Baillie Bryan

Popular Culture and World War II Propaganda

This session will cover the use of popular culture as propaganda during World War II. It will examine how cartoons, comic books, movies, and radio were utilized by the American government to disseminate information to the American home front and its troops. It will also explore the major themes that spread across all the mediums and how these themes shaped war time America. These themes included home front support, education, inspiring immense distrust for the enemy and many others. People should attend this session because it gives a more in depth look at how popular culture can shape a society. Many people view popular culture as shallow or insignificant, but it can deeply reflect a culture’s values and give deeper understanding to what was important to the public during a specific time period. World War II America was a unique time period in American cultural history and it has never been replicated. This session will showcase how important popular media was during World War II and how it shaped a generation.