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This Is the Army

Name: This Is the Army
Director: Michael Curtiz
Released: 1943
Duration: 121 min

Representation Score

2.2/10

Limited

1943

Approved

Director

Michael Curtiz

Runtime

121 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

This film serves as a typical morale-boosting tool of the 1940s, reinforcing existing social and institutional norms. Its main goal is to promote national unity and patriotism through a wartime lens. While the film includes racial integration to show a united front, it does so within the context of a segregated past. The narrative structure upholds traditional Western hierarchies rather than challenging them. Ultimately, the film operates as an instrument of the state, emphasizing duty, obedience, and the preservation of the traditional family unit.

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Category Breakdown

Does This Is the Army have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses solely on traditional heterosexual relationships and does not include any queer subtext or non-cisgender identities.

How does This Is the Army portray gender?

Limited

The movie emphasizes traditional gender roles by highlighting the male military experience. Women are portrayed mainly as supporting roles, such as nurses or entertainers.

How racially and ethnically diverse is This Is the Army?

Fair

Black and Hispanic service members are shown alongside white soldiers to emphasize national unity. However, these characters lack individual depth and complexity.

How does This Is the Army represent religion and culture?

Minimal

The film highlights patriotism and military discipline as tools for nationalistic unity. Religious roles like chaplaincy are presented as stabilizing traditions.

Does This Is the Army include disability representation?

Minimal

Combat injuries are used to highlight themes of sacrifice and duty. However, the film does not explore the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities in a nuanced way.

Present on Screen

Includes Black and Hispanic service members to project a sense of national unity and collective effort.
Uses ensemble-driven storytelling to convey large-scale, sophisticated social messages appropriate for the time.

Limited or Absent

Lacks depth in racial representation, presenting diverse characters through mobilization rather than individual identity.
Reinforces rigid gender hierarchies by limiting women to auxiliary, symbolic roles.
Uses disability as a cliché for sacrifice rather than exploring the lived experiences of those with disabilities.
Operates within a strictly straight-centered framework with no representation of LGBTQ+ identities.

Official Synopsis

In WW I dancer Jerry Jones stages an all-soldier show on Broadway, called Yip Yip Yaphank. Wounded in the War, he becomes a producer. In WW II his son Johnny Jones, who was before his fathers assistant, gets the order to stage a knew all-soldier show, called THIS IS THE ARMY. But in his pesonal life he has problems, because he refuses to marry his fiancée until the war is over.

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