The Story Of The Sputnik Moment. When America Looked Inside & Turned Itself Around.

I made the feature documentary, Sputnik Mania. Critics and supporters told me that I had to tell the story of what happened to American education during that period, how we changed ourselves so radically in science, engineering, and math -- our complete education system really. With the help of one wonderful collector of old footage, I made this story for schools, teachers, educational leaders. It tells what happens, and the footage proves it. #sputnik #sputnikmoment #americaneducation #1958

[@dsgp7835]

It changed the American education system overnight. Unfortunately there were American school children left behind. After Sputnik U.S. public schools suddenly switch from teaching the humanities to the maths and sciences. Children who were not gifted in maths and sciences were left behind, no longer did they have value in the classroom. I don't know if that effect was part of the Soviet plan or not but it sure worked in changing the course of American education. Dumbing down a whole segment of the American youth, those who were not and never going to be scientist and engineers. Now we have generations who haven't got a clue about civics, how the government works and when the wool is being pulled over their eyes by big business, big agra, big insurance, big Wall St.and big health care. Thanks Sputnik.

[@JWF99]

I keep coming back here time & time again rewatching this magnificent film, it is and always will be a masterful treasure of our history. Thank You David Hoffman. ☮✌

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for your comments. I am glad that this film helps you. It was meant to help every student in every school but I could never find a way to get distributed. So it sits on KZbin hoping to find students like you. David Hoffman -- film maker

[@robertbennett9949]

This is why the Soviet Union was driven to develop a powerful rocket named R7, capable of defending the country and incidentally capable of putting a sattelite in orbit. If only 'Americans' learned history.....canadiandimension.com/articles/view/from-1945-49-the-us-and-uk-planned-to-bomb-russia-into-the-stone-age

[@fatalradar6967]

Ty sir

[@slim864gvg6]

Appreciated Sir!

[@20chocsaday]

The orbit was used by maths teachers to make their charges think.

[@Job.Well.Done_01]

David who is the narrator? I recognize the voice!

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you so much. I am very proud of the work that I did with this feature documentary. If nothing else, good documentary filmmaking-storytelling-theatrical filmmaking. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@TheMizajam]

Dear David, Thank you. I think your work is truly excellent in showing the historic context of events and generational divides. I only have one gripe here. In the finale of this documentary the narrator mention „personal responsibility” for progress in science. I am afraid that this perpetuates a problematic myth that it is the individual students responsibility to choose science over convenience. Yet you prove in this documentary that it is the proper democratic public action that enables progress - bipartisan law, the National Defense Education Act, resulting from an impulse, the “Sputnik Moment”. That is what is essential. A public intervention. Expecting public responsibility now - from youth would be unfair, especially in the age of student debt and much worse economic opportunities. And just to be clear, the message to me is clear, and only the conclusion about students’ personal responsibility seems to me misguided.

[@robertbennett9949]

It is very good theater-almost on a par with the 'War of the Worlds'. Orson Wells radio broadcast. It is equally meaningless in that the USA was vastly superior to the SU militarily andbhad been planning a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union since just after WW2, starting with Operation Unthinkable, then Bushwhacker, Broiler, Sizzle, Shakedown, Offtackle, Dropshot, Trojan, Pincher, and Frolic. When on August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union detonated it's own atomic bomb the balance of risk changed. The USA did not expect the SU to be capable of developing an atomic bomb until 1953 and planned to destroy it before then. Even after the SU bomb test, the planning continued. According to released papers "The 1949 Dropshot plan envisaged that the US would attack Soviet Russia and drop at least 300 nuclear bombs and 20,000 tons of conventional bombs on 200 targets in 100 urban areas, including Moscow and Leningrad (St. Petersburg). In addition, the planners offered to kick off a major land campaign against the USSR to win a “complete victory” over the Soviet Union together with the European allies. According to the plan Washington would start the war on January 1, 1957. ". The SU was never a military threat to the US, but it did point to an alternative model. After kidnapping million of Africans as slaves and after destroying many American nations, plus the continuing subjugation of countries allover the word, the USA is simply an unattractive bully which has hostages rather than friends.

