Cancer, Research, and Educational Film at Midcentury: The Making of the Movie Challenge: Science Against Cancer

The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Canadian Department of National Health and Welfare (DNHW) commissioned a film, Challenge. Science Against Cancer, in 1949 to recruit young scientists into cancer research. The film was forgotten but tells us about mid-twentieth century American and Canadian cancer research, educational filmmaking, and health education campaigns. It explores why filmmakers and information officers were important in promoting post-Second World War cancer research.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 360 pages
Publication date: 13 September 2022
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

In 1949, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Canadian Department of National Health and Welfare (DNHW) commissioned a film, eventually known as Challenge. Science Against Cancer, as part of a significant endeavor to attract young scientists into cancer research. Both organizations were concerned that inadequate recruitment would hinder the field's growth at a time when research funding was expanding rapidly. The concern was that there would not be enough new young scientists to meet the demand, and that the shortfall would undermine cancer research and the hopes invested in it. Challenge aimed to persuade young scientists to consider cancer research as a career.

This book tells the story of that forgotten film and what it reveals about mid-twentieth-century American and Canadian cancer research, educational filmmaking, and health education campaigns. It explores why Canadian and American health agencies turned to film to address the problem of scientist recruitment; how filmmakers turned such recruitment concerns into something they thought would work as a film; and how information officers at the NCI and DNHW sought to shape the impact of Challenge by embedding it in a broader educational and propaganda program. In short, it is an account of the important, but hitherto undocumented, roles of filmmakers and information officers in the promotion of post-Second World War cancer research.

This book is openly available in digital formats, under Creative Commons license CC BY-ND, thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781648250293