Julia Heinzen/Staff reporter

“When the United States entered the Second World War, it wasn’t just young men and women who enlisted. Hollywood also signed up.”

Tanner Mirrlees, professor at Ontario Tech University.

Hollywood, the symbol of movie making. A channel for artists to show their craft, exposing their creativity, ideologies, and talent to the world. Many look at the movie catalogues at the movie theatre with wonder and innocence—what is there to them, but purely a source of entertainment?

In an effort to get people to join the military during the second war, the U.S. focused its attention on pumping out propaganda. On top of posters, luring ads, and promises of compensation and perpetual recognition, the most effective strategy was proven to be movie making.

During that time, going to the movie theatre to catch the latest release was one of the most popular sources of entertainment available to the public—but it was more than just going out for the sake of going out. Watching movies in the theatre alongside a big crowd, knowing people across the country were tuning in at the same time, was an experience that brought citizens together.

But what was lost to the viewers were the underlying messages of war—military propaganda disguised as a mere battle between good and evil… or sometimes, not that well disguised.

“The head of the Office of War Information was Elmer Davis who said, ‘The easiest way to inject a propaganda idea into most people’s minds is to let it go through the medium of an entertainment picture when they do not realize they’re being propagandized,'”

Mirrlees

This form of recruitment was considered so important that the U.S Office of War Information had a sector exclusively for Hollywood: the Bureau of Motion Pictures.

The Bureau was responsible for reviewing scripts before they were turned into movies, making sure that the U.S. was portrayed in a positive light and that portrayed citizens in full awareness of the war.

As of today, there is no World War the U.S. is preparing for, no real reason for any propaganda movies to be released—but still, the hidden shadows of military propaganda remain.

Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2022, is a great example of the direct contact between the U.S military and Hollywood—the glorification of war by presenting the viewer with eye-catching shots of war planes, portraying the characters as invincible, and having a plot that revolves around an unnamed enemy is less ‘in your face’ than movies seen in 1942, but still caused a significant boost in service sign-ups.

The Navy had great say in the script sent to film—even being the ones to decide not to name the adversary force in the movie—and provided their own equipment and men to enhance the viewing experience.

This influence made for a movie full of American patriotism, creating wonder in the eyes of children and making sure to remind the United States’ enemies of their power.

But an issue arises as we consider the target audience for most of movies: children—especially in today’s age, with the popularity of Marvel, Star Wars, DC, and the constant adaptation of video games as TV shows or movies.

The movie Transformers, for example, is one constantly targeted by critics who bring the militarization of movie-making to light. A YouTube video made by Sean Green features all clips that don’t contain any of the titular Transformers, and the result is “basically an ad for military. An ad for the military with a wildly high budget and production value.”

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the first film to ever feature every branch of the military aside from the Coast Guard. It was a movie fully approved by the Pentagon, and serves as advertising and propaganda disguised as a children’s movie.

The glorification of the military can have harmful consequences to those who fall for it—as seen during the first war, young soldiers had no real idea what they were walking into, and many died without ever thinking that there was a real chance for it to happen. During the second war, the fear that still spilled through after the first was palpable, and still it was effective propaganda that sold the war to young recruits.

Now, the U.S government’s concern with keeping up appearances and guaranteeing support at times of war continues through the heavy influence over movies that feature any kind of conflict—it is important for all citizens to be aware of this influence and keep in mind that the true horrors of war will never be featured in any movies, as long as Hollywood continues to partner with the military. The enemy will always fall, the hero will always win—in the movies, that may be true. Not in reality.

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