WWII Serves As Model For Hollywood In Upcoming War Movies

December 4, 2001

University Park, Pa. — Most Hollywood films produced after Sept. 11 will include at least high-profile projects that celebrate the average American coping with crisis, says a Penn State film historian.

"As a symbol of the war effort nationwide, GI Joe and Rosie the Riveter will return to us in another guise," says Kevin Hagopian, lecturer in media studies in the College of Communications and a specialist on the history of the American film industry. "There were few films made during World War II that anyone could have considered cynical or sardonic. This is likely to be the case with post-Sept. 11 movies."

According to reports, several combat films will arrive in coming months, with an altered emphasis on sacrifice and heroism.

The current war on terrorism, like World War II, may actually prove an opportunity for Hollywood and the government to end a long-standing rift, says the Penn State researcher.

"In recent years, many Republicans and even some Democrats have taken Hollywood to task for presenting a morally negative view of America, as the debate over the V-chip and enhanced adult-content labeling in the past few years has shown," Hagopian says. "Conservative politicians look askance at the film industry as ideologically arch-liberal and an adversary in the culture wars. Republicans grumble that Hollywood personalities donate much more generously to the Democrats than the GOP.

"In the years immediately prior to World War II, the government and Hollywood were at loggerheads over a 1938 anti-trust suit filed by the government against the film industry," he noted. "The intent of the suit was to break up the studios' monopoly of the total filmmaking process: production, distribution and exhibition. The government agreed to hold off the suit until after the war, and Hollywood used the war years to energetically demonstrate its patriotism."

Hollywood clearly views World War II as a model for fighting America's newest war, especially on the home front. The film industry today, as during World War II, wants to be seen as affirming bedrock American virtues and the solid qualities of "regular Americans" serving as soldiers, firefighters and emergency technicians. To that degree, Hollywood will be on the same page as the Bush administration, says Hagopian.

But filmmakers and producers will be no more willing to allow government censorship of film content than it was during World War II, he adds.

"While the industry did make several significant films about the political aspects of the war effort, such as `Mission to Moscow' in 1943, these were undertaken after informal consultation with senior government officials. This did not stop the studios from making films (e.g. `The Road to Morocco') which OWI reviewers thought were contrary to the best ideals of the American war effort."

Based on its track record during World War II, Hollywood's current determination to control its own story lines should not be construed as lack of loyalty in the war against world terrorism, notes the Penn State film historian.

"Film remains an extraordinarily persuasive medium of communication. Several film reviewers have wondered if the nation's new seriousness of purpose will lead to the end of the action film, with its car crashes, exploding buildings and high body counts," says Hagopian. "We can expect the industry to review its planned productions in the coming months, and to look to history for a guide. Existing genres, such as the thriller, can be easily retooled for post 9/11 realities as they were during World War II."

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Contacts:

Paul Blaum (814) 865-9481 pab15@psu.edu

Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481 vfong@psu.edu

EDITORS: Mr. Hagopian is at (814) 865-3071 or kxh24@psu.edu by email.