My Country 'Tis of Thee

Just watched this little short on TMC. It certainly IS a little piece of propaganda and it looks just silly now. Since I was born in 1947, I grew up in the post WWII era in which this idea of patriotism was heavily promoted -- U.S. is greatest country in the history of the world and does no wrong. Any film has to be viewed in the context of its own time. We had just been the victors of the greatest war in the history of the world and most everyone had a son, father, brother, uncle who went to war, many sacrifices were also made at home & veterans had returned home. We were proud and united. The "Red Scare" was swinging into full gear and, of course, the atom bomb hung like a menacing storm cloud in the background of daily living. I agree with most other reviewers -- this makes little attempt to give an accurate historical account and, of course, that wasn't the objective. It's just a little slice of Americana. Rated a 3 not 0 for giving insight into that era.

"My Country Tis of Thee" is a 19-minute film made by Warner Brothers as a featurette. Such shorts were made often to accompany main feature films by the various Hollywood studies into the1960s. This one is a condensed history of American settlement with emphasis on the wars in its history. In 1950 the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West was building and had become quite tense. So, it's understandable that documentaries and docudramas of this type would be made to encourage preparedness and support for national defense.

When talking about the U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, the narrator got one thing wrong regarding guarantees of freedom. He says, "Then was added the Bill of Rights - freedom to worship, freedom of speech, of the press, the right of assembly." The first amendment in the Bill of Rights reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech. Or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

This prohibits the government from establishing a religion and from interfering with the free exercise of any religion. That is much more than and quite different from a freedom of worship. This is also a common error made by the news media yet well into the 21st century, and by some politicians over the years. Some even refer to this as a separation of church and state; but while it prohibits the government from interfering with any religions, it does not prohibit the religions from involvement in or promoting good government.

The segment about World War II and the D-Day invasion of Normandy included the message that Gen. Eisenhower broadcast to the Allied forces as the operation got underway. The announcer says, "Attention, from Gen. Eisenhower, to all soldiers, sailors and airmen of the United Expeditionary Force;" and then Gen. Eisenhower says, "You are about to embark on a great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Good luck!"

This short, composed of stock footage in Technicolor, is a very brief narrative of the history of the USA from the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock in 1620 (note the Pilgrims stepping on the rock!) to the formal Japanese surrender at the end of World war II on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay (2 September 1945). Its obvious purpose is patriotism: both to review what made America great and to note her victories in six wars. Actually what made the USA superior was abundant resources, hard work, geographic location, and immigration. This nationalistic film will come to no surprise to anyone who has watched Hollywood shorts and newsreels from the 1920s through the 1940s. The USA was flush with a victory in the most damaging war in history; thus the movie's ending message is that our land, sea, and air defenses stand ready to defend the nation against the latest threat (the USSR and China).

Famous historical American personages are duly mentioned, like George Washington, John Hancock, Betsy Ross, Abe Lincoln, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and especially the winning generals of the Second World War. It should be noted that the intention of the film is NOT to list negatives, viz., that not all Americans were then getting all of society's benefits. Even so, one might add that, this being America, the situation has long since changed. Although haters of most things American will despise the film, it is nevertheless of historical significance.

My Country 'Tis of Thee (1950)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar-nominated Technicolor short from Warner takes a look at various historical events in America's history including all the wars fought up to 1950, the landing of the Pilgrams, the Indians moving out West, the Star Spangle Banner being written and various other things. MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE isn't a complete winner but I think history buffs should get a few kicks out of it. I'd also add that this here would probably be a great short to show young kids because you get a pretty quick look at the various historical things for America but I'm sure this being in color would help hold their interests as well. I thought for the most part this was entertaining, although I'm sure history buffs might object to a few of the things including how "kindly" the Indians moving was when in fact they were treated quite unfair. I'm sure many people would laugh over the reasonings behind the Civil War here. Obviously certain things have been toned down but overall the short is still worth viewing.

Even given that this was produced in 1950 during the Cold War, this short film is egregious propaganda. It relates our history in terms that invite a comparison with Nazi spin. One would think that the citizens of the USA were some master race. The Indians "moved westward" after their conflicts with the white settlers. The quick look at the Civil War does not even mention slavery. What we're given here is a version of American History that has no relation to reality. Scary stuff. I can heartily recommend this to students of history who want to research the McCarthy era, with its Communist paranoia -- perhaps this is an attempt by Hollywood to fend off the witch hunt and the subsequent blacklisting of many writers and directors.