[@evawind]

Thank you, David. Your documentary has clarified many things for me and made me feel proud again of the Soviet Union. It's a pity the state was mismanaged by some of its leaders (and I do not mean Stalin; he laid the foundation for this and other scientific breakthroughs).

[@user-yk2ec7of9z]

26:20 the translation of Khrushchev is absolutely different, he sais: "freedom, equality, brotherhood. For the flag of Lening and his leading forward to the communism."

[@RandallFlaggNY]

I thought he said "Lenin's syphilis was nothing to worry about."

[@adamrspears1981]

@Илья Копков Yes, Ilya!

[@adamrspears1981]

Right on Pavlik!!!

[@KeepThoseEyesOpen]

Thanks for the clarification. I was a bit worried that the creator of this doc might translate it differently for propaganda purposes. Nonetheless the documentary is fascinating regarding the huge change in the American educational system. But things like that do taint a well put together documentary.

[@oliversmith9200]

"Communist Soviet Russia was bragging to the world that they could, and very well might, destroy it." (16:46 minutes) How do you like that Pavlik German? There it is, the old insane communists "we'll destroy the world" story as fresh as if we were still in the middle of the McCarthy Red Scare Purges. These purgers have had a generational effect in America. No? I guess the rock star Sting came too late singing "The Russians Love Their Children Too". I see your comment is two years old. You still alive?

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@scotianbank Thank you for your comments. I feel that my film is not biased towards Americans but instead mostly made for Americans. I made the film as an American story for American teachers and students and educators etc. But I'm glad that it has meaning for others. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@marykirk2127]

In 1957 I was in Southern Calif 9 yrs old. No TV, No Phone, but a radio. My dad wanted the family to go outside that evening to watch Sputnik. They didnt see it but I had a knack of seeing movement in the sky! I got your article because I couldnt remember for sure what year it was launched. I never knew that Sputnik was a major part of a great change in the world. Enjoyed your easy to understand explanation.

[@msharmony2001]

I am 73, I remember seeing Sputnik.

[@Did.You.Forget]

Could you see it from earth? Did it look like a tiny weather balloon?

[@msharmony2001]

@@Did.You.Forget It was just a little bright spot traveling around the earth. Great movie, October Sky.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

frantic1971:Thank you for your comment. What you have seen is exactly what I struggled to do with this documentary. So far, I have had no luck at distributing it to schools. Individual teachers love it but I have not found a sponsor to make certain every school child in the United States at least sees it. Discouraging. David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[@brucecaldwell5239]

I remember the chemistry kits you could get at the toy store meant to encourage an interest in science. These had some chemicals in them that weren't exactly harmless. No way would you see those again.

[@oliversmith9200]

I have a box of tiny bottles of 50 year old chemicals and a test tube rack from my set. lol

[@literallydeadpool]

I was trying to make crystals on a popsicle stick then i licked the liquid stuff off of it a few hours later I got pain in my stomach

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Metal Sodium and metal Potassium - fizzes and burns in water, and Pops! when done... Kids these days are strapped in cars like cosmonauts, little darlings can not ride in the back of a pickup truck, sitting on a tire any more... so much for 'freedom' and 'liberty' ?

[@arakano]

@@SeaJay_Oceans I know, right? It's a shame that their safety and lives are top priority.

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

@@arakano Generations of weaklings afraid of their own shadow ? I wouldn't wish such an enslavement on any Human being... To LIVE is to RISK. or why even bother getting out of bed in the morning ... stay in your bedroom, don't go out, just be a cave mushroom living on Bat Guano...

[@65gtotrips]

I’m old enough to span both index cards and the internet, rotary phones and mobile phones.

