FILM: World at War

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I think the Churchill biopics just wet my appetite for more. I just downloaded the first part of the incomparable World at War BBC documentary. Up ahead 30+ hours of rare WWII footage and insightful commentary.

Part I was absolutely, positively, fascinating. Taking place between 1933 and 1939, the first hour sets up the causes of the war and delves into Hitler’s cult of personality. I can’t remember any History channel program being so gripping and so informative. I’ve never seen anything quite like this.

Questions that I have after watching this first hour: can this happen again? Can group think ever threaten the fate of the world? Have we learned enough about history to stop a similar downward spiral from occurring yet again? More importantly, how can we still allow entire societies to succumb/acquiesce to state-sponsored brutality and mass killings (see Cambodia, Congo, Rwanda, etc…)?

FILM: Churchill Was a Badass

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I just watched a couple of Winston Churchill HBO biopics, The Gathering Storm and Into the Storm. The latter was definitely better than the former, though I’m not sure whether that had more to do with the fact that it focused on Churchill during the war, which to me is just way more fascinating.

These films have totally reawakened my interest in the WWII period and Churchill in particular. It made me wonder whether we as a society could cope with a similar crisis today. Do we have leaders like Churchill this day in age? Are we even capable of placing so much trust and faith in one person in the face of possible cultural annihilation? More importantly, could our leaders allow the fragile balance of power that currently reigns on the world stage to deteriorate to the point that another world war breaks out?

Bottom line, Churchill was a badass.

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Lady Astor: "If you were my husband I would flavour your coffee with poison"

Churchill: "Madam, if I were your husband, I would drink it.”