H.Getachew
The film Sahara fits some of the six basic categories and themes outlined by the US government for Hollywood contribution to the War. There are the three categories that I found best fitted the propagandistic purpose of the movie.
The issues of war, the American soldiers in the movie were fighting for the American way of life. The American way of life is freedom and equality. One of the characters in movies stated the Americans had something behind them helping them fight the good fight. It wasn’t because they were more skilled soldier or because they had the right supplies but they were fighting for freedom. The enemy on the other hand did not believe in freedom or equality. The German soldier refusing to be searched by the Sudanese solder showed the Germans did not believe in equality but the Americans did. The American solders fight side-by-side with Sudanese, they saw black men as equal. Needless to say this was the 1940’s and America was racially segregated
The two captured soldiers portrayed the nature of the enemy in the movie. The German solder was depicted as the “bad foreigner� brainwashed by Hitler’s ideologies, was fighting to deprive others of their freedom. He couldn’t really be trusted and he saw other race as inferior. The Italian soldier was represented as the “good foreigner� who had a brain of his own. The Italian soldier was able to change and adopt the American ideology of freedom.
The United Nation and allies in arms were shown in the movie to stress this war wasn’t just the war of the America but it had brought many nations fighting for the common goal of freedom. The British, French and the Sudanese were all behind America. The Sudanese soldier was the ally of the American, who also was portrayed as the “good foreigner� who had accepted the American ideology. One time in the movies he criticize polygamy stating it wasn’t right for him.
Over all I thought Hollywood did a great job contributing to the propaganda of the war. It pulls viewers with its storyline and characters to support America and the fight for freedom.