Understanding
Propaganda
Finding the motives in messages
We See It Every Day…
We Hear It Every Day…
• Global Warming : One and Two
– Between the two websites, do you notice any
differences in what is being said about global warming?
We Watch It Every Day…
•
Mike Huckabee Presidential Ad
– What message do you think Huckabee tried to spread using Chuck Norris’
endorsement?
– Do you think the ad would have caught your attention without Chuck
Norris?
•
Duck and Cover
– What do you notice about the tone of this commercial? Do you think it
misrepresents the danger of the atomic bomb?
– What reasons might there have been for making this and other similar
commercials so cheerful?
― Obama Texas Campaign Ad
― Clinton Texas Campaign Ad
So What Is Propaganda, Exactly?
Propaganda is defined as information, ideas, or rumors
deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person,
group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
It relies on biases, assumptions, emotions, and values
to persuade an audience to accept a certain
position.
Two Main Strategies
Logical Appeal – the strategic use of logic, claims, and evidence
to convince an audience of a certain point. This can involve facts,
figures, and any other kind of convincing data.
Emotional Appeal - targets a person’s emotions to create some
kind of connection with the writer, speaker, etc. Since humans are in
many ways emotional creatures, this can be a very powerful
strategy.
Simply put, propaganda is a message with an agenda.
What messages do these images suggest?
In History
While the word “propaganda” was not widely used until the
early 20th century, the concept of manipulating the minds of
men and women for specific purposes has been around for
much longer.
Using art, theater, and monuments, as well as the written
and spoken word, civilizations as old as the Egyptians and
Greeks were able to promote power, religion, and ways of
thinking.
Hatshepsut, one of the female pharaohs of Egypt,
famously built a large temple dedicated to a new
god called Amun.
This early propaganda was used to promote the new
god’s importance and give the Egyptians an
impression that Hatshepsut had power and authority
even though she was a woman.
The Holy of The Holies Temple
⃗
In Government
When you think of the word “government”, what comes to
mind?
Probably ideas such as power, laws, voting, and public
policy. All pretty important stuff, right?
With that in mind, it can be intimidating to realize that in the
hands of the government, propaganda can be a powerful tool
for swaying the masses (a.k.a. us!). The kind of propaganda
used, however, and its effectiveness usually depend on the type
of society.
Open vs. Closed Societies
Open societies are based on political freedoms and human
rights. Political leaders can be replaced without bloodshed,
individuals can have considerable influence, and knowledge
is shared…well, openly. The public has the freedom to
examine all information available and come to their own
conclusions.
Closed societies, on the other hand, are usually created in the
form of collectives. The welfare of the group comes before
the welfare of the individual, and the government is generally
authoritarian, oppressive, and controlling. Overall, information
is not shared as freely.
Based on these definitions, what are some examples of
open and closed societies that you know of?
So when it comes to propaganda, what
advantage do you think open societies
have over closed societies?
Hint:
Imagine you’re watching T.V. one afternoon
when someone comes on and claims the world
is flat. Since data gathered by generations of
scientists and astronomers has been shared with
us, proving the world to be anything but flat,
you would probably find his claims ridiculous.
But…what if scientists and navigators were
prohibited from sharing information with us
about the shape of the earth?
What if there was public speculation, but most
people never knew for sure?
In this case, if the speaker on T.V. used strong
appeals, you might actually be inclined to believe
him.
In the famous George Orwell novel 1984, a
fictional closed-society government known
as Big Brother used constant surveillance,
fear, and oppression to control the people.
“Ignorance
is Strength
Freedom is Slavery
War is Peace”
What makes these slogans so dangerous
and powerful?
How could anyone believe them?
In The Movies
Movies are often used as a medium to
express opinions on current political
issues.
In the movie V for Vendetta (2005), the
masked character V uses his own
counter-propaganda to fight
government propaganda he does not
believe in.
Do you think the directors of this film may
have meant for the film itself to be a kind
of propaganda?
