World War II led to significant changes to the entire entertainment industry. On the one hand, the movie industry changed to help in pursuing the cause of the war. Each country’s government controlled movies during the period of the war. The government had a strong belief in the support from the home front that it would aid in the country’s victory. As such, they supported movies that would keep the spirits of the civilians high while reflecting the war and its impacts in a positive light. Subsequently, many films were about the war with the government of the day wanting to make sure that the civilians were aware of the objectives. Many of the U.S. films reflected the lives of the people in the period of the war. War films also showed the lives of the families of those who participated in the war, just like in the movie Since You Went Away .
Subsequently, the government identified that the content of the films was being delivered to many of the citizens, and thus, it became interested in influencing the social and political messages aired through the films. From this point of view, there was an increase in the demand for films, ultimately leading to overall growth in the movie industry (Dixon & Foster, 2008). From another point of view, the growth in the film industry led to the enhancement of the influence of film celebrities. For instance, Hollywood celebrities appeared in many advertisements and were involved in tours across the country that aimed at creating awareness and encouraging people to purchase war bonds as a way of supporting their nation in the war.
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Furthermore, World War II led to the increased use of film for spreading propaganda. Propaganda formed part of most of the movies. The film industry during and immediately after this period was able to communicate with a larger audience. As such, it became a powerful element of mass communication that could be effective for propaganda motives. A wide range of explicit, as well as implicit propaganda occurred within the industry and the movies. Movies, such as Beast of Berlin , stereotyped the Nazis and Adolf Hitler as authoritarian and cold-hearted. Strong images of the time’s regimes through movies such as The Mortal Storm , Hitler’s Children , and Pastor Hall that mainly portrayed the lack of sympathy of the Nazis (Dixon & Foster, 2008). The U.S. focused on using the film industry to stereotype Nazis with Hollywood playing a key role in all this. Propaganda was not only used in the movies as a means of creating an evil impression of the enemy during the war, but it was also used as a justification of participation in the war.
Ultimately, World War II led to the impressive growth of the movie industry. The cinema had become the most popular mode of passing time for the people. People wanted to get news about what was happening in the war and it was only through movies that they could do it (Dixon & Foster, 2008). Going to the cinema was more common as people wanted to catch a glimpse of all that was happening in the events of the war. Most of the people who became part of the audience had members of their families, as well as friends participating in the war. They believed that such participants were suffering hardships that were inevitable. As such, the audience used the movies as a method of escapism from reality. They watched the films as part of entertainment so that they could console themselves that their loved ones in the war were still safe and secure.
References
Dixon, W., & Foster, G. (2008). A Short History of Film. Rutgers University Press.