[@ahuman4333]

I had to watch this for a school class. Honestly, this is the most interested I've been during school in a long time so thank you and I understand the importance of education a lot more now

[@frankmeier4599]

I am a German and it is middle of the night. I am very tired. But this documentary glued me to the screen. I watch every day docus, but this one here is outstanding and should be posthum rewarded with a special Grammy! It is in my opinion one of the greatest documentaries of all time, even only in black&white. - - - I started to watch the documentary about one of the most important moments in the history of mankind. It was the SPUTNIK. Sputnik changed everything around the world. This little satellite which made only Beep-Beep-Beep and was flying in the stratosphere inflicted on the Americans a fear which went to the bone. America was shivering. The Sovietunion was the new masters of the world. What after the launch of Sputnik happened after it was the biggest educational revolution in the history. - - - Hello world! We are now in 2017 and we are again on a breakking point where do we go! To all political leaders around the world. Increase the budgets for Science and education 10 times. Stop this stupid drive-by educations. You create with it working robots, but not self thinking students. Our world is in desperate need of scientists. Global warming, increasing natural disasters, finisihing of natural resources, we are at the end of the improvement of the current computer systems. Mankind is on its way of extinction because the global powers are sitting ducks on trillions of dollars instead of putting a tsunami of money in the future of mankind. Political leaders of the world. Who cares about our daily pity problems. We rape our planet and we do not take counter actions to help our sick planet to recover. The world need urgent scientists!!! If YOU who are in power do nothing you are guilty of genocide and your victims are the whole specie of homo sapiens!

[@Jefferdaughter]

The focus of 'education' in the USA has shifted to warehousing children while their parents work, and teaching them to believe what the 'experts' and do what authority figures say. Is that very different in the former USSR?

[@evawind]

@@Jefferdaughter It is different. Russia is getting back on track. Our students win in prestigious world science and engineering contests. Mr Herbert Efremov, a hypersonics engineer was awarded by Mr Putin for completing the hypersonic missile development program. Zirkon, a new type of weapon was successfully tested, but we are keeping it as a defense, not offense weapon. We are number one in nuclear energy.

[@ihmpall]

@@evawind lol Russia is a joke

[@evawind]

@@ihmpall somehow Biden calls the hyperinflation in the States Putin's price hike. I guess, because Russia is a joke. Smerk...

[@RADS190]

How about a 2023 update to your OP.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for your comment. I made this film at great risk because I have not found a funder or sponsor to see it given to the schools in DVD form so they can use it

[@JoshMcRay]

I'm doing a report on Sputnik for my Honors World Studies class and this film really helped me. I can't thank you enough for this film.

[@lamars2486]

Check out the iconic building at the 1958 Belgium world's fair ... the chrome spheres 😃

[@cacophonic7]

This encapsulation of Sputnik, and the behemoth it birthed, and realizing that this was the cultural tsunami that my mom grew up in, and how it shaped my suburban American life … it’s helped me understand so much, given context to the world I grew up in and how to better understand and make sense of it all. Astounding work. This is my favorite channel on KZbin, hands down. Thanks

[@bwithrow011]

Peter Gordon is my all time favorite narrator. Love his voice! Worked with him back in the 70s

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

You mean my friend Peter Thomas. I do not know Peter Gordon. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@bwithrow011]

@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I stand corrected David. Perhaps I was thinking of Peter & Gordon as I'm a 75 year young musician, bass. A bandmate says Bob stands for Bob on bass 🎸 !

[@bwithrow011]

@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I worked indirectly with Peter through Howard Schwartz Recording who produced pharmaceutical projects. At the end of the first side of the cassette, Peter could be heard saying, "Please turn the cassette over for a continuation of this program."

[@Dr.Pepper001]

I remember listening to Sputnik on our radio when I was a kid.

[@CaliforniaArchitect]

My father immigrated to this country from rural Turkey to study math and engineering at the University of Michigan right before Sputnik. His citizenship was expedited when he was later recruited to be an engineer for JPL in Pasadena, CA. From both my father's experience and mine, I am convinced that you cannot do well in science if you don't have good math skills. That takes practice, practice and more practice with good text books. It is very simple and doesn't cost much at all.

