Much has be written about the use of propaganda by Nazi Germany to control and misinform its citizenry. Inflation is an American short that falls into the same category.
Released in 1942, Inflation does not offer rational reasons for recommending certain behavior; it attempts to play on the emotions of the viewer. FDR outlines the unprecedented steps the government is about to take during the early months of WWII to control the U. S. economy. By 1942, the public had become accustomed to his far-reaching and federally-centric approach to public policy while fighting The Depression. The film suggests that another depression is down the road if Americans don't follow his advice.
Consistent with other wartime releases, Inflation implies in a very heavy-handed way that anyone who does not comply with Washington's edicts is unpatriotic and, in fact, traitorous. Don't even think about questioning the government's approach. Inflation tells the viewer not to complain.
Why? Because if you complain or act contrary to the public message, you might as well consider yourself a killer of American soldiers. Worse, you are in league with the devil. That's right, in this fable with a moral, the primary character is none other than El Diablo himself. And he converses daily with Hitler, of course. Together they plot the downfall of America. Their solution is to convince American citizens to ignore the pleas from Washington, which will cause that most dreaded of all calamaties--Inflation!
The acting is intentionally over the top, except for Esther Williams who (in her second film role) plays the wife of a spendthrift jerk who, for some reason, feels compelled to buy! Buy! Buy! The music is appropriate, providing the ominous strains of violins when The Devil speaks.
Looking back at this short film through the intervening years of history (after all the public exposures of government mismanagement and corruption)is interesting. Of course people today still fall victim to empty government promises and its foolish propaganda, especially during war or conflict (remember Freedom Fries? How about the way Mohammad Ali was condemned for following his conscience?) FDR starts with a short and accurate view of wartime realities: military buying produces scarcity in supplies which increases prices. His prescriptions for these economic consequences are sweeping and pervasive (price fixing, taxation, rationing, etc.). Too bad they couldn't rely upon reasoning to convince people. By tweaking the heartstrings of patriotism and invoking a diabolic metaphor, they sell U. S. citizens short. And they do it very well.
Released in 1942, Inflation does not offer rational reasons for recommending certain behavior; it attempts to play on the emotions of the viewer. FDR outlines the unprecedented steps the government is about to take during the early months of WWII to control the U. S. economy. By 1942, the public had become accustomed to his far-reaching and federally-centric approach to public policy while fighting The Depression. The film suggests that another depression is down the road if Americans don't follow his advice.
Consistent with other wartime releases, Inflation implies in a very heavy-handed way that anyone who does not comply with Washington's edicts is unpatriotic and, in fact, traitorous. Don't even think about questioning the government's approach. Inflation tells the viewer not to complain.
Why? Because if you complain or act contrary to the public message, you might as well consider yourself a killer of American soldiers. Worse, you are in league with the devil. That's right, in this fable with a moral, the primary character is none other than El Diablo himself. And he converses daily with Hitler, of course. Together they plot the downfall of America. Their solution is to convince American citizens to ignore the pleas from Washington, which will cause that most dreaded of all calamaties--Inflation!
The acting is intentionally over the top, except for Esther Williams who (in her second film role) plays the wife of a spendthrift jerk who, for some reason, feels compelled to buy! Buy! Buy! The music is appropriate, providing the ominous strains of violins when The Devil speaks.
Looking back at this short film through the intervening years of history (after all the public exposures of government mismanagement and corruption)is interesting. Of course people today still fall victim to empty government promises and its foolish propaganda, especially during war or conflict (remember Freedom Fries? How about the way Mohammad Ali was condemned for following his conscience?) FDR starts with a short and accurate view of wartime realities: military buying produces scarcity in supplies which increases prices. His prescriptions for these economic consequences are sweeping and pervasive (price fixing, taxation, rationing, etc.). Too bad they couldn't rely upon reasoning to convince people. By tweaking the heartstrings of patriotism and invoking a diabolic metaphor, they sell U. S. citizens short. And they do it very well.