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Chapter Three. Defining Democracy: Images Of The American Political System

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Selling the American Way
This chapter is in the book Selling the American Way
CHAPTER THREE Defining Democracy: Images of the American Political System THROUGHOUT THE 1950s, USIS motion picture units showed the film Social Change and Democracy to foreign audiences. Using an apt metaphor for Amer-ica's efforts to instruct the world about itself, the film begins with a teacher lec-turing his class about the horrors ofWorld War 11-era totalitarianism. Images of jack-booted Nazis and Stalinist gulags accompany his narration. The film then cuts away from this conflation of fascism and communism to a homey story about a group of fishermen who prevail upon their city council to protect local waters from pollution. The men win redress peacefully and are not imprisoned or killed for challenging figures of authority. Their triumph, the film concludes, demonstrates how democracies craft solutions in which "all people are consid-ered" and that enable "communities to flourish because the people flourish."1 Such tales about democracy are the most common feature in U.S. propa-ganda of the early Cold War years. While information experts interwove addi-tional themes about American life, their promotion of democracy formed the foundation on which the entire U.S. ideological offensive against communism rested. American propagandists articulated elaborate comparisons between democratic and communist governments. Through publications, radio broad-casts, films, cultural exhibitions, and other methods, they enunciated visions of the freedom and equality inherent in the American political ethos. These de-pictions of democracy, therefore, provide an invaluable lens for exploring how U.S. policymakers understood and valorized the political culture they repre-sented and defended. 2

CHAPTER THREE Defining Democracy: Images of the American Political System THROUGHOUT THE 1950s, USIS motion picture units showed the film Social Change and Democracy to foreign audiences. Using an apt metaphor for Amer-ica's efforts to instruct the world about itself, the film begins with a teacher lec-turing his class about the horrors ofWorld War 11-era totalitarianism. Images of jack-booted Nazis and Stalinist gulags accompany his narration. The film then cuts away from this conflation of fascism and communism to a homey story about a group of fishermen who prevail upon their city council to protect local waters from pollution. The men win redress peacefully and are not imprisoned or killed for challenging figures of authority. Their triumph, the film concludes, demonstrates how democracies craft solutions in which "all people are consid-ered" and that enable "communities to flourish because the people flourish."1 Such tales about democracy are the most common feature in U.S. propa-ganda of the early Cold War years. While information experts interwove addi-tional themes about American life, their promotion of democracy formed the foundation on which the entire U.S. ideological offensive against communism rested. American propagandists articulated elaborate comparisons between democratic and communist governments. Through publications, radio broad-casts, films, cultural exhibitions, and other methods, they enunciated visions of the freedom and equality inherent in the American political ethos. These de-pictions of democracy, therefore, provide an invaluable lens for exploring how U.S. policymakers understood and valorized the political culture they repre-sented and defended. 2

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Abbreviations ix
  4. Chronology xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Chapter One. The Truman Years 9
  7. Chapter Two. The Eisenhower Years 50
  8. Chapter Three. Defining Democracy: Images Of The American Political System 95
  9. Chapter Four. Selling Capitalism: Images Of The Economy, Labor, And Consumerism 116
  10. Chapter Five. "The Red Target Is Your Home": Images Of Gender And The Family 136
  11. Chapter Six. ''A Lynching Should Be Reported Without Comment": Images Of Race Relations 159
  12. Conclusion: The Costs And Limits Of Selling ''America" 178
  13. Notes 187
  14. Index 243
  15. Acknowledgments 253
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812201239.95

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Abbreviations ix
  4. Chronology xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Chapter One. The Truman Years 9
  7. Chapter Two. The Eisenhower Years 50
  8. Chapter Three. Defining Democracy: Images Of The American Political System 95
  9. Chapter Four. Selling Capitalism: Images Of The Economy, Labor, And Consumerism 116
  10. Chapter Five. "The Red Target Is Your Home": Images Of Gender And The Family 136
  11. Chapter Six. ''A Lynching Should Be Reported Without Comment": Images Of Race Relations 159
  12. Conclusion: The Costs And Limits Of Selling ''America" 178
  13. Notes 187
  14. Index 243
  15. Acknowledgments 253
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