Americanization versus Sovietization: Film exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union, 1948–1950

Abstract

This article examines film exchanges between the United States and the USSR during 1948–1950. It analyzes how American films entered and spread in the Soviet Union, as well as the reverse process of Soviet films entering the United States, in order to understand which of these processes was more successful in terms of promotion of values. It starts with investigating factors that determined the distribution of both US and Soviet films in their respective countries, followed by a review of deterrents that limited the process of film distribution. The article concludes that American movies were more widely disseminated and popular in the Soviet Union than Soviet films were in the United States, primarily due to the strong support of American private film producers and distributors, though also due to the films’ more discreet messages. By contrast, Soviet films were distributed exclusively by the Soviet government and thus represented direct ideological messages.