The Second World War was a time of great
hardship and struggle for British people; it was a period of great danger,
under threat of enemy invasion of the British Isles. The constant fire from the
Luftwaffe over London, known as the Blitz, kept many confined to their homes in
constant fear. Despite this, though, this period saw the greatest audience
turnout in cinema history - why?
The
answer: Patriotism and boosting morale. Films like "49th parallel"
(1941) and "One of our aircraft is missing" (1942) were examples of
the types of films people would watch. Cinemas were packed with people hoping
to get a glimpse on what was happening on the front lines of the war. It gave
people a sense of catharsis from the harsh reality of the world at the time and
served as a strong recruiting tool for young men and women to join the war
effort.
People would take whole families to the
cinema – watching movies was an event, in contrast to today where people treat
it more casually. The war also saw a decline in other leisure activities and
cinema was among a few activities people could do. This explains why the
attendance of film events was so drastically high in comparison to today and could have played an important role within the war.
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