Terrin

= Beare US History Research Wiki Journal Prompts = = =


 * Journal Entry 1:** Topic and ideas -- What are you investigating? What are the questions that are guiding your investigation.

After comprehensive thought and changing ideas, I chose to write my research paper on propaganda film and how it affected WWII to advance American war strategies and ultimately persuade the thoughts and ideals of Americans to join together as one as a force for war. Propaganda film was usually considered to be documentaries of ideological outlooks used to “extend the scope of American documentary”//1// and “give a grim documentary image of [combat]”//1// which showed the reality and truth about the war and the American society. Although these propaganda film were known to portray the truth about war and persuade Americans to have “ a patriotic mindset and convince viewers that sacrifices needed to be made to defeat "the enemy."”//2// //, // many problems and arguments arose about whether or not this propaganda film actually portrayed the truth or misconceptions towards the community in order to persuade the Americans for war. It was also used to “transmit governments political and social message.”//2// For my reasearch paper I will explore these issues and figure out how Propaganda film effected America and its ideals during WWII. __**Questions to Guide my Research**__ Was propaganda film effective enough to eprsuade American over war? What were the major arguements during WWII about Propaganda Film? How was propaganda film portrayed by American filmakers and How did Americans feel about these films? What were the problems or arguements of Propaganda Film? ** __Bibliography__ ** Rollins, Peter C. and John E. O'Connor. // Why we Fought : America's Wars in Film and History //. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2008. Wikipedia contributors, “Propaganda film.”//Google.com, Propaganda Film WWII,Propaganda Film- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. []. (April 7, 2010)

//  1 Rollins, Peter C. and John E. O'Connor. // Why we Fought : America's Wars in Film and History //. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2008. 2// Wikipedia contributors, “Propaganda film.”//Google.com, Propaganda Film WWII,Propaganda Film- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. []. (April 7, 2010)


 * Journal Entry 2:** A comment on your process to date, a brief discussion of your sources, and a listing of sources you are currently working with (correct Turabian format). This should be a significant step forward from your initial bibliography.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve made tremendous progress with my sources. I have looked at videos of propaganda during the war, books, websites, and even reference books. Most of my information has come from three specific sources. The other sources I used gave me general information about propaganda film during WWII. One of the three sources which have guided my research is a website with an article about Japanese versus American Propaganda film which suggest which nation had the most effective persuasion on their society to go to war. This article goes deep into the different ways these nations portrayed their thoughts and ideals to their citizens in order to make their country more powerful and eager to fight. This source is also very viable because it was used in a university project as one of the main sources of information. The next source which produced greater thoughts about the American persuasion of Propaganda Film throughout WWII was a book named, “Why We Fought”, a more recent version of Capra’s film “Why We Fight”. This source gave me more in depth information about the American persuasion on societal war efforts. It talked less about the Japanese, but gave very specific information about how American reacted to propaganda film and how propaganda film affected American as a whole; in the sense of if it was an advantage or disadvantage to the American government to persuade its nation into war. The third reliable resource I used for majority of my research information was a VHS video about Capra’s “Why We Fight” Film documentary film which was made during WWII. This source refers to the persuasions propaganda film had on the American Societal. It also demonstrates the reality of war and why Japan was known as “the enemy”. Frank Capra’s film was one of the first documentary films made during WWII to make American recognize what was really happening during this period and how they would be able to engage in these efforts of war in order to minimize the brutality and suffering of Americans. From all the sources I reviewed, I can conclude that the most reliable resources are books because they give you more information and are very specific on certain topics of interest. I have gathered all of the information I have received from various resources into one Word Document in order to lead me into writing my essay. I will use this information to take out important points and quotes in order to help my discussion and help me create an outline for my essay. I also still need to acquire a few more resources such as primary source documents and internet articles in order to get a full understanding of the topic or argument I am going to write about throughout my essay. **__Bibliography (in addition to first)__** Anonymous //A Walk through the 20th Century with Bill Moyers.. the Propaganda Battle. World War II.// Directed by Fritz Hippler, Frank Capra and PBS Video. Alexandria, VA: PBS Video, 1983. Rollins, Peter C. and John E. O'Connor. //Why we Fought : America's Wars in Film and History//. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2008. Short, K. R. M. //Film & Radio Propaganda in World War II//. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1983. Anonymous //World War II Propaganda Films. Vol. 1.// Directed by United States. War Dept. and Video Images (Firm). Sandy Hook, Conn.: Video Images, 1983. Anthony V. Navarro/History 565 Prof. Childs. “//A Critical Comparison Between Japanese and American Propaganda during World War II//.” [], A Critical Comparison Between Japanese and American Propaganda During World War II. [|https://www.msu.edu/~navarro6/srop.html]. (April 14, 2010).


 * Journal Entry 3:** What is your Thesis?

During WWII, American government and other political and individual forces used different sources of propaganda to persuade the American society to go to war and ultimately defeat the Japanese and Nazi’s for the revenge of the Pearl Harbor attack on the U.S. The American government used propaganda to communicate a message to a specific group of people, which influenced them to believe in a cause. The American government also used propaganda to prove superiority over other countries. Many historians believe that this war propaganda benefitted and effectively unionized the American people to help with war efforts. American war propaganda was usually considered to portray ideological outlooks and “give a grim documentary image of [combat]”  //[1]// //  which showed the reality and truth about the war and the American society. American war propaganda was particularly effective because it persuaded Americans to have “a   patriotic   mindset and   convince   viewers that sacrifices needed to be made to defeat "the enemy."”  [2]//  and  // also //  “transmit[ed] governments political and social message” //[2]//   // to the public successfully. The American government’s use of this war propaganda ultimately unionized the society and brought different races together who would not have joined in other cases. This support from propaganda gave America tremendous advantages which lead the U.S. to victory. //

//[1]// Rollins, Peter C. and John E. O'Connor. // Why we Fought : America's Wars in Film and History  //. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2008. //[2]// Wikipedia contributors, “Propaganda film.”  // Google.com, Propaganda Film WWII,Propaganda Film- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia //. []. (April 7, 2010)