Pearl Harbor was an attack by Imperial Japan in response to the oil export cut off by the United States. The film "Pearl Harbor" (2001), is about the day that will live in infamy which depicts the happenings of the attack and response by the Americans. The film Pearl Harbor, directed by Michael Bay, is successful in getting its message through, that Pearl Harbor, while tragic, was what the United States needed to participate in WWII. The cinematographic techniques help portray that the Pearl Harbor attack was what gained the American support for involvement in WWII. This film was also successful in depicting the event in such a way that textbooks simply could not. Pearl Harbor was what the United States needed to enter WWII. During WWII, Americans believed that WWII was Europe’s problem and their problem alone. For Franklin D. Roosevelt the situation was a delicate one, if he decided to have the United States participate without a clear motive, it would be political suicide to his career. Not only to his career, but also to his respective political party’s reputation. When crisis erupts in the country, the political party in power will always be at fault, the depression had already taken a toll on the nation and most people held FDR and the Democrats at fault. Also, most American people believed that they didn’t need a war to add to the depression and make things worse. In addition, after WWI the idea of isolationism spread, the people of the United States wanted to keep to themselves and definitely did not want to involve­­­ themselves in Europe’s war. The cinematographic techniques of the movie help deliver the message throughout the film, that Pearl Harbor while tragic, was a beneficial event in American History. The cinematographic techniques used in the film are successful in conveying the covert message of the film, that Pearl Harbor was a beneficial event in the long run. The film’s plot in regard to Franklin D. R