The Vietnam War began as a conflict only between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), but eventually became much more than just a distant Asian battle to the people of the United States. The Vietnam War represented a generational symbol of change, a divisive sociopolitical issue ... a media spectacle. The Vietnam War was the first American War in a new technological age where information spread quickly to all corners of the globe. The nightly news was on the television now, not on the radio. Instead of the simple verbal updates for listeners on the radio, the news (streaming through to the living rooms of American households) now contained daily reels of bloody Vietnam War pictures, images and footage. The American public was viewing the war first hand. In addition to the battle between tanks, planes and missiles, there was the battle between what the government wanted to show the public and what the press wanted to show the public. This DVD focuses on the examples of video propaganda techniques that the government used to help steer public opinion about the war. The history of the Vietnam War is filled with modern propaganda pictures, images and videos. Come explore these historic films for the first time digitized on DVD format. With time comes distance and objectivity, and 30-40 years has given us the opportunity to look at the propaganda all sides were contributing and begin to judge the events of the Vietnam War in an unbiased, uncolored manner, rather than with the emotion and political ideology that under lied American views during the war.Topics touched on in this DVD:Vietnam War Pictures, Images & Videos American War Propaganda Techniques Examples of Modern Propaganda History of Vietnam

Included Content:

A Day in America

Length: 27 Minutes | Produced:1968

A Day in America, a dishonestly patriotic propaganda film, attempts to counteract the social unrest of the late 1960s. The Vietnam War was raging and riots and demonstrations were almost ubiquitous - but in this film America is an idyllic, peaceful place to live and work. Montages of different scenes of American work, leisure, and school, with some artfully placed military footage as well pepper this false account of America. Scenes include kids reciting the pledge of allegiance, major-league baseball, NASA, night clubs, various church services, Native Americans, steel, auto, textile industries, construction of the World Trade Center, and more. There is even footage about Hollywood that includes scenes from a movie set with Barbra Streisand and Gene Kelly. Fascinating for its emphasis on the more conservative and mainstream elements of the 1960s, and its ill intended omission of the subversive and chaotic elements, makes A Day in America a paramount propaganda movie.

News Magazine of the Screen: Summer Review

Length: 22 Minutes | Produced:1955

This vintage film is a collection of newsreels from 1955 that give an overview of world events. It explores peace treaties, the first atomic explosion, civil wars in Southeast Asia, golf championships, and the list goes on. With so much historical information, the viewer comes away knowing much more about US history. Providing actual footage from these events and produced by News Magazine of the Screen, this is a wonderful assemblage of colorful Americana and world events.