[@cristianm7097]

Math is not simple.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@thesoundofbrown Thank you for your comments. I find frequently that programs that I make for teenagers and college students work best when people haven't really focused on the subject and have been watching television news soundbites. Yes the end is a bit idealistic. For young people, I find, is a fitting end. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for your comments. Indeed, this film was made for high school students. But I did make another film called Sputnik Mania - a feature documentary that you might very well enjoy more. Take a look if you get the chance. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@bjorreb7487]

I remember getting outside in the evening with my parents and nabours to look up into the sky. A bit later we could see sputnik pass over us. This was in Västerås Sweden about 80 km west of Stockholm

[@canmoore]

I am Canadian, we may have a smaller population. However, historically we have always punched over our belt weight. We have a great little space program, we were the third country into space after America and Russia. Currently our politicians are debating over creating our own spaceship platform, so we no longer need to rely on sending our satellites to America to be launched. This film is a great example of why we as Canadians SHOULD do this, and pursue our own national goals.

[@daleeasternbrat816]

A lot of Americans don't know that. Many do. My Great Uncle crossed the border and enlisted to fight in 1916. He was from Pittsburgh. He was gassed, wounded and decorated. He was proud of his service How many countries do Americans enlist in their armed forces? I only know one. Canada. I knew two great men who joined and flew for Canada in the Second War. Both also served in the American Air Forces when we got in. Canada's reputation in warfare is Ferocious. And Canada's reputation in peace is second to None. Americans who pay attention really appreciate our good neighbors to the north.

[@JDogVids]

Thank you for uploading this video, you are showing many of us alot of footage/photos we have not seen before, i love learning about history!

[@justinmason5042]

My FAVORITE narrator. Man, I’m so glad I found this video. Didn’t even know he did stuff like this.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Peter Thomas, my close friend and colleague for almost 50 years. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@justinmason5042]

@@DavidHoffmanFilmmakerAs many others have commented, you both did a fantastic job on this documentary. A wonderful piece of legacy for the both of you.

[@caseycat]

​@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker wow, so amazing. His voice is timeless. Thank you for creating this!

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

zooeyhall: I agree. A follow-up documentary is needed because the situation is critical and getting worse every day. It is sad. But as an independent filmmaker I can tell you that getting funding for this kind of film is a long and arduous process, and right now, the few funding sources are focused on other issues. I made The Sputnik Moment on my own nickel. I cannot afford to make another one unfortunately. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you Jimbob. I am very proud of the show and thankfully, collectors and schools and libraries buy the DVD on a regular basis from the hotlink in the description above. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@pontiuspilot9301]

I keep coming back to this video to watch and to share it with other YT Channels and FB! Thank you David! Peace and love from a 74 years old Canadian!

[@Lynxdom]

Where the hell did the electronics class in high school go!?!?!? I would have killed for that in the 90s!

[@startreking]

Once the boomers started giving birth to us they take away all that as we come into the world.

[@oliversmith9200]

After the alternate path example of the Soviet Union fell, the big capitalists didn't have to put on a niceness show for America or the world, so, they started taking all the money for that for themselves (The economic distribution charts show the change over the years and following decades). You were left with no electronics shop, or many other nice things in your working class school. You were lucky if your parents had good working class jobs. You, me, a large majority of working class people. But, oh how rich the rich have become in Amerika! And what a mighty nation Amerika is today. Hmmm.

[@devicemodder]

@Martin Dennis this... couldn't have said it better myself. I rember 10-15 years ago, there were more electronic kits available. and i'm not talking raspberry pi/arduino kits. they don't count in my opinion. i am talking about kits like diy digital clocks using 74LS logic, DIY radio kits, scrolling led signboards, ect. good ol' soldering kits. before my time, there was heathkit... want a scope? buy a heathkit and solder a scope together. man... i missed out on some good times and good kits. I even remember when makershed from make.com had good soldering kits. now... it's all arduino/raspberry pi stuff... Sadly at the time, i was too young to buy stuff from the makershed store... how i would've liked some of the stuff there, but thanks to arduino ect, it's unavailable.

