World War II Propaganda in Feature Films from 1939-1943
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 5-2003 "The beginning of a beautiful friendship" : World War II propaganda in feature films from 1939-1943 Krista Leigh Richmond Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Richmond, Krista Leigh, ""The beginning of a beautiful friendship" : World War II propaganda in feature films from 1939-1943. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2003. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/5285 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Krista Leigh Richmond entitled ""The beginning of a beautiful friendship" : World War II propaganda in feature films from 1939-1943." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Communication. Bonnie Riechert, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: • I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Krista Richmond entitled "'The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship': World War II Propaganda in Feature Films from1939-1943." I have examined the finalpaper copy of this thesis for formand content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degreeof Master of Science, with a major in Communications. ���Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: � Acceptance forthe Council: · " ''THEBEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP": WORLDWAR IIPROPAGANDA IN FEATUREFILMS FROM 1939-1943 A Thesis Presented forthe Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knox ville Krista Leigh Richmond May 2003 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my family. I have learned so much fromall of you. Thank you all for your love, support, and encouragement. I know that I will never be far from home because you will always be with me. ii Acknowledgements I wish to thank all the people who helped me complete my Master of Science in Communications. I thank Dr. Bonnie Riechert forchairing my committee and offering me advice and expertise. I also thank Dr. Paul Ashdown and Dr. Bob Glenn forserving on my committee. I want to offer a special thank you to Dr. Lisa Fall. Working with you has been an adventure that I hope you have enjoyed as much as I have. Thanks forbeing my biggest fan. iii Abstract The United States governmentbegan to understand the importance of film propaganda during World War I. Hollywood and the filmindustry were valuable resources for the government's propaganda effortsduring World War II. Like Rick Blaine said in Casablanca (1943), it was "the beginning of a beautiful friendship." This study examinesthe categoriesof World War II propaganda messages in six featurefilms released from 1939 to 1943 - The Wizard of Oz ( 1939), Gone with the Wind ( 1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Citizen Kane (1941), TheMaltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1943). Each film was screened for propaganda messages relating to World War II. The numbers and categories of the propaganda messages were used to determine themes in the movies. The findings revealed two important themes - "good Americans" and "bad Germans." More than one-third of the propaganda messages (22 out of 64) were categorized as Pro-American (15) or Pro-Democracy (7). The Anti-German category also contained almost one-third of the messages. Together, these categories account for nearly two-thirds of all the propaganda messages identifiedin the sample films. Another finding was that the number of propaganda messages in the films increased steadily as the war progressed. The content of the messages was also reflected in World War II radio propaganda. Film proved to be a valuable tool forgovernment propaganda during World War II, and researchers should continue to study its uses and effectiveness. iv Table of Contents I. Introduction... .......................................................................... 1 II. Literature Review...... ................................................................6 UnderstandingPropaganda ........................................................... 6 Wartime Propaganda....................................... ........................6 PropagandaTechni ques ............................................................8 One-Sided and Two-Sided Messages ............................................9 Forming the Inoculation Theory.................. .............................. 13 Understanding Film Propaganda... .................................................15 Characteristics ......................................................................16 Content Variables ..................................................................16 FonnVariables ......... ............................................................ 17 Understanding Film Propagandaduring World War II....... ................... 18 Politics .............................................................................. 18 British Film Propaganda...... .................................................... 21 Film Propaganda and the Military... ...........................................23 Boosting Morale ................................................................... 24 African-Americansand Film Propaganda............... ...................... 25 Music in Film Propaganda...... ................................................. 27 Cartoonsand Humor .............................................................. 29 An Exampleof Analysis- The Great Dictator (1940)...... .................31 Analyzing Propagandain Feature Films -1939 to 1943 ..................... 33 III. Method...... ........................................................................... 34 Profileof the Sample...... .............................................................34 Instrument... ........................................................................... 35 Variables... .............................................................................. 35 Limitations... ........................................................................... 38 IV. Results......... .........................................................................39 Research Question I .................................................................. 39 The Wizard of Oz (1939)... ................................................ ...... 39 Gonewith the Wind (1939)......... ............................................ .42 V The Grapes of Wrath (1940)... .................................................. 43 Citizen Kane (1941) ............................................................... 43 The Maltese Falcon (1941)... ................................................... 44 Casablanca (1943) ............................................................... .45 Research Question 2... ................................................ ............... 46 The Wizard of Oz (1939)......... ................................................ 46 Gone with the Wind(1939)... ................................................... 46 The Grapes of Wrath (1940) .....................................................46 Citizen Kane (1941) ............................................................... 49 The Maltese Falcon (1941) ...................................................... 49 Casablanca(1943) ............................................................... .49 Research Question 3... ... ......... .................. ................................. 49 Research Question 4... ............................................................... 50 Films Released in 1939......... ..................................................50 Film Released in 1940........ � ................................................... 50 Films Released in 1941...... .................................... .........· ........ 50 Film Released in· 1943...... ...................................................... 50 Research Question 5 .................. ...· .................. ........................... 52 The Wizard of Oz (1939)...... ................................................... 52 Gone with the Wind (1939) ...................................................... 52 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)......... �-- ·.-............................. ........... 52 Citizen Kane (1941) .................................. � ............................ 53 The Maltese Falcon (1941) .......................·.. ............................. 53 Casablanca (1943) ........................ ........................ -�- ............. 54 Research Question 6 .................................................................. 54 Research Question 7... ............................................................... 56 Films Released in 1939...... .......................................... ......· ..... 56 Film Released in 1940... ......................................................... 56 Films Released in 1941. ..........................................................56