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"Other significant events like the sinking of the Bismarck, the French Resistance and the death of Mussolini go completely unmentioned. Because these events didn't mean that much to Americans, they play only a small role in the film. It doesn't matter -- Burns didn't set out to make a definitive history of World War II."
Then, with all due respect, he should not have called this documentary "The War". People educated in the history of the 20th century will most likely realize that the United States was not the sole opposition to Hitler and Hirohito during World War II. Those who are less versed in these events (and especially those who may be learning about them now in the classroom, perhaps from films like this one) are rather vulnerable to this America-centric version of the story. It is perfectly acceptable to make a film about one aspect of a global event, especially the aspect that touches America as a nation. It is not at all acceptable to suggest (especially in the title and in the ads that are airing now) that this is all one needs to know about the story.
I suppose Kamiya, whose ancestors were part of the story Burns tell, considers it sufficient because, in a way, HIS part of the war story is told. I, whose ancestors were in the USSR (both as civilians and as Soviet Army soldiers) during the conflict, feel ignored. "The War" does not belong to Americans alone. When the ads say "we fought" they should not only show American Marines storming the beaches. "We" were the world, hence "World War II". You cannot tell a story about a fraction of the conflict and entitle this story "The War", as if it contains the sum total of everything that happened.
Obviously, I haven't seen the thing. I am not criticizing the filmmaking, the storytelling or anything else. I am sure it's a wonderfully made film about a powerful topic. American veterans deserve to be remembered and films like this are absolutely necessary. I merely resent the already mentioned blinkered view of the matter that Burns, completely unintentionally, propagates with his epic style. I am sure Burns does not mean to propagandize, but the way his film is advertised already amounts to propaganda. Most people my age that I speak to have no idea that World War II included anyone except the Germans, the British, the Americans and the Japanese. When I tell them that it was the Red Army that took Berlin, they look at me in surprise. When I tell them that Stalin was marching on Japan and that was one of the reasons Hirohito surrendered, they laugh at me.
On the other hand, while educated in USSR, I do not recall much mention of the American involvement in the war. Over there, the war was ours, as well. Only the events of 1941 - 1945 (May, that is) mattered. I suppose this is something big nations do: try to claim a global event as their own. It legitimizes and uplifts them, makes them believe that they control the destiny of human kind. It's just that America claims to be better than everyone else, more "open minded", due to its large immigrant population. It appears, however, that this open mindedness is a myth, at least as far as the most sacred ideologies are concerned. And one of the most sacred of them all is this: the Americans single-handedly "won" World War II. It would be truly refreshing to see a documentary that shatters this myth. It would do this nation a world of good.
