Filmen i Statens tjänst

Civilförsvarsstyrelsens filmer och filmaktiviteter under kallakrigsåren 1949-1952

Författare

Fredrik Norén

Summary, in Swedish

This fouth semester thesis examines the films and film activities of Civilförsvarsstyrelsen, a Swedish state-controlled Civil Defense authority under the Ministry of Interior. Studies concerning film activities of the Swedish state are highly rare about the years following 1945 until the television breakthrough in 1956. This study concerns 1949-1952, a period characterized by an increase in welfare reforms, an escalation of the Cold War and the highest attendence rates in cinema history. Two questions are asked: 1) How did the Civil Defense view the film medium? 2) how do the films describe the citizens role in war?
The result of the first question shows that the Civil Defense used film as a means of reaching out to a bigger audience with its messages. There was also a great awareness of the medium’s potential as a tool for propaganda and information and how the Civil Defense wanted to use it.
The films describe the desirable role of the citizen during wartime as prepared, ready to accept the new conditions of war and willing to stand by, help and support fellow citizens in order to survive and for the nation to prevail.

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