The Dark Years: 1929-1939 2008
Distributed by National Film Board of Canada, 1123 Broadway, Suite 307, New York, NY 10010; 800-542-2164
Produced by National Film Board of Canada
Directed by Steven Silver
DVD, color, 2 hrs. 20 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Animation, Canadian Studies, History, Journalism, Media Studies, Popular Culture, Storytelling, Writing, World War II
Date Entered: 09/18/2009
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication, University of California, Santa BarbaraThis three-volume set examines the ten-year time span in Canadian history between the Great Depression to the beginnings of World War II. It examines this decade through the newsrooms of The Toronto Daily Star and its journalists, as they try to document and write about the issues and news of the day. Using film noir and Looney Toons-type references, the director tries to document Canadian culture and history during this time period, focusing on big news events like the birth of the Dionne Quintuplets in 1934 and the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany. I found this docudrama very fascinating, especially the way that the director used animation throughout to tell the story and follow some of the characters.