Don't be a Sucker - 1947 U.S. Propaganda Short Film

Don't be a Sucker is a short propaganda film produced by the United States War Department in 1947. The film intends to dissuade U.S. citizens from turning a blind eye to sectarian demagogues, as doing so enables these individuals to disenfranchise minorities, distort the truth, and seize authoritarian power. Though released two years after the end of World War II, the film relays this message through drawing a concerning parallel between then-contemporary America and 1930s Germany.

Like all propaganda films, Don't be a Sucker presents its ideological opponents in a firmly negative manner. This uncompromising viewpoint grants the film an allure to it--there is no ambiguity, the champions and villains are clear, and the viewer understands immediately what ought be done.

The irony of a film intending to unite individuals against partisan lines by persuading audiences to adopt a diametric opposition against the "other" should not be lost to the astute viewer. Regardless, this film is valuable for the insight one can garner about propaganda, frame control, and rhetoric.