11. World War II at home
In 1944 David O. Selznick produced Since You Went Away, a film depicting the home front in the United States during World War II. The effects of rationing of food, gasoline, rubber, and other items and the hardships it caused featured prominently in the film. The film focuses on the Hilton family, with the husband and father, Tim Hilton, away first in training, and later reported missing in the Southwest Pacific theater. The film depicts the hardships of his wife and two daughters, who plant victory gardens and endure the complaints of a neighbor who criticizes their compliance with rationing and practices hoarding.
As such it portrays the American home front during World War II with more accuracy than other films, in which all Americans are displayed as patriotic and supportive of the war effort. In reality, black markets thrived in the United States during World War II. The film was notable for its inclusion of characters which go off to war, never to return, and the impact of their loss on those they left behind. It portrays some Americans as willing to endure the sacrifices asked of them, but not all. By the time of its release in late July 1944, reports from both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters indicated the Allies would win the war, and many Americans no longer considered sacrifices on the home front necessary. It was an aspect of World War II seldom discussed when considering the “Greatest Generation”.