Film Title: The Good Fight
Original Year of Production: 1984
Studio: National Endowment for the Humanities
Director: Noel Buckner, Mary Dore, Sam Sills
Cast: Studs Terkel-Narrator, Bill Bailey, Ruth Davidow, Salaria Key, Bill Macarthy, Milt Wolf
Producers: Noel Buckner, Mary Dore, Sam Sills
The Good Fight is a documentary film that was made in 1982. This film was directed by Noel Burkner and Mary Dove and written by Noel Buckner. This documentary film interviewed the real live participants and survivors of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, an anti-fascist group of volunteer soldiers who went to Spain to help fight against the fascist movement during WWII.
The film’s thesis is the struggle to fight Fascism. Fascism was a new type of ideology, whose base belief is that the Nordic race had a right to rule and dispose of other racial groups because they were believed to be inferior. At the time, America did not want to get involved in the fight against Fascism and forbade Americans to support the non-Fascist countries like Italy whose people were attempting to fight against their leader, Benito Mussolini. Fascism is described by Smith in the book, Europe in the Contemporary World as, “Fascism did not have an elaborate ideology; it was about seizing and using state power. A country of extremes with severe rural poverty and thriving modern businesses such as the automobile industry coexisting side by side, Italy welcomed Mussolini’s promise to achieve unity and his vow to overcome the contradictions of modernity.” (Smith, 218)
Even though the American government forbade their citizens to get involved in the Fascist revolution overseas, many felt they had to do whatever they could to stop the spread of it. Other countries like France couldn’t successfully win such a fight because of the male feminism of their culture. “..in a prewar France obsessed with the issue of male weakness. These anxieties, which undermined deliberate and purposeful action and which were to play a key psychological role, both in Franc’s failure to resist the advancing German army and in its ready acceptance of Petainism.” (Bates, 26) These survivors, who ventured on their own to fight Fascism, were interviewed about their experience more than 50 years later after the historical incident. This documentary was in a very different style than a historical film. Rosenthal distinguishes the differences between a documentary and a historical film as this, "The documentary directly reflects the world, possessing what has been called an indexical relationship to reality- which means it shows us what once was there, in front of the camera, and in theory, what would have been there anyway were no camera present. This is opposed to the dramatic film which must elaborately set up a stage a world that is then filmed specifically for the camera. (70, Rosenthal).
Some of the interviewees were Bill Baily, (U-tube link to interview)
Milt Wolf, Able Osheroff, Tome Page, and Ruth Davidow. Many photographs and newspaper articles were shown to support the historical event of their experiences. (following is a clip of some of the interviewed survivors of the historical incident)
Some of the interviewees were Bill Baily, (U-tube link to interview)
Milt Wolf, Able Osheroff, Tome Page, and Ruth Davidow. Many photographs and newspaper articles were shown to support the historical event of their experiences. (following is a clip of some of the interviewed survivors of the historical incident)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URtWFEKHsvs
This documentary is filmed as an interactive documentary where the interviews of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was mixed with footage of historical documents and the survivors were able to tell their own story. The thesis of this film was brought out by the diversity of the interviewees: American from different backgrounds and walks of life were willing to venture out and help fight Fascism because it did not agree with their American, democratic ideals. Documentaries are also subject to interpretation and perspective. As in the The Good Fight only the perspective of the people involved in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were interviewed. Other perspectives may have had very different things to say, such as these people committed treason to America by disobeying the laws forbidding them to go to Italy to help the peoples’ cause. “What we don’t learn is equally significant. Leftist politics, other than the generalized anti-fascism, is absent from The Good Fight. We are never told that the International Brigades were organized and directed by the Comintern, and dominated by officials from the Communist Party.” (Rosenstone, 81)
This documentary seems very historically accurate because everyone interviewed had photographs to show their participation in Italy. The main turning point in the documentary is when the Brigade ran out of ammunition and supplies. People in America campaigned for the embargo on supplies to Europe be lifted, however it was unsuccessful. This film showed that during this period in history, Fascism was a real and intimidating threat which could have taken over the world. if it wasn't for the brave efforts of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
This documentary is filmed as an interactive documentary where the interviews of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was mixed with footage of historical documents and the survivors were able to tell their own story. The thesis of this film was brought out by the diversity of the interviewees: American from different backgrounds and walks of life were willing to venture out and help fight Fascism because it did not agree with their American, democratic ideals. Documentaries are also subject to interpretation and perspective. As in the The Good Fight only the perspective of the people involved in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were interviewed. Other perspectives may have had very different things to say, such as these people committed treason to America by disobeying the laws forbidding them to go to Italy to help the peoples’ cause. “What we don’t learn is equally significant. Leftist politics, other than the generalized anti-fascism, is absent from The Good Fight. We are never told that the International Brigades were organized and directed by the Comintern, and dominated by officials from the Communist Party.” (Rosenstone, 81)
This documentary seems very historically accurate because everyone interviewed had photographs to show their participation in Italy. The main turning point in the documentary is when the Brigade ran out of ammunition and supplies. People in America campaigned for the embargo on supplies to Europe be lifted, however it was unsuccessful. This film showed that during this period in history, Fascism was a real and intimidating threat which could have taken over the world. if it wasn't for the brave efforts of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
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