The Battle of San Pietro / December 7th

The difference between the films The Battle of San Pietro & December 7th is great, even though at their core, they are both propaganda films coming out of World War II. In San Pietro, the American involvement in the war is legitimized, and there is sympathetic imagery of the poor villagers, mainly children, who have reason to rejoice because the U.S. has come and saved the day. Although obvious, the messages of the film work on a much more subtle level than December 7th, which leaves the viewer feeling like they have been beaten with a star-spangled baseball bat. From the over-the-top narration, to the cartoon-like stereotypes of the Japanese, to the thoughts of the dead at the end, it's surprising that there was not an advertisement to buy war bonds somewhere during the credits. Both films try to stir the patriotic feelings within all Americans, and it seems that The Battle for San Pietro was probably more effective on audiences, because December 7th is just too heavy-handed, at least by today's standards.