The Shaping of Popular Consent: A Comparative Study of the Sovie ...

Absorbing the social moral code through these means may, in theory, make doing so less a chore or responsibility but, rather, a by-product of a hobby or past time. In other words, as a propaganda tool the visual arts triumphed over other art forms because inherent in the medium is the potentiality for, in Gramsci’s words, “emotional simultaneity”.⁶⁰ This was especially the case during the 1930s because of the developments in cinema, primarily, but also photography, painting, theatre and architecture.

Throughout the book I restrict the visual arts under discussion to those designed by cultural producers for consumption by mass audiences. I do not include (unless it is with an explicitly stated purpose) the work of mavericks, or films and art designed for a small, niche or cult audience. It does not follow, however, that I am only discussing “blockbusters” or hugely popular examples.⁶¹ The popularity (or reception) of a specific work of art does not affect whether that art is worthy of discussion within the given context of any particular chapter. What does affect whether a specific work of art merits inclusion are the values and virtues it was intending to represent and whether or not it was designed, or intended, to reach, and appeal to, a broad audience. For example, in a chapter relating to the representation of foreign enemies I discuss the documentary film, Mussolini Speaks (1933). Documentaries have never been the stuff of blockbusters but this particular one was produced by Hollywood powerbroker, Harry Cohn, and was released by a major Hollywood studio, Columbia Pictures. Furthermore, it received a nationwide release and made a significant profit.⁶² Indeed, the film cost $100,000 to produce but grossed $1,000,000 in box office receipts (a striking figure given that cinema tickets could cost as little as fifteen cents).⁶³ In comparison to the blockbusting success of say, Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind (1939), which grossed $198,655,278 at the US box office⁶⁴ and won eight Oscars, including best picture,⁶⁵Mussolini Speaks enjoyed only very minor success but, in relative terms, it must be understood as a film made by cultural producers and carrying a message intended for a mass/mainstream audience. As such it warrants inclusion within my methodology.