Propaganda Film

A heavy-handed film -- often a documentary -- made to persuade and influence audiences into accepting and believing a particular point of view. Didactic in nature, these movies rely on manipulative images, dynamic editing, bias and, often in the case of documentaries, coercive voiceover narration, all that play on emotions such as fear, sympathy, and anger. A favorite weapon of national cinemas, propaganda films are generally socio-political in nature. The Plow That Broke the Plains and The River are early American examples, while early Russian filmmakers like Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein sought revolution with films like Three Songs about Lenin, The Battleship Potemkin and October. In Germany, Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will was financed by Hitler himself, and the party continued to churn out propaganda film throughout World War II. Meanwhile, Hollywood directors like Frank Capra and John Huston countered with flag-waving documentaries (the Why We Fight series and The Battle of San Pietro, respectively), intended to boost morale in America. After WWII, propaganda films moved back to tackling social issues. Modern documentaries like The Atomic Cafe, Titicut Follies, Harlan County, USA and Waco: The Rules of Engagement all feature elements of the propaganda film.

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