Group Research: What makes WWII a compelling subject for film

Portraying World War II in film has yet to become an out-of-date trend. Films about the war began to be made even during the war itself and more than sixty years later, it's fair to say that at least one major WWII movie makes it to theaters each year. What makes WWII such an attractive topic to depict onscreen? For one thing, the mere scale of the war made its legacy an international one, something that is remembered by communities around the world. The international involvement in WWII allowed for a multitude of different perspectives, all influenced by different political biases, cultural ties, and social distinctions. There is a limitless number of stories to tell, ones about individual players, others about entire communities; some from a military perspective, others from a political one, and some others from the home front. WWII was a unification of international cultures, and the basic humanity that is often illustrated in WWII films responds to this sense of universal understanding, even when the perspective told is one vastly different from the viewer's. While the universal human connection often prevails in WWII films, many other films concentrate on the opposing side of the spectrum of WWII. The Holocaust and Hitler's reign are dark topics that not only provide dramatic material for the screen, but also offer intriguing theses about the injustices of humanity. The cruelty that WWII often connotes seems unfathomable; the idea that humans can persecute fellow civilians so brutally is hard to grasp, and approaches to rationalize or objectify the Holocaust are sought by filmmakers to create powerful and insightful movies. WWII offers so many complex and contradicting layers, layers that invite perspectives from people around the world, from different time periods and different cultural, socioeconomic, and political backgrounds. The diversity in storytelling WWII provides makes the subject a very appealing and a very rewarding one for filmmaking.