Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Capra, Frank. The Name Above The Title. Da Capo Press, 1997.

This source is an autobiography that outlines Frank Capra’s filmmaking career, including his award-winning documentary series Why We Fight. It includes the story of his promise to General George Marshall to make “…the best damned documentary films ever made.” He also speaks of his source of inspiration, Triumph of the Will.

Prelude to War. Directed by Frank Capra. War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry, 1942. Accessed October 23, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBtdTiHsQqI.

This film is the first of Frank Capra’s seven-part documentary and outlines the reasons for American involvement in World War II. It paints a distinct contrast between the free and democratic nations of the West and the fascist, enslaving characteristics of the Axis Powers. It was later shown to the American public in order to boost support for the war. Capra uses footage right from Triumph of Will but voices it over differently in order to promote the Allied cause.

The Battle of China. Directed by Frank Capra. Produced by Office of War Information. War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry, 1944. Accessed November 29, 2012. http://www.youtube.com

This film outlines the struggle between China and Japan. It depicts Japan as a military dictatorship with only the idea of world domination on its agenda. China, on the contrary, is shown as innocent and a welcome ally to the West.

The Nazis Strike. Directed by Frank Capra. Produced by Office of War Information. War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry, 1943. Accessed October 20, 2012.  http://www.youtube.com.

This second film in Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series outlines the history of German aggression. Beginning with Otto von Bismarck and culminating in the German invasion of Poland, this film is critiqued for its portrayal of the ineffectiveness of Poland’s army in defending the nation for Nazi forces. Its intention is to portray the German nation as conniving and World War II as a war for German domination that the nation had been slowly working towards for many decades.

Triumph of the Will. Directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Universum Film AG, 1935. Accessed October 23, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8.

This Nazi propaganda film follows the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg in 1934. This event was attended by over 700,000 supporters of Hitler and the Nazi Party and includes clips of Adolf Hitler’s speeches. It is meant to portray Germany’s rise to power once more, something that is brought about only through the leadership of Hitler. Leni Riefenstahl’s video techniques helped this propaganda film win many awards around the globe. Before creating Why We Fight, Frank Capra drew inspiration directly from this film and placed his film as direct response to Triumph of the Will.

Secondary Sources:

Fyne, Robert. The Hollywood Propaganda of World War II. Scarecrow Press, 1994.

This book outlines propaganda filmmaking during World War II. Fyne points out that these films, while popular, presented a glorified image of America while portraying the Axis Powers as the clear villains in the war. He examines common stereotypes and techniques of these films, including presenting fiction-as-fact and the American approach toward China, Japan, Italy, the Soviet Union and Germany. Frank Capra employed many of these propaganda techniques.

German, Kathleen M. “Frank Capra’s Why We Fight Series and the American Audience.” Western Journal of Speech Communication, (Spring 1990), 237-248. Accessed on November 29, 2012. http://www.jstor.org

This article discusses the affect that Why We Fight on American audiences. It shows that most of the films had a positive influence of Americans, especially The Battle of Britain. It also discusses The Battle of China and how its elements of racism were not uncommon at that time.

Koppes, Clayton R., and Gregory D. Black. Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies. University of California Press, 1990.

This book shows the relationship between the government and the American film industry during World War II. It focuses on the importance of the Office of War Information and their role in shaping film propaganda throughout the war. They examine the different goals of writers and directors to place their own visions within their movies in order to move public opinion of America’s involvement in the war.

Springer, Claudia. “Military Propaganda: Defense Department Films from World War II and Vietnam.” Cultural Critique, No. 3 (Spring 1986): 151-67. Accessed October 25, 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1354170.

This article outlines Frank Capra’s approach to troop indoctrination and film propaganda and compares the techniques Capra used to later propaganda films, such as the ones used for Vietnam. Springer states that, although Capra’s Why We Fight films were highly successful at the time they did not really have a last effect on propaganda filmmaking. The article outlines several of  Capra’s propaganda filmmaking techniques, including making generalizations and painting a clear picture between good and evil. Capra also includes several different film medias, especially newsreel footage, production footage and Walt Disney animation sequences.

All images courtesy of Google Images.

These images help to strengthen the arguments in my papers, especially the examples of animation and direct contrast between good and evil.