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A Call for Podcast: The World At War

During the 1970's Thames Television produced one of the best documentaries of the World War II era. Narrated by Laurence Olivier, it explains in detail, the how, why, who and when of what happened in World War II. The best thing about the show is the documentary uses many of the people who were actually in the actions described in the episodes. For example, when they talk about Operation Market Garden, they have General Horrocks their to explain it to you.

A Man whos been there - Camera on face - Words from the man whos been there and the look in his eyes when he remembers. It was just as simple as that, with guiding narration from Olivier himself.

This documentary explains the utter horror that was faced by that generation in the clearest yet deeply emotional terms I've ever seen. It was produced in the 1970's and yet it hasnt aged, or become hokey. In my opinion, there has never been a better job done with the material.

This documentary is just staggering in its presentation of "The World at War" and how it changed all of our lives.

If you havent seen it, run - do not walk to the nearest bookstore to get a copy, or put it in your netflix queue. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I do not recommend you watch it with kids under 15, but I do recommend it as "required viewing" for every kid over 15.

The other day I found myself watching an episode of this show and thinking that it might be time for a "World At War" Podcast, updated for "our war". A New documentary done in the same fashion, describing in the same sort of detail how all of this all came about. Downloadable episodes of 20 minutes in length that cover how the war on terror started, the major actions so far, interviews with the major players. The Thames' "World at War" provides the perfect template for what the podcast could be.

I think there is a serious risk in today's world of forgetting just how this all came about. It might be time for a budding historian or journalist to start to document what this all was about before we all forget.

Posted @ July 24, 2006 01:27 PM | Current Affairs