| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (55 min. 26 sec.) ; 333673450 bytes |
| Summary |
Girls' Own War Stories are the personal recollections of a small group of Australian women and how the Second World War changed their lives forever. Each of these women experienced new opportunities and new challenges as a result of the war, and in doing so, learned to stand on their own two feet.In 1939, most young women's expectations were limited to spending life looking after their men and children. They accepted that they got paid less than men if they worked they accepted that men were more important. They believed in a life of duty, responsibility and care.But the war and women's war related work changed all that. Some took up the challenge to help their country in roles they had never considered or tackled before as cipher operators, factory workers, code breakers, or searchlight girls while others struggled at home to support their families. War was seen as either a glamorous, exciting adventure, or something to be endured with drudgery and loneliness.For everyone, the war became increasingly frightening as the enemy drew closer, and all breathed a sigh of relief when the Americans arrived. However, the Yanks were a mixed blessing bringing not only fighting power and a huge consumer demand, but also causing social and sexual upheaval. This new morality caused personal dilemmas for women of all ages and backgrounds.As the war began to wind down and the men began to come home, they expected a return to the old ways where women were compliant and dutiful. But women had changed, a sense of working for the good of the country and helping each other had given them a new vision for their lives and they were not giving that up.The Second World War became the greatest social catalyst ever for Australian women. It was these women - those who worked for the war effort, and those who kept the home fires burning - who helped lay the foundations for the making of a new outward-looking Australia. Their stories will change the way we think about women, men, and war in the twentieth century.PRODUCTION DETAILSProducer/Director/Interviewer: Jennifer Ainge; Writers: Antoinette Ford and Paul Roy. Girls Own War Stories is a Screen Australia and Iguana Films Co production for ABC TV |
| Event |
Broadcast 2011-04-21 at 20:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: PG |
| Subject |
Civilians in war.
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War and society.
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War stories, Australian.
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Women and war.
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World War (1939-1945)
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Australia.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Ainge, Jenny, director
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Balfour, Thalee, contributor
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