Listen to Britain is definitely more subtle. To me, it does not scream WAR. Typing in the video link, I was most certain that it was going to be war propaganda. It is, but it does so without using any typical war footage – such as soldiers marching, or showing of artillery. Instead, it focuses on the citizens completing daily tasks.

Listen to Britain is an observational political documentary rather than a straight-forward propaganda. Jennings’ argument on the war is quiet and underlying on the presentations of the common British people’s lives, business, work, and entertainment.

Listen to Britain shows the viewer the life of the ordinary citizen in Britain during WWII. It targets itself towards the ordinary citizen and tries to persuade the ordinary citizen to help the cause, just like those in Britain who have already started helping out.

Jennings created an image of a diverse but united nation, united through music, work, leisure, and most importantly, the war effort without directing showing war.

Compared to both Triumph of The Will and Why We Fight, Listen to Britain was “subtle” in comparison. Triumph of the Will showcased the organization and power of Germany and the NSP through its grand spectacle and powerful speeches. Why We Fight firmly illustrated the will of the British populace during a time where the war was literally at their doorstep. Listen to Britain is much harder to pin down. If it wasn’t for the opening narration, the few views of people working in military factories and the few images of troops they show, you wouldn’t really have been able to pin down that this was a war propaganda film. It subtly shows the will of the populace by showcasing the life of British citizens as if it were just a normal day and not a period of intense war. Their will to continue on with their lives while also dealing with this war exemplifies both their bravery and their resistance to the Axis’s attempt at domination.

Listen to Britain is a propaganda film that doesn’t have war written all over it. Compared to Triumph of the Will and Why We Fight, the passion and pride for the war was at the forefront of the film. Listen to Britain has more scenery shots which takes away from the film being about film. The film also focuses on the women at work in factories. The film promotes a more positive message.

Listen to Britain shows the audience the average life of the British people and how they go on with their life amidst war. I would consider it at times jovial because of the use of music throughout the film. Compared to Triumph of the Will, Listen to Britain is way more passive and although it shows war, it doesn’t intimidate.

Music is a creative expression. In addition, I think it can be categorized as an escape of some sorts. No matter how harsh life gets, music can be a constant. Music can evoke every emotion possible; one can feel happy, or sad, depending on the song and the song he/she chooses to hear.

Not only that, but music was also used as propaganda. Today, marching bands are known for playing at halftime shows. But marching band originated with the armed forces; soldiers would play instruments. Although I’m not 100% positive for the reason behind it, I think it has to do with rallying the troops. Music excites.

A lot of songs also were written with a nationalist perspective. Take American’s national anthem for example. While citizens of a country can be very different, music, like war, can bring people together.

The factory sounds, steel works, and lunch concerts represent British people’s positive attitude during wartime. Those sounds create a city symphony that says: despite the tragic war, there is still hope and development of the country.

Jennings makes the point that despite all the sounds one recognizes/connects with wartime there is also the “everyday” noise/music. Just because there’s a war going on doesn’t mean that the life of millions of people stops.

I also think Jennings uses the word “music” as a metaphor. Music could also refer to “life”, for example, the music/noises playing/are heard during wartime is also the life of those living in the middle of it. It is perceived as chaos and evil. On the other side, the people living in a world/place with no war will hear the music/noise that we associate with a normal everyday.

But it is also the sound of ordinary citizens working in factories and carrying out their days in a “normal setting” even though its taken place during war time.

By starting with mentioning how there will be sounds that people expect to hear during a wartime film, it allows people to remember not only the normal sounds that war brings, but also to remember that it was not all bloodshed everywhere. Despite the fact that people were dying and countries were fighting, there were still plenty of things to be happy about and enjoy during those times.

By contrasting the sounds of “evocative thunder of the 1000 horse power Rolls Royce Merlin engines and spitfires and Lancasters… tank factories, steel works, steam trains” with “the egalitarian free classical music concerts, and radio; Workers’ Play Time” he creates a feeling of hardship but also happiness. Even through the intense setting of war, music can help lift some of that intensity. Music may give both the soldiers and people some kind of escape, showing how not all life during war has to be bad.

I like how they used joyful songs such as “Roll out the Barrel” and “Home on the Range” to personify a sort of indifference to the harsh times of that point in history. The film reinforces this idea by playing these types of songs when showing the British populace during times of leisure, play and work. There are some moments where you see people singing along to the songs that are playing while they go about their jobs in the factory’s, of which they are making parts and goods that are certainly aiding the war effort. The music used creates this idea that all these activities have a similar enjoyment to them and personifying a sort of brave indifference in the face of war.

