How the American Revolution was being thought about in the 1960s

The PDA Assignments up to this point have asked you to analyze primary documents (documents created at the place/time of the subject being covered). While secondary sources are those produced after the event or historical process has occurred (like your textbook or most history books), it is possible for a secondary source to become a primary source depending upon what you are studying. For example, a study of how the American Revolution was being thought about in the 1960s would not necessarily utilize the writings of the Founding Fathers but rather review and compare the books historians were writing concerning the Revolution in the 1960s. With this in mind, PDA #3 is asking you to view some secondary sources as primary ones and analyze what they have to teach us not only about the historical events they are covering, but the time period they were produced in as well. History is about telling stories. There is arguably no greater medium to tell stories in today’s society and culture than movies. Films have the ability to not only tell us stories about their intended subjects, but provide details about contemporary issues influencing screenwriters and directors. For example, Westerns made during the Cold War have as much to tell us about what Americans were thinking about and debating in the 1950s and 1960s as they do about the actual history of the American West in the 1800s. For the PDA #3 Assignment I would like you to view ONE of the following films pertaining to World War Two and submit a MINIMUM length response of One FULL Page that addresses the following: 1) Based upon your knowledge of World War Two, is this film accurate regarding its portrayal of the conflict? Why or why not? 2) Why do you believe we are still so interested in the history and stories of World War Two? How do you believe the time period this film was made influenced changing perceptions of World War Two over time? (For example, what are some of the themes displayed in a 1990s film regarding WWII that perhaps have more to do with what was going on in America in the 1990s than the 1940s?) Please remember to provide specific details (scenes from the movie) to support your arguments. Please click “PDA #3″ above to be taken to the page where you will upload your essay. Here you will also be able to preview the grading rubric upon which your assignment score will be based. Possible Movie Choices: The Great Escape (1963) The Dirty Dozen (1967) Patton (1970) Saving Private Ryan (1998) The Thin Red Line (1998) Flags of Our Fathers (2006) Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Please follow the Formatting and Citation requirements posted in both the Orientation and Writing Assignments pages. Grammar and spelling will also be considered when your essay is graded. The papers are due by the specified deadlines found in both the Syllabus and the Announcements page on this course website. This Primary Document Analysis is worth 50 possible points. Cite any outside sources you use in your paper (ie…book, article, website, etc.) Failure to do so can result in a charge of plagiarism, which has serious consequences. Please ask questions if in doubt.You will be able to write this essay on your word processing program (Word, etc.) and upload it to me through an anti-plagiarism program called SafeAssign by clicking here. 1. The essays should be Double-Spaced and written in Times New Roman font with a point size of 12. 2. The top, bottom, left, and right margins should all be the standard 1” in size. 3. The single-spaced header on the first page should include your Name and Document # from which your analysis is drawn. There is no need for a header on any subsequent page. There is also no need for a Title. Please be aware that if you should decide to include in your submission a Title that this will not be counted towards your minimum length requirement. 4. You will be penalized for any submission that does not meet the stated minimum length requirement. 5. Because of the short length of these assignments, please avoid directly quoting the document unless it is absolutely essential to your argument. Instead, briefly paraphrase the passage(s) and focus instead upon providing your analysis and supporting your argumentation. 6. There is no need to provide a citation for the single document you are analyzing. However, if you have used outside sources beyond the document provided, please include citations using the MLA Format. This will include in-text citations and a Works Cited Page. The Works Cited Page should be on a separate page at the conclusion of your essay and will not count towards the minimum length requirement.