Cleanliness Brings Health (film #25 on disc 1 of Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD (Disney, 2004)). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Disney made this educational film for South American audiences as part of the governments “good neighbor” policy during World War II. It appears to be aimed at poor rural folk, encouraging them to engage in proper hygiene practices to prevent the spread of disease. This is competently made, but one wonders who actually saw it, considering it was made in English rather than Spanish. It’s basically a Goofus-and-Gallant film, featuring the Clean Family, who relieve themselves in a latrine, wash before eating, and keep flies off their food with mosquito netting (and thus don’t get sick); and the Careless Family, who relive themselves in their cornfield, never wash, and let their farm animals wander all over the place, even into the house. They also look vaguely like “lazy Mexican” stereotype, which is unfortunate. The message is valid, though after seeing Forgotten Village, I wonder whether it really resulted in much change in traditional practices among rural peoples.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.

Brazil Gets the News (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #243 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

Ho-hum, another boring film about Brazil…wait a minute. This film is full of gentle surprises, mostly from the narrator, who narrates in a breezy, sly style, throwing in little jokes when you least suspect them, and generally not taking the proceedings too seriously. The film is about newspaper production in Sao Paulo (‘the Detroit of Brazil,” the opening title card tells us, “or is Detroit really the Sao Paulo of the United States?”) and it is actually one of the clearest and best-made factory tours I’ve ever seen. This really gives you a good idea of what newspaper publishing was like back in the 40s, and it probably was pretty much the same in the U.S., since the film tells us that several times. The propaganda point was that free countries have a free press, unlike some Axis countries we could name. And also probably to build up good will for our Brazilian allies. But it’s the narration that really makes this one––that guy sounded like he was having way too much fun with this project.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.

Brazil at War (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #242 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Military & Propaganda]

This film was made right after Brazil joined the allies during World War II. It basically describes what a great ally Brazil was expected to be. What this boils down to is a military version of a travelogue. It’s somewhat ironic to watch today, considering Brazil didn’t exactly end up being known for its military victories, and that it did later become known for harboring Nazis. Mostly, though, this is dull.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: *. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Ratings: **.