Music in wartime in necessary. It is a good distraction from the real harshness of war for both the soldiers fighting as well as the ones at home waiting. In 10 minutes and 45 seconds, the scene shows the children are dancing and there is music playing as the woman is looking at the photograph of the soldier who is most likely off at war. As a veteran myself, music provided a “way out” of the situation even if just for a few minutes.

together, normal sounds of life become a sort of metaphorical symphony because people are coming together during an extremely desperate time. They are looking to anything for light.

Jennings shows how the film invokes both unfamiliar war sounds and familiar everyday sounds. The film doesn’t sound like just a war film. Jennings does this because the sounds are important to the film. The sounds takes away from the negative sound of the war by adding in sounds of music from the workers.

Music is powerful. It could change the tone of a whole scene if used correctly. It creates mood not only in the film but also with the audience. The use of music throughout the film, is used to the point where even though they are going through harsh times, life still goes on, kind of a motivation and to uplift the audience.

The “handling heavy precision metal” scene emphasizes that women is powerful and supportive during the war.

As you’ve already mentioned, the movie acknowledges women. Women are perceived as independent and strong, who can perform any task a man can do, for example, operating heavy machinery. The question is whether or not the film is projecting a false image of how the life of women during – as well as after – the war really was.

Jennings acknowledge that women were given opportunities to prove to the male society that they could be independent and financially secure on their own. They were dependent on themselves; a sense of power for once they could support the household and the war effort.

I think maybe it could also have foreshadowing capabilities that precede the civil rights movement later to come that would benefit women in the workplace?

If he had shown a shot with tons of female workers slaving away, they would have all blended into a crowd, becoming a symbol of, for example, the monotonous factory as a whole or the grand scope of labor needs during the world, but they would each lose the power of the individual. Jennings ensures that the women show their unique toil in order to allow the audience something smaller and more accessible to relate and sympathize with.

The focus on women helps personify the changing times of war in which women were encouraged to step up in the face of it and the sudden absence of men. They were asked to take on more manual based work and pull their own weight in aid of the war effort.

clearly mark the changes that occur during war—socially, economically, psychologically, etc. Showing women also gives a more well-rounded picture of war, considering it affects a society so deeply and on so many different levels. If women’s roles are changing, that means men’s roles are also changing, which means society is not in its “normal” state.

The use of women in the film shows how the world must go on despite the war. The women were offered opportunities that they weren’t a thought before. Women came into factories to take over for the men. This great change was in the movie to keep promoting positivity to the people of Britain.

Simply the representation of women in film. Especially during wartime, the female audience being represented as the role they took during the hard times, they were more than a helping hand. It showed that women’s work and dedication, was one of the factors that kept Britain on their feet throughout the war.

I think the juxtaposition of the two allows one to appreciate music more. When one is surrounded by constant dissonance, one yearns for consonance, which music brings.

The everyday life scenes picture British nation with a positive and optimistic spirit that the people keep the country functioning during hardship. The mix of quiet scenes and the manic ones creates intensity so that it adds stronger audiovisual effects to the documentary.

Because wars are not just won on the battlefield, but back home as well.

The comparisons between quiet scenes from everyday life and the manic, unreal struggle of the war effort shows a balance between Harmony and chaos. Jennings wanted to sent a message that despite a war going on people are still continuing doing normal activity that keeps a individual’s hope alive.

Trademark Jennings is right, he had a reputation of going against the grain of most other films and adding art into every aspect of life.
He would say that there is always a connection between manic activity and a joyous setting. There is always a balance when someone wants to find it.

I don’t know how exactly World War 2 was fought, but I’ve been deployed to Iraq and it was (for me at least) 5% war, 95% waiting. War isn’t a continuous single fight, but a strategic set of fights spread out amongst a period of time. Yes, planning and travel are vital to the outcomes of these fights, but so is moral. Between the very few moments where something actually happened, I played cards, wrote letters home and bullshitted like I never have before. It’s important to be able to act somewhat normally during intense times of stress like this, if only for one’s own sanity. I believe this film caught this idea adequately, by heavily showcasing on the “calm” before the “storm.”

There is a connection between the quite scenes and the manic wartime because it expresses how the world continues regardless of the war. Jennings uses this tactic to show how the chaos can coexist with the peace.