This is one of those ponderous, self-important narrations that confuses MAN with men. Fortunately nowadays that seems to have largely died out in US documentaries although I've heard it when the narration seemed to be aping the old British style.
With the dam floods, tornadoes, hurricane, tropical storm, drought, so far this year, this short has particular resonance.
Historical perspective: radar was developed during the war. The technology of weather took a giant leap forward with that. For instance, nobody knew that the massive 1938 hurricane was on the way. Katherine Hepburn, among many others, almost didn't make it out alive. So the people, not all of them men!!, involved in meteorology were thrilled with the advances and on fire to change life as they knew it. We learn more now in grade school about the weather than most adult city slickers knew about the it in the 40s.
The short had several goals. One was to give city folk a clue that their self-absorbed perturbation about the weather wasn't the whole story. Another was to teach some basics about the weather and weather prediction past and present. And the third was to show examples of the wild swings that can occur thereby giving a reason for us to learn about the subject. I think they covered all three well in the time available. Points off for the mega snub of the ladies, when they had been working hard at all sorts of previously male-dominated jobs through the war including the weather biz.
With the dam floods, tornadoes, hurricane, tropical storm, drought, so far this year, this short has particular resonance.
Historical perspective: radar was developed during the war. The technology of weather took a giant leap forward with that. For instance, nobody knew that the massive 1938 hurricane was on the way. Katherine Hepburn, among many others, almost didn't make it out alive. So the people, not all of them men!!, involved in meteorology were thrilled with the advances and on fire to change life as they knew it. We learn more now in grade school about the weather than most adult city slickers knew about the it in the 40s.
The short had several goals. One was to give city folk a clue that their self-absorbed perturbation about the weather wasn't the whole story. Another was to teach some basics about the weather and weather prediction past and present. And the third was to show examples of the wild swings that can occur thereby giving a reason for us to learn about the subject. I think they covered all three well in the time available. Points off for the mega snub of the ladies, when they had been working hard at all sorts of previously male-dominated jobs through the war including the weather biz.