In Advertising
Advertising is sometimes seen as propaganda for commercial
products (returning to our earlier definition, you can tweak it to
say “information and ideas being spread widely to help sales
of a item or service”).
Do you find the appeals used in the following advertisements
effective? Are they likely to increase sales?
Butterscotch Furreal Pony
Nike Plus
MasterCard
In War
Throughout the years, some of the most creative and
deceptive propaganda techniques have been used in times
of war.
As you read the next few slides, imagine that you are one of
the French soldiers or the American listening to his radio. Keep
in mind the following questions:
• Do you think would these broadcasts would have affected
you?
• What kind of appeals do the messages use? (Logical,
emotional, or both?)
Story #1
It is the spring of 1940, in the early days of World
War II.
Allied armies face the German columns, but there is
little action at the front, and a group of French
soldiers find time to gather around and listen to an
enemy broadcast.
“Where are the English?” asks the radio voice in
French. The soldiers glance at each other uneasily.
“I’ll tell you where your English comrades are,”
continues the voice. “They lounge about Paris and
fill the night clubs. Have you seen a Tommy in the
Maginot Line? Of course not. French soldiers, you
will find the Tommies behind the lines—with your
wives.”
This was a German propaganda strategy of division,
intended to increase suspicion and doubt about
the loyalty of French allies.
Story #2
It is the autumn of 1941. The United States is still neutral, but
an American Army is in training and the Navy is being
strengthened.
Meanwhile, an American sitting at home tinkering with his
short-wave set picks up an English-language broadcast
beamed to North America from Germany. Nervous about
the war raging in Europe, his sits back and listens to what the
voice has to say.
“The German government and the German people
have only the friendliest of feelings for the United
States, the home of so many American citizens of
German descent.” The words of the radio speaker
are sugary sweet. “Let it be said for once and all,”
the broadcaster continues, “that a German victory
in this war is no threat to English democracy—and
certainly not to American democracy.”
This was a strategy of attempting to reassure our
country with a declaration of the “peaceful
intentions” of the Nazi war machine.
On The Flip Side…
We often forget that propaganda can also spread
information and ideas for the general public good.
• “The Truth” Videos
• Foundation for a Better Life “Hope” Commercial
So What’s The Big Deal?
Remember that propaganda is
something to always be aware of.
There are motives behind messages we
receive every day, and it’s important to
learn to recognize them…
…because after all, it is up to
YOU to watch and listen
carefully and then decide
what is worth believing.
Sources
Slide 2: Images: http://images.cafepress.com/image/5661562_400x400.jpg
http://www.usarc.army.mil/chaplain/graphics/goarmypatch.jpg
http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2006_CountdownToTheHolidays/images/page-24-26-4weeks5.jpg
http://www.allfreelancework.com/files/68230/corona-beach-ill-n-copy.jpg?PHPSESSID=e559bc422f4bb4b7e9eba1832ed9e7fd
http://www.buttonsonline.com/2008/barack_bumpersticker2.jpg
Slide 4: Image: http://jj.isgeek.net/2006/04/10/todos-queremos-ser-como-chuck-norris
Slide 6: http://www.uwc.ucf.edu/Writing%20Resources/Handouts/appeals.htm
Slide 7: Images: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Is_this_tomorrow.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Britannialion.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Klan-sheet-music.jpg
Slide 8: Image: http://library.thinkquest.org/C0114236/Hatshepsut.htm
Slide 13: Image: http://www.patrickjlamb.com/The_20world_20is_20flat_2D784503.jpg
Slide 15: Image: http://www.eedin.com/Uploads/tcarter/1984_themovie.PNG
Slide 16: Image:
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/warner_brothers/v_for_vendetta/hugo_weaving/vendetta2.jpg
Slide 19: Image: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Opening/img/USMC-C-Opening-27.gif
Slide 19-22: http://www.historians.org/projects/GIRoundtable/Propaganda/Propaganda_Intro.htm
Slide 23: Image: http://freealabama.com/images/lincoln%20billboard%201.jpg