John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's Moana.
The Ministry of Information (MOI), headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of the First World War and again during the Second World War. Located in Senate House at the University of London during the 1940s, it was the central government department responsible for publicity and propaganda. The MOI was dissolved in March 1946, with its residual functions passing to the Central Office of Information (COI); which was itself dissolved in December 2011 due to the reforming of the organisation of government communications.
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other forms of media, the OWI was the connection between the battlefront and civilian communities. The office also established several overseas branches, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad. From 1942 to 1945, the OWI revised or discarded any film scripts reviewed by them that portrayed the United States in a negative light, including anti-war material.
Propaganda in the Republic of China has been an important tool since its inception with the Xinhai Revolution in 1912. The term xuanchuan can have either a neutral connotation in official government contexts or a pejorative connotation in informal contexts. Some xuanchuan collocations usually refer to "propaganda", others to "publicity", and still others are ambiguous. It also was an important tool in legitimizing the Kuomintang controlled Republic of China government that retreated from Mainland China to Taiwan in 1949.
In the United States, propaganda is spread by both government and media entities. Propaganda is carefully curated information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread. It is used in advertising, radio, newspaper, posters, books, television, films and other media. Propagandists may provide either factual or non-factual information to their audiences, often emphasizing positive features and downplaying negative ones, or vice versa, in order to shape wide scale public opinion or influence behavioral changes.
The Australian Information Service (AIS) was one of a series of federal government organisations created to promote the image of Australia, in existence between 1940 and 1996.
Britain re-created the World War I Ministry of Information for the duration of World War II to generate propaganda to influence the population towards support for the war effort. A wide range of media was employed aimed at local and overseas audiences. Traditional forms such as newspapers and posters were joined by new media including cinema (film), newsreels and radio. A wide range of themes were addressed, fostering hostility to the enemy, support for allies, and specific pro war projects such as conserving metal and growing vegetables.
Veronica Foster, popularly known as "Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl", was a Canadian icon representing nearly one million Canadian women who worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions, weapons, and equipment during the Second World War.
Loose lips sink ships is an American English idiom meaning "beware of unguarded talk". The phrase originated on propaganda posters during World War II. The phrase was created by the War Advertising Council and used on posters by the United States Office of War Information.
Jane Marsh Beveridge was a Canadian director, producer, editor, composer, screenwriter, teacher and sculptor. She was best known as one of the pioneering filmmakers at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
The Writers' War Board was the main domestic propaganda organization in the United States during World War II. Privately organized and run, it coordinated American writers with government and quasi-government agencies that needed written work to help win the war. It was established in 1942 by author Rex Stout at the request of the United States Department of the Treasury.
Canadian propaganda during World War II(1939–45) was used to increase support for the war and commitment to an Allied victory. It was marked by the extensive use of radio and films, which had become popular since the First World War.
Wings on Her Shoulder is a 10-minute 1943 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the NFB's The World in Action series. The film, directed by Jane Marsh, depicts the role of the Woman's Division in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the Second World War, who freed up men for flying duties.
The Home Front is a 10-minute 1940 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film was produced and directed by Stanley Hawes.
Proudly She Marches is an 18-minute 1943 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film, directed by Jane Marsh and produced by Raymond Spottiswoode, described the work of Canadian women in uniform during the Second World War. The film's French version title is Carrières de femmes.
Inside Fighting Canada is an 11-minute 1942 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film, directed by Jane Marsh and produced by James Beveridge, was an account of the Canadian military during the Second World War. The film's French version title is Canada en guerre.
Letter from Camp Borden is a 17-minute 1941 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime Canada Carries On series. The film was directed by Raymond Spottiswoode and produced by Stuart Legg. Letter from Camp Borden chronicles the experiences in 1941 of a number of soldiers training at the Canadian Army's Camp Borden during wartime.
The Gates of Italy is a 21-minute 1943 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada as part of both the wartime Canada Carries On and The World in Action series. The film was produced by Stuart Legg and Tom Daly. The Gates of Italy describes the last days of Benito Mussolini's rule over Italy in 1943 during the Second World War.
The War for Men's Minds is a 21-minute 1943 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the wartime The World in Action series. The film was produced by Stuart Legg. The film describes the impact of propaganda from the Axis powers in 1943, during the Second World War. The French version title is À la conquête de l'esprit humain.
Zero Hour is a 22-minute 1944 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of both the wartime Canada Carries On and The World in Action series. The film was produced by Stuart Legg. Zero Hour describes the Axis and Allied invasions that have taken place during the Second World War.