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

In the 70s and 80s as all industry was leaving USA for Asia and other nations, people questioned why would anyone want to learn how to type ? Who would need a computer ? Maybe a few dozen homes in every town ... a novelty, electronics were something the boys tinkered with at Radio Shack.

[@robertbennett9949]

McDonalds and Walmart.............

[@frankmeier4599]

This is not a American documentary, it is for all mankind!

[@Jamietheroadrunner]

I learn so much from ur videos, Mr. Hoffman. I wasn’t as interested in history back in high school and college but now, I can’t learn enough about how people LIVED, especially during and after WW2. Thanks for sharing these videos with us 🙏

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you Jamie for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that KZbin is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@Jamietheroadrunner]

I know the button ur talking about but I don’t see it under this video. I’ll try another video

[@joshjones3408]

That voice iv heard that voice my hole life the crime shows on tv .. i love it thanks for the video...👍👍👍

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@sonnybrown A legitimate question. Over the last 30 years or so, all of our commitments to remain global leaders by supporting the best and the brightest have turned to no support for schools or support for " no Child left behind" rather than individualized instruction and support for the millions of unique innovative collaborative students we have produced. that is just the beginning of the answer to your question. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

I thank all of you who have responded to my presenting this film on KZbin. And to those educators and others who have bought it, let me know how your children, your students, and others are responding. David Hoffman

[@Whatafunnyhat]

we homeschool. "We didn't like communist russia... so we became more like communist russia?" and, "UUUGGGH ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY?! Geez mom!" were the general reactions.

[@kalaidoscope-kind]

Thank you, I dream of implementing this grand plan in India, my country!

[@OaktownABQ]

With regard to our education, history sure has a way of repeating itself, doesn't it?

[@Airborne80]

I’m still not all the way through this but must stop to say the following. This is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot. This should be required viewing in every high school and university. I must discover who the narrator is. He is superb on every level. Bravo for this literal masterpiece.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you again. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that KZbin is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Hello. As an independent documentary filmmaker, one of my assets is the footage I use and where I got it from. I do not freely share that information. If you would like to inquire further as to any footage from any of my documentaries, please e-mail me with your query at [e-mail]

[@Viper607706]

Best part is, Eisenhower had been for quite some time super worried about how law should be interpreted when it came to overflight in space. He was actually fairly happy when the soviets sent up sputnik one, as it had set a president that doing overflights over all nations was not considered violating their airspace. Thus he could send up all the space satellites he wanted.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

The two films are similar. I first made The Fever of 57 and then turned it into Sputnik Mania with a new narrator and a changed script. Thank you for asking David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[@etiennefarqharson9031]

THE BAHAMAS NEEDS A SPUTNIK MOMENT. WE SEEM LOST RIGHT NOW!! WE LACK INSPIRATION. THE YOUTH ARE NOT MOTIVATED.

[@g.v.3493]

Great documentary! In the winter of 1956 on my birthday I got a cap gun and cowboy hat for presents. In 1957 I got a space helmet and ray gun. The focus of the whole country changed just that fast. I also remember how scared the grownups had become.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

I found it really quite amazing how quickly the country changed. The Sputnik Moment. We need one now don't we, It seems to me. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@trankov]

Thank you for the most brilliant comment. Such small details from an ordinary people's life are always the best illustrations of global processes.

