Don't Be a Sucker (1943) [video]

Role of Propaganda vs. Structural Causes of Fascism

• One line of discussion argues Nazi power ultimately depended on direct media control and censorship, so a film that focuses on street-corner demagogues understates economic and political factors (e.g., crises of the 1920s–30s).
• Others counter that the Nazis got to the point of controlling media partly through exactly the kind of divisive rhetoric depicted in the film; public speeches and agitation did matter.
• There’s debate over gaps in scholarship on fascism’s buildup: destroyed records, Cold War taboos, and underexplored roles of foreign actors and post–WWI Allied decisions.

Media Control, Censorship, and Social Platforms

• Several comments generalize from Nazi media control to today’s environment: social media as a “public square” run by a few billionaires or states.
• Dispute over whether recent US administrations pressured platforms to suppress certain outlets; some provide partisan sources as evidence, others reject them as unreliable.
• One commenter reads the film as implicitly attacking mass organizing and public agitation; others insist it’s about how people think (skepticism toward demagogues), not about restricting speech.

Contemporary US Politics, Law Enforcement, and Division

• Many see the film as urgently relevant to current US polarization and ethnonationalist rhetoric.
• A heated subthread debates “masked agents kidnapping people”: whether some ICE/federal actions are unlawful or abuses of power vs. legitimate law enforcement under democratically enacted immigration laws.
• There’s conflict between “rule of law” arguments and concerns about due process, proportionality (misdemeanor vs. paramilitary tactics), and targeting based on appearance.
• Multiple commenters point out that framing half the country as “bad” voters itself fuels division; others argue some recent political movements are precisely the kind of scapegoating warned about in the film.

Propaganda, Nationalism, and Churches

• Many acknowledge the film is explicit US government propaganda, with overt nationalism and idealized depictions of American industry, liberty, and churches.
• Some see that as acceptable or even admirable given the anti-fascist message; others criticize the glossing over of US racism, restrictive immigration laws of the era, and the more ambivalent historical role of churches.
• Discussion of what “propaganda” means: biased vs. necessarily misleading; several argue propaganda can be truthful and used for good, provided we remain aware it is propaganda.

Relevance, Manipulation, and Human Nature

• Commenters link the film’s anti-immigrant rabble-rouser to contemporary media figures and blog posts lamenting demographic change.
• Some stress that the “cartoon villain” bigot is still effective; others warn the subtler influencers—commentary framing unequal treatment as policy “nudges”—are more dangerous.
• A pessimistic thread suggests humans are inherently manipulable “suckers” whose switches can be flipped by good or bad narratives; a counterpoint says widespread trust and expectation of good intentions are crucial to resisting extremist propaganda.