Hearts and Minds: a Case Study of a "Propaganda" Film. (Volumes I and II).

Abstract

This dissertation is designed to determine whether the documentary film Hearts and Minds can be accurately classified as a "propaganda" film. Widely perceived as an indictment of American policy in Vietnam, Hearts and Minds was given an Academy Award at an unusually volatile moment in history--in the spring of 1975, when communist troops were achieving final victory throughout all of Vietnam. Hawks and Doves found in Hearts and Minds new emotional motivation to revive an old debate. Liberal critics praised the film as a depiction of the truth about American activities in Vietnam, while conservative spokesmen categorized the film as communist "propaganda." Both sides seemed more intent on voicing their own political perspective than on supporting their observations about the film with factual evidence. This dissertation strives to analyze the potentially propagandistic character of Hearts and Minds. The cooperation of director Peter Davis makes the factual data especially comprehensive. Chapter I introduces the complex issue of propaganda and identifies Hearts and Minds as a suitable vehicle for probing this issue. Chapter II reviews the facts about the making of Hearts and Minds, so that the creative role and politcal orientation of Davis are firmly detailed. In Chapter III the concept of propaganda is investigated, with reference to traditional forms of propaganda, especially film propaganda. An operative definition of the term--emphasizing manipulation over inherent truthfulness--is tentatively advanced, against which Hearts and Minds can be tested. Chapter IV lays the groundwork for such an analysis by means of a shot-by-shot description of the film. Chapter V investigates the manipulative strategies employed by Davis, with attention not just to the content of the finished film but also to significant strategies applied in the condensation of two hundred hours of original footage to a two-hour motion picture. Chapter VI summarizes the conclusions of the study. It is demonstrated that, on balance, Hearts and Minds fits the operative definition of "propaganda." The term "propaganda" itself, however, is shown to be problematical, and the study suggests some revised guidelines for future analyses of "propaganda" films.