[@joshuarisker5525]

What a great documentary it really shows you how far we've come it makes you love our development and hate it all at the same time

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@canmoore I think I understand what you're saying but it of course this has nothing to do with the Sputnik moment which is not about satellites but about how America changed its educational system within 18 months provoked by Sputnik. You should see the film. Best regards Dave Altman-filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@slaynt - Thank you for your comment. I don't believe that the book is correct. I spoke with too many people who saw it and I saw it myself. David Hoffman - Filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@canmoore as I did my work on this film, I realized that very few if any countries other than the United States could conceivably approach this. It requires a major change on a personal adult and teenage student level. Canada certainly could do the same. Thank you for your comments. David Hoffman-film maker

[@robertbennett9949]

It does not seem to have achieved much. In my opinion, the US education is too narrow and focused on careers rather than opening up the students minds. General knowledge, history and geography seem to be particularly weak.

[@unclejay1000]

I remember when I was a kid. Our family and the families up and down the street used to go outside and watch it pass overhead. You could see it as clear as a bell as it reflected light very brightly. Yes some did build bomb shelters. Yes we did practice the Duck and Cover in school. PS good footage

[@ArthurBushkin]

This is not only an important film about a critical time in our nation's history, it is also a warning that we are repeating our mistake. We are not adequately and equally educating our children. We have skill gaps, achievement gaps, and graduation gaps. It is time to launch the education and learning equivalent of the space program!

[@MaryAnnRegaladoVasquez]

I remember all of that! We were and are really lucky to have experienced our education. I am proud to say that i am a college graduate...yay!

[@timburr4453]

Dave does a great job expressing the mood at the time when this thing went up. Fear...confusion, dissapoitnment...rumors and innuendo. You had the "shoot er down" crowd. The adults at the time...for the first time in my life they had no answers. Was very unsettling

[@Sarah.Riedel]

That bright little object they were watching overhead wasn't Sputnik itself which was far too tiny to be seen with the naked eye - it was the second stage R-7 component which was following in the same orbit.

[@newmanc6619]

The high school I went to in the 1980s was built in the 1950s. If the Endangered Species Act had existed in the 1958, it wold not have been built.

[@hollybritton6696]

David, this is so well done. Very inspiring. Thank you.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you so much. I feel that way also. I am not saying that from an ego point of view. I just look at it as a film made by someone who really knows how to make a documentary. I guess that is me. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@Americarocks64]

So its the soviets fault I have so much homework ughhhhhhh

[@SouthernHerdsman]

The whole coldwar stressed humanity to this great depression today. Friendliness is healthier than competition.

[@kateelise4907]

This comment is as relevant now as it is five years later

[@evolutionarybiology7875]

Really, I want to let you know this that I don't watches the long documenteries usually but your documentary is so interesting and intriguing that I haven't missed a second out of my concentration on this. This is one of the informative and amusing documantry I have seen in my life. Cold war was really a interesting and tense situation .

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

10:50 "Uptight" is certainly a good word for it. I was 5 when Sputnik went up, so wasn't even really aware of it. But soon, certainly by the end of the first grade, I was all about the Space Race. I don't know when I developed the ability to look back on that time, but from then on, I could never understand the national freakout over this one event. Comparing it to 9/11! Or Pearl Harbor! Geez, did everyone not know that both the US and USSR had announced they were going to put up satellites for the IGY? The Soviets had H-bombs. We had battled their MIGs in Korea. They were not just a bunch of potato farmers. Maybe they were confusing them with Moscow, Idaho. IAC it made no sense. BTW in one way Eisenhower was relieved. Now that the other guys had put up a satellite, they could hardly complain about us spying on them from Space. Still, it was symbolically very important. I was the first real harbinger of very profound changes that would occur from putting manmade objects in Earth orbit and beyond. There was no parallel for that before.

[@Shystichu]

I loved your documentary! I shared it on facebook. It definitely took me on a journey

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you California architect. I know this to be true. I made this movie on my own nickel to motivate kids and their parents and professional educators -- and have not yet found a way to get it in to the schools. I am using KZbin and hoping... David Hoffman- filmmaker

[@shgstewart4674]

The unspoken subtext of the entire "American Dream" sequence is, unfortunately, "...assuming you were white." People of colour were excluded from Levittown (ironic, since Levitt was Jewish, and Jews have always been "conditionally white" at best, and in 1957, still faced things like quotas restricting how many could attend universities, and so on) and many of the other similar developments, which were "sundown towns," GI Bill educational and home-ownership opportunities, lending through mainstream financial institutions, and much of everything required to attain the "Good Life."

