Documentary As Propaganda Flashcards
The Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is credited as being the first to recognise the significance of film as propaganda, though its importance as a medium of _____________ had been put to use nearly two decades before.
Persuasion.
Albert E. Smith of the Vitagraph Company filmed scenes of the ________-American war in 1898, adding material shot back in the USA to ensure the right image and gravity was achieved.
Spanish.
In 1899 The Biograph Company sent W.K.L. _________ to Africa to cover the Boer War, where he was well supported by the British military in promoting a ‘correct’ view of the conflict.
Dickson.
Documentary:
A film with the express intention (either by the filmmaker or by those commissioning the film) of persuading an audience of the validity of a particular viewpoint, and __________ them to share that viewpoint.
Positioning.
Documentary works particularly effectively as a medium of propaganda due to its nature of representing the ‘real’ and in the audience’s unquestioning belief in its depiction of ‘_____’.
Truth.
____________ have used the power of documentary as a propaganda tool in order to shepherd their people into a particular belief or cause, and history shows that it has been an effective technique.
Governments.
When the ______ _______ War broke out, both the British and German governments were quick to make documentary-like films that portrayed the enemy in a poor light, often using a ‘newsreel’ form to further convince the audience of the authenticity of their claims.
First World
Many British audiences were convinced of atrocities being carried out in ‘plucky little Belgium’ by the German occupiers, through the implications of dubious ‘____________’ films – a belief firmly held by that war generation for decades, despite evidence to the contrary; clear testament to the power of film documentary as propaganda.
Reconstruction.
With the postwar Russian Revolution, documentary was put to work for the benefit of the Soviet state.
Documentaries were produced by many of the Soviet filmmakers, with the intentions of promoting the Soviet cause, and ‘educating’ a population which may not have fully understood what the __________ had been about.
Revolution.
Dziga _______, along with many other filmmakers, was sent out across the Russian states on ‘Agit-prop’ trains, where he shot and screened countless short documentary films for the Soviet cause.
Vertov.
Political ideology took Joris Ivens to _______ in 1936 to make a documentary about the Spanish Civil War, sponsored by a group of prominent American writers, artists and intellectuals who were all politically of the Left.
Spain.
The difficulty of propagandistic documentary that is constructed with considerable filmic talent is met when looking at the films of Nazi filmmaker Leni ___________.
Riefenstahl.
While Riefenstahl hastily constructed short film Seg des Glaubens (Victory of Faith) (Nazi Party, Germany, 1933) is little more than a homage to Hitler on his becoming dictator of Germany, it is her grand-scale epic documentaries – Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the _____) (Leni Riefenstahl/Nazi Party, Germany, 1935) and Olympische Spiele (Olympia) (Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1936) – that are most problematic.
Will.
Central to the problem is Riefenstahl’s continued assertion that she was not a Nazi and was not sympathetic to the Nazi ideology, which is at odds with the powerful opening sequence of Triumph des Willens which begins with a ___________ title sequence.
Dissolving.
This alone could be considered evidence of the propagandistic intent, but when it is coupled with the opening images of Hitler’s plane descending from the clouds, a ____ returning to earth with salvation for the German people, then both the propaganda aim and Riefenstahl’s allegiance are confirmed.
God.
