Historical Analysis of Mass Communication during World War II

Abstract

Even after seven decades, discussions of national identity centre on how the media portrays the United States during World War II. This study discusses both pre- and post-war depictions of the conflict in the media. This anthology, "World War II and the Media," has new pieces that examine both nonfiction and fiction depictions of the conflict from a variety of academic perspectives. Journalists, filmmakers, photographers, musicians, historians, and students of media and culture in general are just some of the people whose work is included here.

The ability for the mass media to both unite and divide society was dramatically amplified during the war years. One may argue that the peak of the movement towards a more "common culture" occurred in the early years of the war, when demand for films, radio, and newspapers skyrocketed. However, the socially divisive potential of the media was once again brought to the forefront after 1942–1943, both in terms of content and the drastic alterations in the larger socioeconomic environment and how the media were used by audiences. After 1942, Germans began to show indications of societal breakdown on the home front, mirrored in their leisure & media consumption habits, which had been unparalleled during the war's early years.