[@jennifer2233100]

so sad, instead of us all being happy that humanity has gotten as far as being able to reach space, instead we turn on eachother

[@storyshootingboards7009]

This is amazing, I already watched it twice. Love the patchwork of the old tv recordings and movies. You did an incredible job editing this !!

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that KZbin is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

So so true. And so many around the world felt it. And reacted to it. It actually elevated consciousness of animal rights. David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[@julianrns]

Spectacular! A point of view of Sputnik I have never seen. A history lesson of the importance of education pretty pertinent for developing countries. Cheers from Colombia.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

+Julián Mauricio Arenas Thank you so much, Julian. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@julienhoffmeyer2597]

Simply excellent !

[@LonnieScott]

Incredible work! Good luck getting this in schools. Simply amazing!

[@t.kayoung5304]

Good Job Sir , Thank you for this documentary

[@unamacarana]

Excellent work - Thanks you for posting.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@Ixions42 Your comment. I have tried everyone I know to find a way to have someone invest the money to put this in every school system. It would so help anyone who believes that this is a Sputnik moment and then we are being slowly but steadily beaten in the world by others more focused on success in sciences, math and engineering. We can have another Sputnik moment but it takes leadership and action on the local level. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@charlescoon577]

As a materialistic millennial American, I want those "useless frivolities" told of at 28:33. Big stylish powerful cars, better housing, fancier food, and other consumer products are the main reasons to study the STEM.

[@charlescoon577]

Thank you for the like.

[@MichaelSHartman]

Thank you for the video. It's a shame that the push ended with the Moon landing. I was born in the Sputnik era and while late to the pressures put on high school student I enjoyed the thrill of science and the space program. I believe the scientific method is one of the greatest inventions humanity has created.

[@johnb003]

This was fascinating. I think we need to leverage new technology and studies that have taught us about the different ways people learn to make teaching more efficient, personal, unbiased, equally accessible and enjoyable. We need another education revolution! The final message of this video seems designed to remind people of the sense of urgency and responsibility we once had, in hopes of inspiring people to study harder and take education more seriously. I just don't see that happening without significant changes.

[@trustthomas66]

Thank You So Much this video really helped me on my paper on Sputnik

[@mattbriody7575]

This was excellent. Thank you for your hard work.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@Ortzmet I am sure that Barbara Ward is who you say she is, but she did make that comment on television in relation to the launch of Sputnik and how the world, including her, looked at America immediately after it. Thank you for your comment David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@souravhazarika410]

Great documentary on a great subject, good work Mr Hoffman.

[@Thomas-yr9ln]

I was two years old when it flew over I remember it like yesterday I said GOOHGOOH.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@KurtRileyOfficial I do not disagree with your feeling and am concerned for your generation and for America. It is very sad that the beautiful and innocent hope that Americans had for the American dream has become clouded with doubt -- and possibly for good reason. Thank you David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@kurtfrancis4621]

We were as ignorant about the USSR as they were about us. We still are in many ways. Americans, while advanced technologicaly in many ways, are extremely ignorant about their fellow human beings around the world.

