''Women in Defense'' is a 1941 short film produced by the Office of Emergency Management shortly before the United States entered the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
. It was directed by
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
.
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 ...
preserved ''Women in Defense'' in 2008. The film is part of the Academy War Film Collection, one of the largest collections of World War II era short films held outside government archives.
Synopsis
Opening with a shot of a statue of "the pioneer woman who helped win a continent", the film briefly outlines the way in which women could help prepare the country for the possibility of war. Among the various way women could help were:
*working in a war materials manufacturing plant
*sewing parachutes for US servicemen
*attending free lectures on how to prepare nutritious meals on presumably rationed food
*Joining the WAC or the Red Cross
*donating blood
There is also a segment on the types of costumes women would wear while engaged in war work. At the end of the film, the narrator explains women are vital to securing a healthy American home life and raising children "which has always been the first line of defense".
See also
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List of Allied Propaganda Films of World War 2
*
United States home front during World War II
The United States home front during World War II supported the war effort in many ways, including a wide range of volunteer efforts and submitting to government-managed Rationing in the United States, rationing and price controls. There was a gen ...
References
External links
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1941 films
American World War II propaganda shorts
Films directed by John Ford
American black-and-white films
Eleanor Roosevelt
1940s English-language films
1940s American films
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