War Through the Media - Essay Example

WAR THOUGH THE MEDIA The 20th century was full of events that have had great influence on the history of international community. The greatest cataclysm that took place in the history of last century and had extensive dimensions was the World War II. The influence of this war was great and even now, we can feel its social, political and economic consequences. Jordan Braverman in his book “To Hasten the Homecoming” attempts to disclose the history of media participation in World War II, and to show how civilians on the home front fought the war through movies, theatre, advertising, radio, comic strips, music, posters, and literature. As we know, the war began when Hitler captured Poland in 1939 and continued to occupy other European countries, this time Japan was warring against China. While Great Britain tried to stop offensive attacks of Fascist Germany on Europe, President Roosevelt tried to stay neutral against this conflict in Europe. But the circumstances were such that U.S. had to declare war to Japan after when on Sunday December 7, 1941, Japan air raided U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor. As Braverman says on this day was exhibited the true force of media, when President Roosevelt in a stable, leader voice declared the war against the Empire of Japan (p. 3). Millions of American citizens listened to NBC (National Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), or the MBC (Mutual Broadcasting System), this broadcast and it was the first of many further media exploits. It was only the beginning when propagandists told the public about America’s virtue and the enemy’s wrongdoing. Then followed a long strip of propaganda Jordan Braverman explains the value of the media during WWII when he wrote, “Among the most important resources the United States and the other warring nations used were the verbal, visual, and technical skills of the communication media” (p. 9). From his words we understand that media and propaganda is very effective and influential because of its power to inform. The main trick of being a successful propagandist is how much good news versus bad news you can distribute because that could decide how the information affects the audience. Information that people got during WW II was to ascertain them that only the Alley victory would guarantee peace. Also it was the media that had to ensure people that America could not be defeated. The writer pays much of his attention to the problem of information gaps. The question ”what would happen if the Axis powers won the war?”(p. 51) illustrated the fear that people felt. So newspapers used this state of fear and unknowing in order to control the emotional state of public. Also because of economical competition that existed then between newspapers, every of them tried to outdo the opponent. This caused that truth in headlines disappeared in the content. “The nation’s newspapers published according to the dictates of their own consciences and interests and printed what they wanted to print, attacked who they wanted to attack, and reported with accuracy or distortion—that is, they acted like a free press” (p. 30). The government had to find a solution to this problem, so it had to control the information in order to prevent propaganda war. So the only way out was to form an agency devoted to propaganda. There were several of them only the Office of War Information (OWI), established by President Roosevelt on June 13, 1942 continued its existence. It mission was to inform public of happening abroad and to counteract enemy propaganda. Jordan Braverman give the definition of the OWI`s objectives, he says that the goals of the OWI were to record, clear, and approve all proposed radio and motion picture programs that federal agencies sponsored and to serve as a contact for the radio broadcasting and motion picture industries in their relationships with federal departments and agencies and concerning these governmental programs…The OWI was to formulate and carry out information programs to increase an understanding of the war by using the press, radio, and motion pictures; it was also to maintain a liaison with the information agencies of the United Nations so as to relate American’s information programs to theirs (p. 50).  Besides newspapers, in his book Braverman writes about other methods of media such as radio, music, and television. Most of the media propaganda released during WW II attempted to be as enjoyable, easy, interesting, and yet suspenseful as it could. He defines that radio had an important function in American society at that wartime. The aim of radio was not only to report events, public affairs, news but also entertain with drama, sports, comedy music in order to keep listeners attention. Comedy radio performances generally direct their cute humor on the enemy; there was major success with shortwave propaganda because the programs made German jokes. “Washboard weepers” were radio soap operas that deployed an emotional connection, mostly for women, who could relate to, frustration, loneliness, and lives with no romance while their husbands were away (p. 101). In these radio shows, suspense, humor, and excitement, it was still primarily a form of media to disseminate information about the war. For this reason, they had to ban sound effects in shows/soap operas because they could potentially be mistaken for an air raid. Shows and commercials were interrupted with latest war news. Even the Office of Censorship made secret codes to censor American airwaves (p. 80). Music that was heard from the radio also took a great part in the propaganda. Jordan Braverman writes, “If music can be said to reflect a nation’s spirit, then its lyrics can be said to mirror a nation’s soul” (p.113). And of course Hollywood was a strong weapon against the enemies of United States’. “As soon as Hitler had plunged Europe into war, Hollywood began to promote democracy and condemn fascism without any urging from the government. However, Hollywood did not abandon its principal purpose of making movies that would entertain the public and increase the industry profits; propaganda had to be incidental to entertainment” (p. 138). Consequently, majority of American citizens did not experience the realities of war personally with movies being the primary source to reveal the horrors of wartime. Jordan Braverman’s book “To Hasten the Homecoming” presents a true and unique portrait of America, painting it with the help of words and pictures that American people used to see during the turbulent years of World War II.        REFERENCES Braverman, J. 1995. To Hasten the Homecoming: How Americans Fought World War II Through the Media, Atlantic Books      Read More