Patrick Mai
Research Essay
Phillip Woods
4 December 2014
Can the State Use Film to Influence National Identity?
Cinema can be, has been, and will continue to act as an incubator for cultural nationalism. Film propaganda serves to target specific groups in order to persuade viewers into adopting the film’s intended messages or beliefs whether they are political, economical, religious, or philosophical. In cases like Britain during World War II, the government’s goal was to gain support for the war and employ the help of its citizens, and over the span of a decade, between 1932 and 1945, Britain poured out thousands of films that aimed to accomplish that goal. Many of those films carried the idea of a single unified country with its citizens …show more content…
However, national identity does not need to be necessarily created through propaganda, as it may have previously existed. National identity can be, however, re-created as the state picks and chooses which qualities are reproduced. The films promote the prevailing “national values” in the current state while uprooting inferior values. For example, during the German Blitz , the British government desperately needed the United States to join the war; those who did not actively support the American allies were deemed to be aiding the enemy. The most obvious point of using propaganda films is to create an image. This image for Britain’s case in WWII was to play itself as the “good”, the protagonist, who fights in the name of honor and all that is just in the world. To gain support from Americans, the British propaganda films set up an image of America as a benevolent country, ready to defend the innocent lives lost to the hands of the Axis, and then spread that notion throughout the United States. This sort of propaganda aims to pressure Americans into rethinking their stance on the war because of the guilt felt over not following through with their supposed “values” and “morals” defined in their “national …show more content…
For Britain, propaganda films was an all inclusive package in terms of tackling different issues that needed to be addressed while causing minimal anxiety. For instance, utilizing the films as an educational mechanism. British propaganda films teach foreigners the subtleties and differences between their cultures. These on screen tips and instructions on the little details of every day British life kill two birds with one stone. As they first truly act as teachings for those unfamiliar with British culture, while also function as a reinforcing agent for those who already understand the culture and resonate with the similarities portrayed. This strengthens the bond not only between the audiences with each other, but also with the state. The propaganda films also do the inverse. They teach their audience to alienate certain antagonists, such as the Germans. They stress the villainous name, Axis, given to the German alliance. They portray the Germans and Japanese as barbaric savages while the British as civilized gentlemen. This portrayal of British excellence was important in garnering pro-British sentiment. Natural born citizens, immigrants, and members of the dominion were all targeted, and the British government wanted to emphasize regardless of past experiences, that they were all still part of the same Empire which shares the same ideas,
Research Essay
Phillip Woods
4 December 2014
Can the State Use Film to Influence National Identity?
Cinema can be, has been, and will continue to act as an incubator for cultural nationalism. Film propaganda serves to target specific groups in order to persuade viewers into adopting the film’s intended messages or beliefs whether they are political, economical, religious, or philosophical. In cases like Britain during World War II, the government’s goal was to gain support for the war and employ the help of its citizens, and over the span of a decade, between 1932 and 1945, Britain poured out thousands of films that aimed to accomplish that goal. Many of those films carried the idea of a single unified country with its citizens …show more content…
However, national identity does not need to be necessarily created through propaganda, as it may have previously existed. National identity can be, however, re-created as the state picks and chooses which qualities are reproduced. The films promote the prevailing “national values” in the current state while uprooting inferior values. For example, during the German Blitz , the British government desperately needed the United States to join the war; those who did not actively support the American allies were deemed to be aiding the enemy. The most obvious point of using propaganda films is to create an image. This image for Britain’s case in WWII was to play itself as the “good”, the protagonist, who fights in the name of honor and all that is just in the world. To gain support from Americans, the British propaganda films set up an image of America as a benevolent country, ready to defend the innocent lives lost to the hands of the Axis, and then spread that notion throughout the United States. This sort of propaganda aims to pressure Americans into rethinking their stance on the war because of the guilt felt over not following through with their supposed “values” and “morals” defined in their “national …show more content…
For Britain, propaganda films was an all inclusive package in terms of tackling different issues that needed to be addressed while causing minimal anxiety. For instance, utilizing the films as an educational mechanism. British propaganda films teach foreigners the subtleties and differences between their cultures. These on screen tips and instructions on the little details of every day British life kill two birds with one stone. As they first truly act as teachings for those unfamiliar with British culture, while also function as a reinforcing agent for those who already understand the culture and resonate with the similarities portrayed. This strengthens the bond not only between the audiences with each other, but also with the state. The propaganda films also do the inverse. They teach their audience to alienate certain antagonists, such as the Germans. They stress the villainous name, Axis, given to the German alliance. They portray the Germans and Japanese as barbaric savages while the British as civilized gentlemen. This portrayal of British excellence was important in garnering pro-British sentiment. Natural born citizens, immigrants, and members of the dominion were all targeted, and the British government wanted to emphasize regardless of past experiences, that they were all still part of the same Empire which shares the same ideas,