| Propaganda in the U.S. During WWII |
“We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy's side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace.”1 This essay offers a brief introduction to the propaganda used in the United States between 1941-1945. The main goal of propaganda during World War II was manipulation of public opinion. The manipulation of the American public’s emotions was sometimes subtle, as in Norman Rockwell’s The Four Freedoms, and often explicit as in Walt Disney’s The Fuhrer’s Face. This essay examines movies, posters, and pictures of the war and within each of these formats explores race, religion, and gender to analyze the manipulative forces of propaganda. Because the war was so broadly accepted there will a short section of anti-war and peace movement propaganda to represent the minority of people who weren’t spirited for “The Good War.”
The second World War brought about dramatic development in the U.S. governments use of propaganda. The government created new agencies to make propaganda an acceptable way of interpreting information . The United States was the only major power that did not have an established government propaganda agency when the war broke out. In response to this, President Roosevelt created the Office of Government Reports(OGR) in 1939. The O.G.R., according to Clayton Koppes and Gregory Black “disseminated accurate, neutral information, while withholding adverse news. This information was placed in a context designed to build public confidence about America’s growing military power.”2 With this agency in place the government began slowly to influence the available information available to the public. OGR accomplished this by “serving as a clearing house for information about the defense program…[and] informing the executive branch about public opinion,”3 allowing for a bolder agency to be produced- the Office of Facts and Figures (OFF). Roosevelt created the Office of Facts and Figures to consolidate smaller agencies and earlier efforts into one agency focused on providing informational propaganda. The next step for the OFF was to utilize the film industry to play movies that were produced by the “War Activities Committee”. The government helped shape films that hollywood produced, instead of forcing them to make their movies. The government did not interfere with the production of movies to an extent that would ruin the appeal of the box office and create a volatil atmosphere between the government and Hollywood. In other words, the government allowed hollywood to make their films however they wanted as long as they went along with the war. Which is exactly what Hollywood wanted to do, because pro-american films sold out more commonly than anti-war films. The cooperation between the two entities allowed for both to prosper, the government conveyed their message and Hollywood made money.
OFF came under heavy fire from journalists who believed the office was a vehicle for political rhetoric. “If OFF pipes out the undiluted, uncolored, facts it will be the first government information bureau to do that.”4 This quote uncovers anti-propagandists that did exist in the U.S. during the war, even though they are never mentioned in public history. “OFF is just going to superimpose its own ‘well organized facts’ upon the splendid confusion…”5 The significance being opposition to the OFF shows that there were people who saw what these agencies were actually doing and opposed them. They knew that the government was using manipulative measures to coerce and rouse the public into embracing the war.
The movie “Menace of the Rising Sun,” produced by Universal Studios and released in 1942, is a remarkable example of how to breed racism, with its blatant dehumanizing images of the Japanese and accusations that the Japanese had been planning for years to attack the U.S. The racist imagery and conspiracy plot contributed to the hatred and deep seated racism towards the Japanese during the war. “Menace of the Rising Sun” was only one film in a long line of anti-Japanese films that were produced during America’s involvement in the war. Koppes and Black discuss “A Prisoner of Japan” as dwelling on “the sadistic cruelty of the Japs, who kill an innocent native boy and a wounded American Naval Officer for no apparent purpose other than to satisfy their blood-lust.”6 Reviews of similar movies by the Office of War Information, OWI, describe the enemies as “fiendish and diabolical” and “fanatic, Heil Hitlering heavies.”7 This use of racism wasn’t only in adult movies but also in children’s cartoons, such as The Fuhrhers Face by Walt Disney. In this film the Japanese and Germans are portrayed in similar ways to the other films mentioned, with the “enemies” flaunting their bucked teeth and dim wittedness, but in a medium that is acceptable for children to watch.
