Hatalom és film. Bevezetés a diktatórikus és demokratikus filmpolitikák történetébe
Power and film. An introduction to the film policies of dictatorships and democracies

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to outline, through three case studies, the main features of the relations between cinema and politics in the 20th century. Film was one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, no wonder that societies became highly attracted to this new form of entertainment. Political leaders, especially dictators, soon realized that motion pictures provided them with a new and almost perfect channel to reach and manipulate their citizens. However, democracies also made use of the power of films. Official national cinema usually reflects the ideology of the ruling power, assisting the basic principles of the domestic and foreign policy. This paper focuses on film policies from various aspects (institutions, propaganda, censorship) in relation to three countries of the past decades: two authoritarian regimes (communist-socialist Hungary and francoist Spain) and one democracy (the United States). By laying stress on the similarities and differences, we can delineate the basic principles of film policies. The dictatorial Hungarian and Spanish cases are examined in a comparative way, while with reference to the USA we focus on the democratic film policy's pseudo-democratic measures, introduced by basically not state-controlled associations.

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