''The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter'' is a 1980

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

and the first movie made by Connie Field about the American women who went to work during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

to do "men's jobs." In 1996, it was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Summary

The film's title refers to "

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...

", the cultural icon that represented women who worked the manufacturing plants which produced munitions and material during World War II.

Production

Connie Field got the idea for the film from a California Rosie the Riveter reunion, and, with grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and other charitable sources, conducted interviews with many hundreds of women who had gone into war work. Out of these she chose five representatives—three black, two white—all marvelously lively, intelligent, and articulate women who recall their experiences with a mixture of pleasant nostalgia and detached bitterness. The reminiscences are intercut with the realities of the period—old news, films, recruiting trailers, March of Time clips, and pop songs such as "Rosie the Riveter." These often serve to highlight the disparities between how women were portrayed in wartime media and the actual experiences of these five women.

Reception and legacy

''The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter'' premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1980, which at that time was one of the most important film festivals in America, and went on to be screened at over 50 film festivals around the world. The film was released in movie theaters in the United States, England and Australia to rave reviews. ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' called it "warm, engaging and poignant" and went on to say "the film has that Studs Terkel-like ability to discover the extraordinary in seemingly ordinary people. Terrific." Of the Rosies themselves '' The London Times'' said "the resilience, spirit and humour of Connie Field's indomitable heroines sends you out elated and loving them." The film earned fifteen international awards for Best Documentary, was named "One of the Ten Best Films of the Year" by a number of publications, including the Village Voice and Film Comment, and was voted "Best Independent Feature of the Year" in American Film Magazine. It was originally broadcast on PBS's

American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

and numerous international TV stations such as Channel 4 in England and the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The film has been in active distribution for over 30 years. ''The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter'' was preserved by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

, in conjunction with the

in 2013.

Awards and nominations

* Best Documentary nomination, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1981 * winner, Gold Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival, 1980 * winner, Golden Marazzo, Festival dei Popoli, 1980 * winner, Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival, 1980 * winner, CINE Golden Eagle, 1981 * winner, Golden Athena, Athens Festival * winner, Finalist Award, National Educational Film Festival, 1982 * winner, Blue Ribbon Award, American Film Festival, 1981 * winner, John Grierson Award, American Film Festival, Educational Film Library Association

References

External links