Donald Duck and Controlling Syphilis
The role film can play in any national emergency
Donald Duck talking about sex and the use of condoms? The health of the US military was a significant issue during WWII, and the response by the US Government was training videos and posters.
The videos weren’t solely on sexual contact, but a variety of topics and the cartoon genre, it was believed, was the best mode to drive the message home to the troops. It had worked for other countries, and the military quickly sought out one of the most prominent studios to produce the films; Disney.
Great Britain and Germany had discovered the utility of visual media as an effective means of propaganda. When a campaign is successful, what do you do?
“During World War I, the British discovered the power of films to shape public opinion… The Soviets made a similar discovery in the 1920s. Joseph Goebbels learned from both. He began with the newsreels, short film-based news reports that in those days were played before feature films.”
Goebbels’s efforts were highly dependent on the creative prowess of filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl who produced her magnum opus, Triumph of the Will, under his direction.
“Riefenstahl won several awards, not only in Germany but also in the United States, France, Sweden, and other countries. The film was popular in the Third Reich and has continued to influence films, documentaries, and commercials to this day.”
The nascent creative form would thereafter be used beyond its intended form as entertainment and turn a country’s attention to an entirely different orientation; nationalism.
Cinema Today
The use of film, video, and television continues to be a valuable mass media form of distributing information. Today, we are faced with a worldwide pandemic due to the Covid-19 virus. It is here that media producers are again exerting their energy in the form of PSAs (public service announcements).
The brief videos, emphasizing the importance of social distancing and basic hygiene during the pandemic, feature Larry David, Bill Belichick, The National Restaurant Association, Sesame Street characters, Matthew McConaughey, Bay Area football coaches, Samuel L. Jackson, NBCUniversal stars, the cast of Watchmen, Apple videos featuring White House Coronavirus Task Force, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Stephen Curry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the list goes on.
How effective are PSAs in moving communities to action against everything from sexually-transmitted diseases, smoking, and now a deadly virus? According to a 2015 research project, “This study adds to the literature supporting PE (perceived effectiveness) as a measure of a successful message and one that can be used by researchers and practitioners alike to help identify and construct successful health messages.”
Further, the study indicated that “For messages aimed at behavior change (assuming the proper design and controls), this is perhaps the most accurate way to measure message effectiveness.” The campaigns can be effective if they are carefully crafted, in other words.
Thomas Edison, one of the pioneers in film, tried his hand at PSAs aimed at health topics such as tuberculosis in 1912 and 1914.
“These films, and scores of others like them, attempted to persuade people to adopt a number of actions. They promoted the virtues of personal hygiene and demonstrated the techniques involved; they advocated individual actions to clean up tenements and factories; they encouraged people to consult only medical specialists and warned of the dangers of ignoring medical advice…”
Were they successful in achieving their goals? Despite Edison’s brilliance in the genre, a critique was not optimistic in that regard. “Progressive-era public health thus combined new medical discoveries with new techniques of mass persuasion. Even by their own standards of effectiveness, these films must be seen as ambitious failures. Yet their attempt to persuade people to live healthier lives must also be viewed in light of our own inability to resolve either the technical or the moral difficulties with which they grappled.”
Will star power do it? The question awaits an answer that investigates not merely the number of views the PSA received, but the actual behavioral changes that resulted. Such a study of the Covid-19 virus would be something of intense interest. With the use of trackable wearables, the data might be more readily obtained. But the key lies in the research design and how they measure outcomes.
Who’s tracking the results of the latest round of PSAs? I’m eagerly awaiting the articles that will be forthcoming.