The pictures and posters of the war used both sutble and blatant messages to highlight race, gender, and religion to appeal to the viewer. Anthony Navarro analyzes one of the more blatant pictures that was publicized during the war:
The problem with the WWII pictures are not the overtly racist ones, but the hidden messages in the “innocent” pictures and/or paintings. The “Four Freedoms” painted by Norman Rockwell is a prime example of subconscious propaganda, in which the message is still conveyed but to a viewer may not pereive the complex meanings of the image. Race is a significant component of the “Four Freedoms”, because there was only one race, white. The women in all but one of the paintings, “Freedom to Worship”, are doing very domestic actions, “Freedom from Want,” and “Freedom from Fear,” or almost completely hidden behind men in the paintings, “Freedom of Speech.” These paintings, whether purposly or inadvertly, convey a message that these freedoms only apply to white males and to a lesser extent their families. Using imagery that tugs at the heart strings of the viewer by using elderly women, families, sleeping children, and community togetherness, Rockwell’s paintings are still revered as being cornerstones for Americans ideals.9
During WWII, much of the government propaganda used fear as a central theme-- fears of the Japanese, Nazis, economics, and religious freedoms. The American government used fear to feed the anxiety that people felt during the war allowing portrayals of its enemies in a negative and racially disturbing way to convince the American public to do what it wanted. Which was to participate in government backed programs like rationing, women joining the war industry, and support for the war in general. Even though this quote is from later on in the twentieth century, Navarro describes the changes from soldier to soldier combat to a modern total war. “War is no longer only between soldiers on a battlefield but between nations and their ideas. And in order to make a whole nation of people support the war with mind and spirit, there needs to be influence. That influence is propaganda.”10 Using these fears had a long lasting effect of creating racism and hatred towards the axis powers and in particular the Japanese. The Japanese are distinguishable by race and therefore easier to dehumanize because they don’t look like white males, at whom most of the propaganda was targeted.
The movie “Menace of the Rising Sun,” produced by Universal Studios and released in 1942, is a remarkable example of how to breed racism, with its blatant dehumanizing images of the Japanese and accusations that the Japanese had been planning for years to attack the U.S. The racist imagery and conspiracy plot contributed to the hatred and deep seated racism towards the Japanese during the war. “Menace of the Rising Sun” was only one film in a long line of anti-Japanese films that were produced during America’s involvement in the war. Koppes and Black discuss “A Prisoner of Japan” as dwelling on “the sadistic cruelty of the Japs, who kill an innocent native boy and a wounded American Naval Officer for no apparent purpose other than to satisfy their blood-lust.”11 Reviews of similar movies by the Office of War Information, OWI, describe the enemies as “fiendish and diabolical” and “fanatic, Heil Hitlering heavies.”12 This use of racism wasn’t only in adult movies but also in children’s cartoons, such as The Fuhrhers Face by Walt Disney. In this film the Japanese and Germans are portrayed in similar ways to the other films mentioned, with the “enemies” flaunting their bucked teeth and dim wittedness, but in a medium that is acceptable for children to watch. The United States government used propaganda during WWII to manipulate the American public into believing that without going to war and doing everything possible their worst fears would come to life. Allowing for atrocities to happen in and out of the U.S., the dropping of the A-bomb and Japanese internment camps are two publicized events that were accepted because people believed it was the right thing to do. Even more sinster is the underlying effect that this propaganda had on the pysche of the American people, by created a world full of racism and hatred towards an entire country of people. 1 Walter Lippman, 2 Clayton R. Koppes and Gregory D. Black, Hollywood Goes to War. Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2000. p. 51 3 Ibid. 4 Koppes and Black, p. 56 5 Ibid. 6 Koppes and Black, p. 61 7 Ibid. 8 Anthony V. Navarro, “A Critical Comparison Between Japanese and American Propaganda during WWII,” http://www.msu.edu/~navarro6/srop.html#U.S., Michigan State University 9“The Facts Behind The Four Freedoms,” http://www.nrm.org/exhibits/current/four-freedoms.html, The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge 10 Anthony V. Navarro, “A Critical Comparison Between Japanese and American Propaganda during WWII,” http://www.msu.edu/~navarro6/srop.html#U.S., Michigan State University 11 Koppes and Black, p. 61 12 Ibid. |
