Shoot ‘em down! Film as a weapon
Propagandist films don’t shy away from their position in politics, war, and, in particular, indoctrinating ideologies. Very much a modern-day brainwash, film as a medium is an accessible form of storytelling that advertises campaigns, warped truths, and politicians’ personalities in jaw-dropping cinematics and inspiring soundtracks with majestic and expositional plots.
(Propagandist cinema took its course by) “trapping individuals in an inauthentic rendering of reality, persuading them to preserve the current economic, political, and social relations.”
Lorenzo Fabbri states in his book,“Cinema is the Strongest Weapon: Race-Making and Resistance in Fascist Italy”.
Propaganda: Implicit vs. Explicit
With the art of propagandist material, you can go about it implicitly or explicitly. Implicit films are often pioneered by the government or extremist political groups. They lack critical commentary and usually follow either an implicit blockbuster-like story with a lot of action, and patriotism, or showcase a polarising distortion of history. Explicit films are pseudo-documentaries that propagate ideologies and behaviours to the mass public under the guise of showing the ‘real truth’. This created the binary in recorded media.
The material would be played at schools, workspaces, cinemas, or other places of influence. For example, in 1930-40s Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels, former Reich Minister of Propaganda deemed film as a valuable, innovative, and modern weapon, assimilating ideas of anti-semitism, euthanasia, and Volksgemeinschaft (people’s community) to create the binary between non-Nazi and Nazi ideals. A popular film that was screened for the Nazi Party Rally in 1943 Nuremberg was “Triumph of the Will”, a pseudo-documentary promoting nazi practices and the spoils of war.
Cinema became a weapon of influence, and that still pertains to this day. For example, India’s political landscape has transformed into a non-secularist state, with unification through the politicisation of the Hindu religion. Negatively impacting Islamic, Christian, and other religious minorities in India. There has been a crackdown on Indian academics and critics against the BJP (India’s current political party) and the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Thus, even Indian cinema was utilised to showcase the BJP ideals.
“Recent releases of films such as ‘Swatantra Veer Savarkar’ spoke to a larger trend in (the Indian film industry) which had been aggressively co-opted over the decade of Modi’s rule, despite historically remaining apolitical. (The indian film industry) which had long united people across India’s vast religious and cultural differences, was being weaponised to sow discord, to great effect. While films propagating the BJP’s narrative are being released with increasing regularity, streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon have faced legal threats and had series and films removed for being seen to be critical of the government.”
Ellis Petersen, a Guardian journalist comments on BJP propagandist films.
Viva la revolución!
But it’s not doomsday. Filmmakers take matters into their own hands, despite facing censorship and imminent brutality to fight against propagated films. For example, Revolutionary Bolivian director and filmmaker Jorges Sangines created films focusing on plots that combated the oppressive Bolivian and United States governments through mainly revenge storylines. In a retrospective study of his impressions of how the film was used as a weapon, Jorge Sangines noted that "If we communicate with the people at all, it is essential to tell them they are capable of liberating themselves.” His filmography focuses on Native American tribes, their struggle, and community.
Examples of films that expose the brutality of ruling establishments:
Ukamau (1966) by Jorge Sangines: Looks at themes of sexual violence/violence against South American tribes and indigenous communities. Follows a storyline of a man avenging the death of his wife.
While We Watched (2022) by Vinay Shukla: A painful documentary that follows esteemed Indian journalist Ravish Kumar known for providing fearless exposés of the Indian government, who slowly loses his journalistic freedom, eventually victimised by harassment and violence.
The Blood of Condor (1969) by Jorge Sangines: Ignacio (Marcelino Yanahuaya), the proud chief of a tribe of Quechua natives in remote Andean Bolivia, discovers that his wife cannot bear children. Like the other women of their village, she has been secretly sterilised against her will at an obstetric clinic operated by a purportedly beneficial aid group from the United States, with the covert help of the Bolivian government. Ignacio gathers the men of his tribe to exact revenge and bring justice to his people.
The Act of Killing (Indonesian: Jagal, transl. 'Butcher') (2012) by Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, and an anonymous Indonesian director: The documentary follows the killers including Anwar Congo, who participated in the 1965–66 Indonesian mass killings which targeted communists and people who opposed the New Order regime. The killers, turned gangsters are still in power in Indonesia.
Personally, the smell of films is not as soothing as jasmine. But shaping it to be so when it’s not is a true disrespect to filmmakers and audiences who seek to put out and see truth in cinema. Weaponising film is an influential and powerful tool, but not an invincible one, and we, the viewers need to build and pay attention to our “Bullshit Metre” (quoted by my mother) and recognise films that distort realities and call it out. Films are powerful vessels of storytelling and influence. It’s magic, unforgettable, and even dangerous.
References:
Campbell, Leon.G. and Cortes, C.E. (n.d.). Film as Revolutionary Weapon: A Jorges Sangines Retrospective. [online] JSTOR, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, p.18. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/.
Ellis-Petersen, H. (2024). ‘Brazen propaganda’: pro-Modi films flood Bollywood before India election. The Guardian. [online] 22 Mar. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/22/brazen-propaganda-pro-modi-films-flood-bollywood-before-india-election.
Fabbri, L. (2023). Cinema is the Strongest Weapon. U of Minnesota Press.
Written by Samantha Joseph
Animations by Anjali Swarstad
Edited by Sabrina Joseph
