Know Your Enemy – Japan (1945)

Know Your Enemy – Japan: Directed by Frank Capra, Joris Ivens. With John Beal, Howard Duff, Walter Huston, Knox Manning. A comprehensive look at the war in the Pacific during World War II. Shot as a propaganda film by acclaimed Hollywood director Frank Capra

“An American propaganda film made during World War 2, during the height of the conflict with Japan. Shows Japanu0026#39;s history, culture, people, politics industry and military weapons and tactics, and how Japan came to be at war with the US.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eInteresting. No pretence of being a u0026#39;documentaryu0026#39; film this is clearly a propaganda film – the anti-Japanese sentiment is laid on quite thick at times. Can be quite slanderous at times, and viewed in modern times and without the benefit of context, could even be viewed as racist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYet the context is important. The US had a war to win and the best way to keep your soldiers and civilians motivated is to paint the enemy as evil monsters of the highest order.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot that itu0026#39;s all fabricated – far from it, most of the atrocities the Japanese are accused of are true.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s not all anti-Japanese sentiment though. There are some interesting passages covering Japanu0026#39;s history and this is fairly neutral in its tone. Therein lies the skill of the director (the great Frank Capra, no less) – mixed in with genuine history is pure propaganda, and itu0026#39;s sometimes difficult to tell the two apart.”