Just like the last film we viewed, Circus (1936) is certainly a strong piece of Soviet propaganda, but it takes a different direction. As time went on and the Soviet government increased its level of focus on spreading its ideology around the world. This depiction of an accepting society ready to embrace just about anyone, unlike America, is probably a good message to send. That is where my question comes into play. Why does the Soviet government need to send this message to the average citizen? The government tightly controlled the flow of information to its people. If it wanted people to know about how terrible America was, they could have easily (and did) fabricate news and events happening around the world. It seems to me that this movie was made more for an audience outside of the Union. Another interesting question I have been thinking about is whether or not the film makes a valid point. In 1936, a film like this released in America would probably have spelled the end of the line for the studio and actors who made the film. At the same time, the Soviet Union was not nearly as accepting as the depiction at the end of the movie.
This is a great point and I immediately thought, why would they make a movie like this in the Soviet Union when there are few if any non-white people in the country? The answer seems to be that the country was making the film for the people IF they expanded and non-white people came to live there or to convince others to join them. If the choice was between a racist America or an accepting USSR many countries would gravitate to the east and not the west. This goes particularly for Asian and African countries.