Document Type
Article
Source Publication Title
American Journalism
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2008.10678092
Abstract
This content analysis of World War II movies and Office of War Information documents was conducted to ascertain the influence of the U.S. government on the depictions of the Japanese and German enemy by American filmmakers during the war. Film content was selected for this study as television was in its infancy during the war, and the U.S. government routinely used film in conjunction with radio and other mass media. Findings show that selected government-defined themes depicting the enemy during the war are systematically found in these popular movies. This study reveals the results of the extensive coordination of public messages about the two enemies between mass media and the U.S. government. The study is useful in understanding the continuing influence of government on filmmaking and other mass media in an attempt to influence and shape public opinion during times of war. [This is an original manuscript / preprint of an article published by Taylor & Francis in American Journalism on June 3, 2013, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08821127.2008.10678092].
Disciplines
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Publication Date
6-3-2013
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Christie, Thomas E. and Clark, Andrew M., "Framing Two Enemies in Mass Media: A Content Analysis of U.S. Government Influence in American Film during World War II" (2013). Communication Faculty Publications. 2.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/communication_facpubs/2