Counter-Hegemonic Discourse on the Working Class in National Film Board World War II

Counter-Hegemonic Discourse on the Working Class in National Film Board World War II Films

Abstract
For a long time, films produced by the National Film Board of Canada immediately after its establishment and up until the end World War II have been greatly neglected or simply dismissed as examples of Canadian war propaganda. These films represent an essentially counter-hegemonic outlook on the role of the working class in Canadian society. In this context, these films informed and were informed by the discourse of the Popular Front, an umbrella formation which at the time was initiated and led by supporters of the Communist Party of Canada, both inside and outside the labour movement. This paper brings to light an investigation and analysis of a wealth of archival film material from the initial years of the NFB, much of which either have been long forgotten or were, in fact, never really known. Against several earlier and unsubstantiated scholarly assumptions, this study delineates the ideological significance of the NFB's depiction of workers during this critical period in Canadian history.

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As NFB films between 1939 and 1946 pondered social and political issues such as unemployment, economic prosperity, World War II, democracy, and post-war construction, they also became part of an ethico-intellectual milieu that advocated a labour-based counter-hegemonic cultural practice. These films emphasized the central role of labour in effecting change and progress in society. As such, the films contemplated the contribution of workers to the war against fascism, called for the defence and the celebration of the establishment of a working class state in Russia, and reflected upon the possibility of constructing a new world order based on the ideas of collective democratic control and utilization of social and economic resources. As part of this cultural practice, these films also helped shape an ideological alternative to the Canadian cinematic culture that existed before the establishment of the NFB itself.

Quote: Originally Posted by darkbeaver

That was a good read Said1.
9. My use of the term “common sense” relates to Gramsci’s usage of it in connection with the notion
of maintaining hegemonic dominance in a civil society through philosophical consensus around
people’s values and ideas. Values in any given society are always open to different interpretations;
they can be expounded hegemonically (or commonsensically) and hence by solidifying the consent
of the subaltern and its concordance with the interests of the dominant class, or they can conversely
be construed counter-hegemonically (or in a good-sensical manner) in which case they challenge
ideologically the outlook of this class.