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The War for Men's Minds
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Wikipedia article
'The War for Men's Minds' is a 21-minute 1943 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime 'The World in Action' series. The film was produced by Stuart Legg.Lerner 1987, p. 75. 'The War for Men's Minds' describes the impact of propaganda from the Axis powers in 1943, during the Second World War.Welch 1993, p. 6.Khouri 2007, pp. 132133. The French version title of 'The War for Men's Minds' is ' la conqute de l'esprit humain'.
Synopsis
In 1943, Allied forces are confronting a sophisticated means of war, the propaganda campaign that the Axis powers employ. In Italy, the Fascist regime led by Benito Mussolini made use of propaganda, including pageantry and fiery speeches, to inspire the nation and lead the populace to war.
The Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany also used propaganda to gain widespread support for Nazi policies and later, to maintain power. Both Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, the head of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda were skillful masters of propaganda.
The Nazi Party's manipulation of all forms of media from newspaper, books and films became omnipresent and extended beyond Germany. Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl created two epic propaganda films, 'Der Sieg des Glaubens' or 'Victory of Faith' (1933) and 'Triumph des Willens' or 'Triumph of the Will' (1935) that depicted the fervent Nazi multitudes in the 1930s Nuremberg Rallies.
Despite President Franklin D. Roosevelt's passionate address in his 1941 State of the Union, articulating the Four Freedoms: Freedom of speech, Freedom of worship, Freedom from want and Freedom from fear, a homegrown German American Bund was formed, espousing Nazi values. By the time they entered the global conflict, Americans rejected the politics of fear and hate.
Through the efforts of information bureaus and traditional media sources such as newspapers, radio and newsreel films, the Allies have attempted to counter the Axis propaganda. The universal principles of liberty, equality and fraternity along with the four freedoms have become the basis of the fight in which the Allied nations are engaged. The war on information and propaganda fronts, and the hopes for the future are also founded on cooperation and common purpose of all the democracies.
Cast
* Benito Mussolini as Himself (archival footage)
* Adolf Hitler as Himself (archival footage)
* Joseph Goebbels as Himself (archival footage)
* Hermann Gring as Himself (archival footage)
* Rudolf Hess as Himself (archival footage)
* Fritz Julius Kuhn as Himself (archival footage)
* Franklin D. Roosevelt as Himself (archival footage)
* Winston Churchill as Himself (archival footage)
* Josef Stalin as Himself (archival footage)
* Charles de Gaulle as Himself (archival footage)
* William Lyon Mackenzie King as Himself (archival footage)
* Matthew Halton as Himself (archival footage)
Production
'The War for Men's Minds' was the part of the wartime 'The World in Action' propaganda short film series.Aitken 2013, p. 880. The films were produced with financial backing from the Wartime Information Board for the Director of Public Information, Herbert Lash.[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/37352863/ "Recognize leadership of Winnipeg women."]'The Winnipeg Tribune', April 18, 1941. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.
Typical of the NFB's series of morale-boosting films, 'The War for Men's Minds' used the format of a compilation documentary, relying heavily on newsreel material, including "enemy" footage, in order to provide the background to the dialogue.Reeves 2003, p. 107..
The striking images of cheering crowds in Nazi Germany that were featured in Leni Riefenstahl's films were used extensively. U.S. Hollywood filmmaker Frank Capra also used scenes from her films, which he described partially as "the ominous prelude of Hitler's holocaust of hate", in many parts of the U.S. government's 'Why We Fight' anti-Axis seven film series, to demonstrate what the personnel of the American military would be facing in the Second World War, and why the Axis had to be defeated.Capra 1971, p. 326.
The deep baritone voice of stage actor Lorne Greene was featured in the narration of 'The War for Men's Minds'. Greene, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at 'CBC' as well as narrating many of the 'Canada Carries On' series.Bennett 2004, p. 254. His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and to some observers, the "voice-of-God".Rist 2001, p. 84. When reading grim battle statistics or narrating a particularly serious topic, he was known as "The Voice of Doom".[https://tkmorin.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/bonanzas-canadian-lorne-greene/ "Bonanza's Canadian Lorne Greene."] 'Bite Size Canada'. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.
Reception
In early 1942, NFB head John Grierson through his Hollywood contacts, found a new outlet for NFB documentaries, especially his recently launched war-themed 'The World in Action' series. After the success of selling 'Warclouds in the Pacific', the NFB was able to make a further arrangement with United Artists for additional titles to be distributed in the United States.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122.Cox, Kierwan. [http://cinemacanada.athabascau.ca/index.php/cinema/article/viewFile/1832/1888 "The Grierson Files."] 'Cinema Canada' Number 56, June/July 1979. Retrieved: March 22, 2016. With distribution in Canada and Great Britain, he now added the United States market.Ohayon, Albert. [http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2009/09/30/propaganda-cinema-the-world-in-action/ "Propaganda Cinema at the NFB The World in Action."] 'National Film Board of Canada', September 30, 2009. Retrieved: March 22, 2016.
'The War for Men's Minds' was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film in the wartime 'The World in Action' and 'Canada Carries On' series was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by Columbia Pictures.
After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. Continuing into the postwar era, a total of 199 films were produced in 'The World in Action' series before it was canceled in 1959.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Aitken, Iann. 'The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film'. London: Routedge, 2013. .
* Bennett, Linda Greene. 'My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene'. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. .
* Capra, Frank. 'The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography'. New York: Macmillan, 1971. .
* Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. 'New History of Documentary Film'. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. .
* Khouri, Malek. 'Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46.' Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. .
* Lerner, Loren. 'Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature'. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. .
* Reeves, Nicholas. 'The Power of Film Propaganda: Myth or Reality?'. London: Continuum, 2003. .
* Rist, Peter. 'Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada'. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. .
* Welch, David. 'The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda'. London: Routledge, 1993. .
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