Research Moving Along for Hollywood and World War II Project

RESEARCH PROJECT UPDATE—It’s been a few weeks since I’ve last given an update on my Hollywood and government cooperation during World War II project. It is progressing along, sometimes quickly and at other times at a snail’s pace. I work about 50 hours a week in my “day job” so finding the time to concentrate on this project is a struggle. And when “life” intervenes, it gets much worse. 

Today (Saturday, July 21), I’m spending the early morning hours going back through the New York Times archive finding articles on the 1941 Senate Investigation into Hollywood and whether or not it was being used by the Roosevelt Administration to “sell the European war” to the American people. 

I am already well-read in this subject area from a historiography standpoint. But the Times articles provide a glimpse into the feelings of the politics and the American psyche of the time.  It’s good use of building a case of why the government felt Hollywood was the “go to” media to inform American citizens and the citizens of the Allied nations about the goals and aims of the wars in Europe and the Pacific.  Coupled with the films of the time, it is a time consuming yet fun project.

I am looking forward to writing about the U.S. Senate Hearings of 1941 into Hollywood and whether or not it was producing propaganda to drag America into the European war. Plus, it provides a chance to watch old movies and who doesn’t like to like Humphrey Bogart, right?