Film and Propaganda in America

In the twentieth century, every technologically advanced country has used propaganda to sell policies and programs to its citizens. In this five-volume, 6000-page series, David Culbert brings together documents that reflect the richness of American archives and suggest the central role film played in American wartime instruction as well as attempts to explain the meaning of the war to American soldiers and citizens. Emphasis is on unpublished material rather than actual film scripts or review of popular feature films of the era available elsewhere. Much of Volume III is devoted to Frank Capra's seven-part Why We Fight series, the most significant statement of war aims made by the American government in World War II. Documents in Volume III help reveal precisely how the Why We Fight series explains official war aims. Volume III also contains documentation about John Huston's San Pietro and Let There Be Light, with information that makes untenable statements by Huston that have misled scholars for nearly forty years.



Film and Propaganda in America, the largest collection of archival government documents on the subject ever published, includes letters, legal documents, and memoranda for the war years. Citations at the head of each document supply name of the author, recipient, date sent, and the collection from which the document is taken, providing a valuable guide to further research. The volume is indexed by film title, name, and subject. This series should appeal to anyone interested in the history of filmmaking, propaganda and the war effort, or American government history.