The United States Information Agency (USIA) served as the nation’s chief propaganda/public diplomacy office from 1953 to 1999. Known abroad as the U.S. Information Service (USIS), the agency operated in 140 countries in nearly 40 languages over the course of the Cold War. Their multi-national motion picture divisions produced or distributed roughly 18,000 films during this time, resulting in a highly eclectic corpus representing a variety of filmic idioms. (click here to explore a small collection of USIA films)
These two films produced in the first years of the agency’s existence–“The U.S. Overseas Information Program” and “America Presents America”–provide a glimpse into how the USIA articulated its own media, processes, and mission to the world. (click images to watch videos)
Bret Vukoder, Ph.D. 