Pathe Fait-Diver: The Invention Of Film

Before the era of Television, the visual media was much less accessible. News reports had been an integral part of the movie going experience since the invention of film in 1890s, but the idea to create a completely standalone reel of stories was first incepted by the new wave of French filmmakers with "Pathe Fait-Divers", which in later years became Pathe Journal. This revolutionary concept of news circulation was named (simply and adequately) - a newsreel. Newsreels quickly gained attention of the public and soon more distributors enriched the French (Gaumont)and worldwide market. Feeling threatened, classic newspaper empires created their own film departments. By the 1930s newsreels became a profitable business, gaining interest of major

In his book, Oscar Levant criticized the medium saying that newsreels were "a series of catastrophe, ended by fashion show". Levant is right about newsreels to a certain extent, but as whole his statement is largely inequitable. Newsreels indeed approached news in a very indifferent way, but such treatment was in a way forced by the hardship of strenuous processing, editing and distribution. Shown mostly in a weekly manner, newsreels were simply outdated, presented stories were already featured in newspapers and the role of the newsreel became that of a complementary visual content. Very rarely was it treated as an exclusive source of information. Passiveness of the newsreels was also an effect of continuos lobbying by cinema owners, who were afraid that controversial topics could disturb audience and reduce their profits. Multiple obstacles and limitations forced newsreels to evolve and became a precursory medium presenting news in an entertaining manner. That lightness of content led newsreels to be treated as one of the most powerful tools of

Army commands recognized the usefulness of the motion picture medium, praising the impact visual information has on the public and anticipating its usefulness as a tool for propaganda. British newsreel companies objected to creation of single centralized newsreel company and reached a compromise that allowed them to distribute work based on materials supplied by the army. Every reel, before reaching the screen, had to be cautiously screened and edited by censors. United States cultivated a similar approach, with all material shot and developed by the army. In addition to privately run studios, U.S. Government funded and distributed its very own "United Newsreel," which ran since the beginning of USA's involvement in war (1941) until the very end (1945). Furthermore, US Army recruited many Hollywood directors to create content of highest quality. The most prominent and accomplished one was a staunch patriot of Italian descent - Frank Capra. Capra, well known for his original editing techniques, decided to use Nazi and Japanese propaganda productions and manipulate them in such a way as to show the horrific, inhumane aspects of fascist regimes. Capra writes “A simple honest man, driven into a corner by predatory sophisticates, can, if he will, reach down into his God-given resources and come up with the necessary handfuls of courage,