Propaganda Used In Filmmaking During WW2 By: Brandi Vu Period 1: History
Jan 12, 2015
Propaganda Used In Filmmaking During
WW2
By: Brandi VuPeriod 1: History
Information, usually officially communicated by the
government, that is aimed at large numbers of people to influence their opinions.
Used to state a lie or to be one-sided = enemy communication.
During WW2, BBC (British Broadcasting Channel) was the most popular station to listen to newsreels.o Exaggerated the Allies’ victories, or underplayed
their defeats.o Became very popular; people believed their opinions
.
What Is Propaganda?
Governments wanted people to take action in
their opinions. This was known as the “telephone game”.
Social network had to be biased – “Follow the Leader(s)”.
Imagery was also used (posters, films, photography)
Slogans had to be simple and repeatable.o Hitler said, “The intelligence of masses is
small. Their forgetfulness is great. They must be told the same thing a thousand times.”
The Strategies of Propaganda
Definition: The practice of officially examining books,
movies, etc. and suppressing unacceptable parts. The U.S. Army and Navy set this system up to protect
military secrets and guarantee domestic security by the late 1930s.
Congress passed the Smith Act in 1940. This made sure that civilians could not support the idea to overthrow the government.
Government officials were allowed to deport foreigners who were connected with revolutionary organizations.
Government regulated the publication of terrible images and videos of war on the homefront. Armed forces censored photographers and filmmakers.
Censorship
Office of War Information and Bureau of Motion Pictures
assured that the Hollywood films that were being distributed and played were not a harm to the war aims.
December 19, 1941 – FDR created the Executive Order #8985. This helped created the Federal Office of Censorship. o Expanded to 90 offices across the U.S. with more than
14,000 examiners.o Scanned radio & movie scripts, magazine and
newspaper stories, listened to phone conversations, checked for invisible ink, banned crossword puzzles, and reviewed more than one million letters a day.
Censorship
American filmmakers did not want to offend
foreign governments, so not all of their films were about world issues.
Most films anti-Axis were not distributed.
Movies vs. the Gov’t
1939 - directed by German-born Anatole
Litvak (who lived in the U.S. during WW2). First anti-Nazi American film. Although it was a commercial hit, itwas
banned in countries who supported Germany (or did not want to offend them).
This movie urged civilians to persuade government officials to enter the war to stop Germany
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Sergeant York About the life of Alvin York, an American
soldier during WW1. His religion stated that he could not kill other
people, but fought for the U.S. anyway. Released in 1941 to give confidence to
civilians.A Yank in the RAF American pilot who joined Britain’s Royal Air
Force to fight the Nazis.
Sergeant York & A Yank In The RAF
Nazi leaders thought that the war would be
short and victoriouso Tried to persuade the civilians of Germany and
the areas they occupied – wanted support & cooperation
o Propaganda in other countries showed that Germany wanted to win the war to make a New Order and a new Europe
Germany’s government shut down museums, concert halls, and sport arenas; but, movie theaters were not
German Films
Famous movie maker – Goebbels
o Made Germany look like the best country; used Jews as scapegoats in his movies.
Triumph of the Will Actress – Leni Riefenstahl This film made the Nazi party’s rally in Nuremberg
look good.Jud Suss Wanted more Germans to be anti-Jewish. About a Jew who became an adviser to a German
duke. He and his friends wanted to take over a city in Germany.
Triumph of the Will & Jud Suss
Kolberg Used 180,000 real German soldiers. German town who resisted the French
emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in 1908. The Germany army saved them at the last minute.
Goebbels wanted German civilians to resist the Allies.
Opened in Berlin at the end of January 1945 as the Allies were advancing to the heart of Germany.
Kolberg
Released in 1942 and seen by 28 million
people. About the romance and marriage between a
German singer played by Zarah Leander (a Swedish star) and an air force fighter pilot.
Zarah Leander sang the song, “I Know Someday a Miracle Will Happen”.
o Became the theme song for German civilians.
Die Grosse Liebe
When the U.S. entered the war, boosts in economy
and a dropping of the unemployment rate helped movie productions get back on track.
1944 – over 100 million movie tickets were sold every week.o Population in the U.S. was 130 million people.
“The Motion Pictures Committee Cooperating for National Defense” showed defense films made by the government with no charge.o Also called recruitment films – persuaded men and
women to be a part of the war effort. Women in Defense – Written by Eleanor Roosevelt. She
encouraged women to take their part in defense factories or the armed services.
U.S. and Their Propaganda Films
U.S. Government made movies about the
Japanese to inspire American citizens The Fighting Lady – an aircraft carrier and the
lives of the workers on it With the Marines at Tarawa – the director used
real soldiers to film this movie of the Battle of Tarawa
Liberation of Rome – documentary about the Allies advancing to Rome and successfully freeing the civilians from German rule in World War 2
After Pearl Harbor…
American documentary pushed American's
emotions further that the United States were fighting for the best
Seven films made by the U.S. Army Signal Corpso Showed how the Axis' governments brainwashed
and treated their country. o Leaders were using civilians to win powero Teachers and principals had to teach their students
how pure their government and leaders were The famous Hollywood director - Frank Capra
Why We Fight
Information:
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