Teaching Responsibility

LJMU Schools involved in Delivery:

Humanities and Social Science

Learning Methods

Lecture
Seminar
Workshop

Module Offerings

7103MHIST-JAN-MTP

Aims

Develop an understanding of the workings of film production and exhibition in Britain between 1939 and 1945. To chart key themes and objectives of British home front propaganda and how they were represented in film. Appreciate the nature of British popular engagement with the Second World War.

Learning Outcomes

1.
Critically evaluate the nature of propaganda in historical context and how it works.
2.
Evidence a sophisticated grasp of trends in relation to popular engagement with the war over time and how the government responded to that.
3.
Show a critical awareness of key thematic strands in British home front propaganda as addressed in film.

Module Content

Outline Syllabus:This module is designed to examine films produced in Britain, for British audiences, between 1939 and 1945. By focussing on a range of films, an understanding of the British government’s propaganda policy during the Second World War will be developed alongside a detailed knowledge of the processes, functions, execution and themes of propaganda. At the core of the module will be a critical approach to film as a source and a structured reading of the films. This will draw on, and be related to, the key schools of thought regarding the nature of film on the British home front. By applying each of these frames to the films to be considered, debate and discussion will be opened up to establish the drivers and influence on national culture. Whilst this module will reflect on the history of propaganda in general through this time, it will also speak to the nature of popular engagement with the war, and the effectiveness of these initiatives as related through popular responses to these films.
Additional Information:Students on this module will watch and analyse a different film each week. Films and key themes may include: British home front propaganda policy and the nature of film production or The MoI Films Division; History and Heritage: The Young Mr Pitt (1942); War and realism: Fires Were Started (1943); Know your enemy: Went The Day Well? (1942); Class: Millions Like Us (1943); Women: The Gentle Sex (1943); Building a new society: The Way Ahead (1944).

Assessments

Essay
Report