Propganda Films

It can be argued that motion picture is the only true mass medium. Propagandists found it especially attractive when they compared it to other types of media. Although television, newspapers, and radio reach the majority of people, they cannot capture the attention that a motion picture demands upon a viewer. These forms of media are exposed to people in their homes and cars, both of which provide many distractions to the audience. The motion picture is the only form of media where the viewer i

The audience within a movie theater adds to the power of the movie medium, especially for propaganda film, which continuously attempts to influence the masses. Cinema is the only medium of communication in which the audience is a mass at the same time. Furthermore, it appeals to the individual as a member of the crowd. Within a crowd, an individual is susceptible to both their own emotion and the mass emotion within the crowd in the theater (Taylor 17-19).

This film, which was declared “a documentary film about the world of Jewry” and “a symphony of disgust and horror” by the director, Fritz Hippler, contained many graphic scenes that were intended to display the Jew as inhuman (Taylor 173). A history of Judaism and its roots is given. In this history, the Jewish race is tracked from Israel to Europe. They are a tribe of thieves, rapists and murderers who are filled with immense greed. This greed is shown in false statistical data during the film, portraying the Jews as a foreign minority group that possesses more than half of the German wealth and the entire workforce of doctors and lawyers. This tribe is shown to be especially primal; a rabbi is shown in a world of ecstasy as he slaughters an animal for the celebration of Passover. Beyond the history and rituals of a Jew, a lesson on human anatomy was given that showed the difference between a Jew and a perfect Aryan being; examples of these are typical Jewish stereoty!

Considering the mass powers of early cinema, it was the ideal propaganda weapon during the early twentieth century. This weapon was used on a large scale by the two most politicized countries of the time: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. The films themselves are interesting because they have been labeled works of art; added interest is within the fact that Battleship Potemkin and The Eternal Jew helped to shape the histories of their respective countries. To what extent these films influenced society can be determined only by personal opinion. They were not necessarily historical documentaries of the society, but a depiction of society that governments of the time aspired for. The great successes within the eras and beyond them are well documented in the fact that Battleship Potemkin was banned in public display in Great Britain until the late 1950’s and The Eternal Jew’s continued restriction in the United States until modern times.

The communist ideals portrayed in Battleship Potemkin, as well as the anti-Semitic ideals portrayed in The Eternal Jew, were welcomed by the members of the respective societies. German citizens lined up by the hundreds to view the film, and grew distraught at many images on the screen, most notably the “statistical data” displayed about German professions and wealth. The timing was especially important, because Germany was in the middle of the Great Depression. The anger caused by the film fueled what would eventually become a killing machine full of patriotic radicals. Much like the seamen of Potemkin united to overthrow the Czarist regime, Russia was able to fully unite, eliminating any existing support for the former rulers. Russia eventually evolved into the strongest commu

Some topics in this essay:
Eternal Jew, Film Propaganda, Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein, Passover Beyond, Israel Europe, Soviet Russia, Eternal Jew’s, Fritz Hippler, Germany Goebbels, propaganda film, silent film, battleship potemkin, eternal jew, motion picture, communist ideals, sound film, true mass medium, remarkable images, politicized countries, technological marvel,