[1] Due to both high reviews and great cinematography, The Negro Soldier proved to be a breakout film influencing army members and civilians of all races.
Social scientists of the time argued that the mass media were the best way to instill a message within people and push them to act towards a common goal.
[1] The Army selected Frank Capra to head the effort to create morale films designed to build enthusiasm for war purposes.
William Wyler was initially hired to direct and did research for the film in Alabama, but his involvement ended when he was transferred to the U.S. Army Air Force.
The same mildness makes the film amenable to very broad public distribution, without wholly obviating its almost certain good effect upon a massive white audience which needs to be reached and influenced, however tamely.
And I believe that to many people the screen presentation of the Negro as something other than a clown, a burnt-cork Job, or a plain imbecile, will be more startling and more instructive than we are likely to imagine.
At this time Moss quotes from Hitler's book Mein Kampf, "...it is a sin against all reason to train a born half-ape until one believes one has made a lawyer of him."
These scenes from different battles and different time periods over United States history are proof that America truly owes its national freedom to all of its peoples, including the African-American population.
Moss goes on to mention that a statue had been built in order to commemorate all colored soldiers with the engraving, “lasting record shall be made of their unselfish devotion to duty”.
Moss keeps stressing the fact that African-Americans played a crucial role in building the United States and making the country what it is today.
The film then shifts gears, as a woman from the congregation, a Mrs. Bronson, stands up to talk about her son, who has recently joined the army.
She reads a letter from him, where he tells how he has learned how to make a bed, played sports, met a girl at a dance, and trained on the battlefield.
This section of the film stresses the notion that men of all colors and backgrounds have come together to fight on the battlefield for the common purpose of defeating the Nazis.
The final scene of the movie shows the entire black congregation standing up and singing, as soldiers march towards the fight.
The message within The Negro Soldier solidified the notion and provided visual proof that racial equality was a justified concept and should be accepted.
[citation needed] However, more recent analysis of the film takes a more critical look, stating that while this film and The Negro Sailor "acknowledged African Americans' contributions to America's military history, by overlooking the persistence of racial segregation in the armed forced, they implied that the black struggle for civil rights was complete.
"[4] In December 2011, The Negro Soldier was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.