Mass Culture and the Rise of Modern Dictators

Wartime propaganda had aimed to unite all classes against a common enemy. In the 1920s, new technology made the process of integrating diverse groups into a single Western or mass culture easier. The tools of mass culture—primarily radio, film, and newspapers—expanded their influence in the 1920s. Some intellectuals who wanted to use modern media and art to reach the masses saw their potential for creating an informed citizenry and thus strengthening democracy. At the same time, the media allowed authoritarian rulers and would-be dictators such as Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler to shape uniform political thought and to control citizens’ behavior far beyond what previous rulers had been able to do.