Projecting America, 1958 ─ Film and Cultural Diplomacy at the Brussels World's Fair

By the late 1950s, America's foreign diplomacy depended on the power of film as one means to combat Soviet propaganda and as a way to foster neutral countries' suppoprt for the US's foreign policy objectives. The Brussels World's Fair in 1958 served as another stage on which to enact the struggle between communism and democracy. Author Nilsen (film and television studies, U. of Vermont) explores the efficacy of film as an element of political persuasion in the American pavilion at the fair. She argues that the efforts of the US government to present an American image to a European audience had paradoxical effects, both undermining the intended nationalistic efforts and also presenting a viable image of American democracy as a vital cultural and economic force. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Sarah Nilsen is an assistant professor of film and television studies at the University of Vermont. She has published articles on 1950's Disney culture and on issues of race and ethnicity in film and television.