Movies provide a window into the thinking and trends of a particular era, and this film provides *incredible* insight into what many people were thinking in the 1930s, in the years leading up to WWII. I gave this film 7 out of 10 not because I think it's a great film, but because I think it provides tremendous insight into the fears and, at times, warped thinking, of the 1930s.
This is right-wing, fascist propaganda at its most cunning and most sincere. Watching it a first time, you might think, "The film makers were being ironic; this a cautionary tale." Nope! This is a genuine endorsement of "benevolent dictatorship" -- fascism. When the crowd cheers the President for evoking martial law, the audience of the film at the time, many of them facing desperate economic times and living in fear, was meant to cheer too. When you read history and wonder how people could cheer speeches by Charles Lindbergh (one of the most popular fascists in the USA of the time) and even Hitler, this film shows how.
Watch this film, where such fascist ideas are heroic, and then watch "Meet John Doe", made nine years later, where the exact same ideas (voiced by the media mogul D.B. Norton) are horrific, and you get an idea of the political ideological battles in the USA (and beyond) before WWII. This film was produced by real-life media mogul William Randolph Hearst, and speaks volumes about his very earnest and very autocratic beliefs.
It's a jaw-dropping film and an excellent example of unabashed propaganda. Zowie.
This is right-wing, fascist propaganda at its most cunning and most sincere. Watching it a first time, you might think, "The film makers were being ironic; this a cautionary tale." Nope! This is a genuine endorsement of "benevolent dictatorship" -- fascism. When the crowd cheers the President for evoking martial law, the audience of the film at the time, many of them facing desperate economic times and living in fear, was meant to cheer too. When you read history and wonder how people could cheer speeches by Charles Lindbergh (one of the most popular fascists in the USA of the time) and even Hitler, this film shows how.
Watch this film, where such fascist ideas are heroic, and then watch "Meet John Doe", made nine years later, where the exact same ideas (voiced by the media mogul D.B. Norton) are horrific, and you get an idea of the political ideological battles in the USA (and beyond) before WWII. This film was produced by real-life media mogul William Randolph Hearst, and speaks volumes about his very earnest and very autocratic beliefs.
It's a jaw-dropping film and an excellent example of unabashed propaganda. Zowie.