The Pacific War

The Pacific War

World War II was one of the most monumental events in history and certainly one of the most significant events in the 20th century. The catalyst for drawing the United States fully into the war was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The series of confrontational events that led up to Pearl Harbor and the events that followed up until the Japanese surrender in 1945, were waged on the political, economic, and military fronts, but one aspect of the war which is sometimes overlooked is the war waged on the social front. What makes the social aspect of war so significant is that it involves a dynamic within the human person. In time of war, there is killing, violence, and hate, all stirred up from within. Thoughts and emotions come into play. Ideologies and philosophies, ways of life, and cultures clash. War is no longer only between soldiers on a battlefield but between nations and their ideas. And in order to make a whole nation of people support the war with mind and spirit, there needs to be influence. That influence is propaganda.

Much of the social warfare between the United States and Japan involved instilling within their people both a strong nationalistic pride for their own country as well as an incendiary hatred for the other. This was done with the help of the media—newspapers, books, radio, and film—that were consequently used as propaganda against the enemy. Much of the material was racist and catered to such ideas as racial inferiority and ethnic supremacy. One's own nation was always the civilized one while the enemy was depicted as barbaric, sub-human, and in some cases, demonic.

The media and propaganda were powerful and often silent weapons that targeted human emotions and psyches, and often caused people to feel and think things that they otherwise would not if not exposed to it. Politics and military actions can only do so much, but if they are driven by human emotions and impulses, they are driven further. And propaganda was that driving forces of human emotion during World War II. “…a date which will live in infamy”

Admiral William Halsey, who became commander of the South Pacific Forces early on during the World War II made famous the slogan “Kill Japs, kill Japs, kill more Japs.” So vengeful was his rage following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor that his motto under which he would rally his men was “Remember Pearl Harbor—keeps 'em dying.”.

Strong rhetoric such as Admiral Halsey's fascist rule in Italy were due in large part to the careful imagery depicted by popular media. The Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, played a large part in controlling information. The OSS, which was formed in 1942 as a secret intelligence agency, was headed by William Donovan under the auspices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Its objectives were to analyze secretive information and data and to conduct psychological warfare. Propaganda material and information was a major component to the psychological tactics used by ...