“Boom to Boost “American history

“Boom to Boost “American history

            The American nation is known for its rich history dated back from the time of the slave trade, agrarian revolution, world wars, the cold war and the time of Abraham Lincoln during the American civil war. America is majorly made up of immigrants from various European origin and the African origin, which divided it into two major fronts the southerners and the northerners who were whites and black American’s respectively (Bubel et al., 2018). America’s participation in world war one was instead a spectator involvement. Still, in world war two, the American striking Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan made a historical impact that could see an end to the world war. There is much to talk about in terms of American history. Still, the focus of this essay is to the central argument presented in the documentary ‘the century: America’s time’ and to discover the material, anecdotes, examples and ideas used in the interpretation.

America’s time documentary is a film series produced by and aired by ABC News; it talks about the 20^th century and the origin of the United States as a superpower nation. This documentary was being first aired on the History Channel in the year 1999. The series has several episodes that explain the rise of America as a superpower dating back to the period of World War 2 (Shi et al. 2016). Before the world war, the Americans were busy developing their nation through agriculture and industrialization, which made them stabled in terms of economic strength. They later participated in world war after japan striking two of their ports.  They could then reply by bombing two of valued Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus bring an end to world war2 and making America a superpower nation.

The episode “boom to boost “of the documentary outlines the experience from the years 1920 onwards, a period of America’s emergence as a world super power. The average life-span was on an average of 45years, bread could only cost a few cents, going or flying to the moon was just but a dream in those day horsepowers was was horsepower. There were a lot of anticipated changes during this period for the periods to come. Episode boom to boost introduces us to a period of underdevelopment, and the beginning of development. It was also known as the period of change.it was the period where the American’s started doing things the right way (Bubel et al., 2018). The episode brings the main idea of unity in working and dedication in working to achieve a higher goal, as observed in (time 1:58) the Americans united in destroying illicit alcohol. The main objective of episode one is to tell the viewers the various steps America took to develop their nation, the essences of hard work, dedication, and struggle to achieve the much more important things they were able to achieve. From grass to grace and from nothing to something, thus telling the viewers how hard work pays.

The primary idea material, anecdotes used in the documentary imagery use, included the use of songs. These video clips were, at times, hilarious, use of fascinating war scenes and very many captivating scenes. All these imageries aim to capture the minds of the viewer and bring a deep sense of the information being portrayed. The use of real images and video clips in the various episodes bring out the real picture of what took place and makes the viewers get practical information on the issue. Each episode uses a unique material to portray the information; the interpretation of each material used makes the viewer understand the topic of discussion (Ohmer, 2020) deeply. The use of images of presidents, for instance, the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, makes the viewers relate to the period of the civil war and the man behind its end. Images of astronauts travelling to the moon, military helicopters and various magnificent buildings show the progress the American people took throughout the years. The pictures and video clips are used to bring out the main argument in the documentary, which helps the readers to follow the topic of discussion quickly.

The episode “boom to boost” shows series of measure taken in the development, new policies, new laws and regulations put in place to ensure high development. Within this period, a lot is done towards achieving economic and political goals. The period boom to boost played an important role in enabling America’s development towards a super power state. The period was also nickname shell shock, which implies to the feeling of the post-war effect (Booth, 2019). The episode outlines America’s hesitant to emerge as a world superpower, and it shows the entire wholesale sense of loss, life fathers and husbands, and of the consecrated ideal such as patriotism, glory and honour which arose from the war and even after the war.  During this period (time marker 11:50), American’s witnessed negative changes in the economy and their industries; most slaves who were working in America’s plantations were now used as a soldier in the war. The war brought a standstill in the entire world. However, the resilience of the American’s was more robust than the war itself. They persisted along with the war and emerged victors in building up their nation, and putting everything right; the main argument put forth here is resilience and determination.

The episode “boom to boost “shows another period of reboots activity towards acquiring wealth. Aggressive economic activities characterized it, the industrial revolution in America took place at this time, agrarian revolution and also military power, which included the acquisition of nuclear weapons, among others (time marker 5:20) . Immediately after the First World War, a good number of modern-minded Americans, most of which were women, were determined to do away with the old tradition and replace them with new freedoms and rights (Cook, 2016). The episode’s main agenda was to outline the issue surrounding the role of women’s rights going from smoking, to the ballot and to bring out the controversy it came along with. During the period between 1929-1936, America, which has been enjoying the robust economic growth experienced the great depression, which was a result of about 25% unemployment, which about due to the closer of 9000 banks leading to a reduction in $2.5bilion deposits. The period was a shaking period for Americans as they watch their economy coming down. They, however, persisted and prevailed through the hard times, thus building a strong nation that would later become a superpower. The main argument of these episodes is the benefits of embracing change and fighting through your predicaments to emerge victoriously.

The episode “boom to boost” outlines another period of remarkable changes which is brought out clearly in (time marker 37:44). The civil war, which almost tore down the American people in the years between 1941 to 1945, later could bring a period of recession in the subsequent episodes of the documentary. The civic war led to the death of more civilians than soldiers (Cook, 2016). The best years of experience in American history are rather explained best in the following episode 7, 8, and 9, but their foundation is based on episode 3 known as boom to boost, which introduces us to the argument of sacrifice and patience and brings out by the documentary. It was a period where leaders gave their all to see the success of the Americans, with their unfailing leadership, shaped up America’s destiny, passing through the period of the cold war, civil war and even the world war. The struggle towards achieving the world status as a superpower country was not an easy path; it was full of challenges; the documentary though bringing it up hilariously it was a severe struggle.

In conclusion, the documentary, “America’s time” is one of the most captivating documentaries which shows the rise of American’s as a superpower nation. The documentary has 15episodes in season one of the series, which start from the year 1900s to the present time America. The documentary follows a systematic way to bring out its main argument points in each episode, which was based on a given period (Sherrod, 2017). The documentary brings out historical events leading to the crowning America as the superpower, the struggles they went through and the various setbacks which threatened their success. Besides, the many achievements that were made towards the efforts of being a superpower. The history of America is a thriller experience one would want to watch over and over again, especially those on the series form, bringing out the experience. The main argument point, which is strongly expressed through the documentary, is the unfailing spirit of resilience and struggle, which was shown by the Americans.

References

Booth, J. A. (2019). The end and the beginning: The Nicaraguan revolution. Routledge.

Bubel, N., & Nick, J. (2018). The new seed-starters handbook. Rodale. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vp9GDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=The+Century:+America%27s+Time+-+The+Beginning:+Seeds+of+Change&ots=PgaxikAM1Y&sig=_npl_aDGrOntXgso8RVvYdqFMKE

Cook, D. A. (2016). A history of narrative film. WW Norton & Company. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-PV3DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=the+american+hiustory&ots=Jx05yew2gn&sig=USWMWnP-1M7eTBL6-1TuZpY24lo

Ohmer, S. (2020). Afro-Latin American Documentary Resistance from the Pacific Coast: How Voces de Resistencia (2017) Changes the Landscapes of Aesthetics, Academia/Community Collaboration, and Black Feminist Activism during the Colombian “Peace Process.” POLARA, (23), 49. https://palara.journal.library.uta.edu/index.php/palara/article/view/89

Sherrod, M. M. (2017). The history of cesarean birth from 1900 to 2016. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 46(4), 628-636. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0884217517300382

Shi, D. E., & Tindall, G. B. (2016). America: A narrative history. WW Norton & Company. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0_V3DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=the+american+hiustory&ots=WetscxQd_J&sig=e1VHxHIuLit1MGxxs2X5pld3Jec