Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
World War 2 and how it affected the film industry
Social outcomes of the japan bomb
Atomic bomb effects on japan
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: World War 2 and how it affected the film industry
Arguably the most world changing event in history, the Second World War had a huge effect in cinema around the world. These effects can are perhaps most apparent in the cinema of Japan as the country was impacted greatly by the war. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent capitulation of Japan changed the morals and the psyche of its people almost completely leaving a big mark in Japanese culture which is quite evident when looking the films made in the country during the post war period. The war changed every genre in Japanese cinema, introducing new themes and tones which were quite uncommon in pre-war and war times.
The political situation in Japan changed completely after the war. Following Japan’s defeat it was occupied by American forces and was now run by the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers, in an attempt to transform the Japanese. SCAP made a lot of changes in Japan including building new Universities and changing the constitution (Bordwell and Thompson 2002). SCAP also went on to censor the Japanese film industry to fit the new vision for the Japanese society and would not allow certain themes and topics. Japan’s vertically integrated studio system which is one of the oldest of its kind, predating the Hollywood and European studios had managed to survive the war intact as movies were used as war propaganda during WWII. Ones the war was over the studios ‘films underwent extensive censorship in order to be released to the public. Samurai dramas and most films that had to do with the war were banned as they had themes of nobility and self sacrifice. What is more films that directly dealt with the war did not start coming out until after the occupation was over and the censorship was removed. Seen as ma...
... middle of paper ...
...g it all the more effective in criticising both sides of this conflict, while retaining impartiality to some extent.
Examining Japanese films of the time it is undoubted that the Second World War had a really big and lasting impact on the country and it’s movie industry with themes of war, devastation and suffering continued to take central parts in Japanese narratives for decades and are not uncommon even today.
Books:
Bordwell and Thompson 2002. Film History an Introduction. 2nd ed. Wisconsin: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 393
Bowyer, J, 2004. The Cinema of Japan and Korea. 1st ed. UK: Wallflower.
Desser, D. M. , 1995. Hiroshima: A Retrospective. 1st ed. University of Illinois: ACDIS.
Davidson, J. F, 1954. Memory of Defeat in Japan: A Reappraisal of "Rashomon". The Antioch Review, , 492-501.
Yoshimoto, M, 2000. Kurosawa. 1st ed. USA: Duke Univercity Press.
I think that the movies that portrayed World War I and World War II were different because in these films we had more pride. We knew what we fought for. People at the time supported their country and soldiers. It today the movies are all about blood and blowing things up. There is very little pride in our country. We don’t stand up for our soldiers the way that we should. We blame them when our government sends us to war. Our movies of resent wars have just been action movies and have lost the loyalty and pride we once had.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
Grainge, P., Jancovich, M., & Monteith, S. (2012). Film Histories; An introduction and reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
German cinema was greatly affected during the Nazi movement between 1933 and 1945. Once appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 Hitler wasted no time and almost immediately began working on his propaganda strategy. Typically “propaganda targets a mass audience and relies on mass media to persuade. Propaganda is aimed at large numbers of people and, as such, relies on mass communication to reach its audience” (Gass, 14). The Nazi party used film propaganda to brainwash the German people, distract them from the harsh reality of the Nazi party, and attempt to intimidate the enemy. Hitler knew propaganda entailed mass persuasion and he knew just how to get his message out there; film. It was through the use of propaganda, largely film that made the Nazi party so powerful as they redefined propaganda.
Without the advent of the medium of film to wage a war of propaganda both the Axis and the Allies of World War II would have found it difficult to gather as much support for their causes as they did. Guns, tanks, and bombs were the principal weapons of World War II, but there were other, more subtle, forms of warfare as well. Words, posters, and films waged a constant battle for the hearts and minds of the masses of the world just as surely as military weapons engaged the enemy. Persuading the public became a wartime industry, almost as important as the manufacturing of bullets and
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
The American film industry’s early attempts at the narrative Western were limited and in the early years were produced mainly in the east. During this early time in the film industry the...
The Japanese government used police forces in order to keep anyone from speaking out about the war; this keeps the citizens optimistic about the war and helps their nationalistic pride. Japan, who was once a rising power in the world had its citizens proud to be Japanese. This national pride only led to their downfall because they could only see the positive side of the war. Even in today’s world, you will find many Japanese people who are proud to be Japanese because of the pride that all of the citizens possess. This could possibly be traced back to the censorship that the government imposed on its people.
In 2006, a film directed by Clint Eastwood was released in theatres around the world titled Letters from Iwo Jima. Unlike most war movies that are produced for the American public, this film entirely captures the World War II battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the enemy. For a rare change, Letters from Iwo Jima shows the cultural aspect and daily life the Japanese soldiers experienced during the war. Although the film was given many positive reviews and was noted as one of the best films of 2006, it still received mixed emotions from both the Japanese and American public. One of the main ideas of the film focuses on the idea that good and evil exist on both sides, and that although we share different ideas, thoughts, traditions, and customs, we are all human and share more in common than we think.
During World War ll, Japan was on the brink of collapse. The Atomic Bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United State were unnecessary to end the war. The allied forces which were Great Britain, Soviet Union, France, United States and China, would conduct countless air raids and fire bombings on Japan. Japan’s military and civil defenses were inadequate to defend themselves and had no chance. For months Japans cities suffered attacks of bombs and fire raining down on them by the allied forces. The country was weak, starving and had no strength to fight back. On August 6 and 9, 1945, Nagasaki and Hiroshima would be the first cities to ever experience an atomic blast. Hiroshima and Nagasaki became literally test dummies for the atomic bomb. Japan had attempted to settle a peace treaty with the United States, but they refused and were determined for a unconditional surrender. Instead, the United States should have made an effort to make a peace treaty, not force them into surrender with the ultimate destruction weapon. The reason for this unconditional surrender was to prove America’s superiority over the Japanese. America used propaganda to convince Americans and demoralize the japanese people rather than their army. The use of the atomic bombs was caused by a strong racism motivating factor.
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid creativity, the evolution of Japan during the Fifteen-Year War can be analyzed with great scrutiny.
History and films can be observed in many ways. Today, films have an important role to play in these histories. Motion films provide information to show what it was like back then and provided visual information to the ways people lived in the past. Today, films such as “The Truman Show”, shows what life was like back in the late 1900’s. For example, people were obsessed with reality TV, and the clothing was more formal than the way it is today. The technology was much more advanced than what it is thought to really be. Many of us would much rather watch films rather than read about history.
This book depicts how Japanese behaved both before and after the World War II. In this book, it describes how Japanese military slaves (a.k.a. comfort women) was made, what motivated Japan to do these abuses.