By Aubree Rankin, PTC
Entertainment Analyst
Wall-to-Wall Productions is back
with another living history lesson on PBS. The creators of the
British 1900 House
and American Frontier House
also recently filmed The
1940s House,
which put three generations of one family together in
a London home to experience what life would have been like in
England during World War II.
The Hymer family, consisting of
middle aged Lynn and Michael, their 29 year-old daughter Kirsti,
and Kirsti's young sons Ben and Tom, moved from their modern
Yorkshire home to a suburban London home fitted entirely with
furnishings and appliances that would have been available during
World War II. A committee of historians planned a nine week
condensed time line for the Hymers, progressing through stages
of the war in chronological order. The family is forced to dig
and build a bomb shelter in their back garden, fashion black-out
curtains for all windows in the house, get up in the middle of
the night for air-raids, and survive on meager war rations.
The series consists of three
hour-long episodes, which follow the Hymers through their
adventure in living history. There are times of great
frustration when Lynn and Kirsti have a hard time creating
adequate meals on the meager allotments of food, the lack of
soap and shampoo makes thorough personal hygiene and home
cleaning next to impossible, and the boys are reprimanded for
sneaking modern food at school.
The overarching theme is family
togetherness and support. Lynn originally signed the family up
for auditions because of Michael's life-long fascination with
World War II, and she enjoys watching him get into the
experience. Schoolboys Tom and Ben are incredibly enthusiastic
throughout the experience, relishing the nights spent in the
backyard bomb shelter and eagerly monitoring the family's fuel
rations - including painting a water level line in the bathtub and
turning the lights off on Granny when she uses too much
electricity. The families maintain good attitudes the majority
of the time spent in the 1940s house and help present a very
accurate and engaging history lesson to viewers.
There are a few minor joking
comments made by Lynn and Michael about marital sex and about
four instances of foul language in the three hour broadcast,
making The 1940s House
an educational as well as a family-friendly viewing
alternative. Watching it as a family will also give families a
chance to discuss the challenges facing the Hymers, and how they
dealt with these difficulties as a family. In addition, it can
provide an excellent opportunity for children to learn about
history and the sacrifices made by ordinary people during the
war, and to think about the advances in technology in the past
50 years and how those advances have changed the way we live.
Check your local listings for air
times.
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