[@bwithrow011]

David, this documentary is narrated by Peter Gondon with whom I worked with indirectly in the early 70s through Howard Schwartz. Great documentary. It had my undivided attention throughout. Keep up the good work

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for your comment Bob but the documentary is not narrated by Peter Gondon. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@bwithrow011]

@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I do hear Peter in places. There is a scene that bares his name. There's no mistaking his voice. I know it like the back of my head

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

you are hearing my friend Peter Thomas. David Hoffman Filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

There is nothing in my movie that does not credit the Russians for their enormously successful space program and scientific achievement.s But my film is not about the first man in space. It is about Americans and how we reacted to Sputnik and how we changed our country mostly for the better as a result. David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

@DarkInc1Design - Please go ahead and embed the film. thank you. David Hoffman

[@evawind]

Thank you, David. I'll show this documentary to my Russian students, who are fascinated with Ilona Masc, in our English class for them to see what our country was like back in the 1950s and that those were their ancestors who pioneered space programs. The documentary will also give us a lot to talk about - the American dream, WWII, generations, etc. and analyze how things have been changing throughout the past 70 years. Thank you for a great project! Peace on Earth!

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

I am afraid that the documentary is not in Spanish. I spent all the money that I had to complete it in English. I would love to see a Spanish version of one does not exist as yet. david hoffman - filmmaker

[@nicholassiple7838]

Great content and this narrator is always a great listen

[@Pringleboy45]

October Sky!!!!! Great movie!

[@Cybernaut551]

Yes. I enjoy that movie too

[@terrylandess6072]

In '58 I entered a world already invested in space. I grew up watching those cheesy science fiction movies and seeing real progress in the news. I was too young to care about political situations so only admired the Sputnik missions and all that followed as a human.

[@albertodillon]

What nostalgia when I see the sixties about Sputnik and the beginning of the Cold war

[@robertbennett9949]

That was not the beginning of the Cold War. That was during the Cold War and was a visible attempt by the Soviet Union to defend itself from the USA threat.

[@gigliomike]

The voice of Peter Thomas - the greatest narrator of all time.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

thank you. david hoffman - filmmaker

[@richardraymond9108]

I was 5 years old. We stood out in the back yard and watched sputnik go over

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

That's the same thing that I did. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@strongmanzack]

well put. Many people strive their whole lives to obtain the level of wisdom and enlightenment you posses. Well put.

[@65gtotrips]

It’s a proven fact that college entrance scores have consistently gone down since 1962.

[@adamrspears1981]

You forgot to mention milk cartons of the 70s & 80s. If you got in a stranger's car or went to help a creepy neighbor paint his fense, you were never seen again & other kids got to see a cheesy picture of your portrait on a milk carton as they ate their wheaties & watched saturday morning cartoons.

[@OPTIONALWATCH]

Great Documentary.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you Luis. David Hoffman - filmmaker

[@lukehauser1182]

Oh, and by the way - Laika the space dog? 19:25 She died a few minutes into orbit. That detail came out in 1999 when Russia declassified old Soviet documents.

[@yves3560]

It was hours instead of a few minutes, she died probably of overheating rather than running out oxygen. Four more dogs went up and died as well. Two died minutes after the launch when the rocket exploded, two other died in space. It was never ment to retrieve them alive anyway, sadly.

[@robertbennett9949]

Did the USA use chimpanzees in rocket experiments?. There were 3 dogs that I can remember Laika, Strelka and Belka. Our neighbours dog was named Laika in memory.

[@msharmony2001]

They educated us, in the 60's our government thought that was a very bad idea, as people rose up against the war in Vietnam. The government decided that it was time to dumb down America. I spent 2 years in Vietnam, so I do have a clue about what I am saying. Today people have to get a two year education in a community college to get a high school education. You have to have at least 4 years just to have a hope that you will not be handling out hamburgers for the rest of your life.

[@delavalmilker]

Mr. Van Doren "a nation of backwards peasants". He fairly spits out the words with contempt. Illustrates perfectly how little most Americans really knew about Russia.

[@sonnybrown4758]

Great documentary btw. I really enjoyed it.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

i wish I knew where your comments went. can you post them again? david hoffman - filmmaker

[@sensiblename295]

Fascinating insights into yesterday's mentality.

[@vinayakpujari7658]

Accepted defeat felt shameful Opened arms for change to become and inspire entire universe to be acknowledged as the "THE GREATEST COUNTRY THERE EVER WAS" AND THATS INSPIRATION 😍