured from Japanese soldiers on the island. These images suggest the humanity of the Japanese and they seem to be inconsistent with the grenade wielding men who "bonzaied" the Americans killing themselves and their enemy without mercy. Yet it is important to remember Bill when he says that no one can understand what they went through except others who have fought in hand-to-hand combat with a mortal enemy. Bill and his men were sent there to eradicate their enemy and take back the island and the Japanese struggled to maintain their hold; surrender was not an option on either side of the battle-line.

The film is clearly biased by the patriotic feelings of Bill and Andy. Bill acknowledges that the youth of nations have been used, but not abused, as the front-line of defense for their countries since the dawn of time. He was sent there to do a job and he didn't think about the consequences to him or those around him until after the fighting was over. To this day, Bill has some serious racism toward Japanese and these feelings come across in the film. On Engineer Hill there is a titanium star-burst monument erected by the Japanese to honor their fallen soldiers; Bill is outraged by the "audacity" of the Japanese government in erecting the monument on American soil for men who "stole" Attu Island from the U. S. He tells of his efforts to have the monument removed--pushing his own agenda in that regard. He mentions a trip to Hawaii in which he saw Japanese vacationers by the bus load. The image this created for him of Japanese again on American soil disturbed him greatly and seemed to be a catalyst for further work to remove the monument.

In all reality, the documentary accurately captures the account of these two men and the use of photographs and film from the battle itself only add more validity to their claims. We hear the men talk about the "Little Falls Cemetery" which no longer exists only to see the image in a photo; we hear the men talk about the Japanese men racing toward them with grenades and then see them rushing through the fog or with their heads blow up from their own grenades in film clips moments later. I had no doubts in my mind after watching the film that the battle for Attu was bloody and dangerous on all sides. Even Bill's racism can be if not justified then at least explained by his experience. It is only be luck and the ingenuity of an American captain that he survived the battle; while injured from a shot in the leg he had to sit by while the Japanese raided their make-shift hospital tents, killing wounded troops with guns and bayonets.

Bills heartfelt account and the use of excellent primary images and footage made this story successful in convincing me of both the ill-prepared and ill-equipped American soldiers who slid down frozen mountain faces in an effort to win back Attu. They succeeded in doing their duty to their country and while their story has been forgotten by many--their success and pain is undeniable. I leave this documentary feeling patriotic, proud, sympathetic, and more informed--mission accomplished.

Activity:
Provide students with clips from different types of documentaries to watch in class. These clips can come from different time periods. Clips can come from early propaganda focused documentaries from WWII to documentaries, historical documentaries meant to inform, or documentaries with social awareness agendas like Super Size Me, just to name a few. As they watch, have them identify different techniques used by the director of the film, how the documentary is presented, what is the goal, is their an agenda behind the film, who is the audience, is the film biased, what is the purpose of the film, etc. The class can discuss the different reasons for creating documentaries and what makes a successful or effective documentary. Lists can be generated by the class to identify the goals for making these different types of film. For a final project students can choose a type of documentary and create it using the class created lists as guides. This is great way to get students to think more critically about agendas and biases behind the media, as well as a way to work on persuasive or goal based creations (writing and media based).