Mr. Sudol
4/24/13 – 4/29/13 (Days 123 - 125)
LESSON PLAN (JR): NATIONALISM & PROPAGANDA APPLIED TO ENDER’S GAME
OBJECTIVE: To give students a foundation for understanding nationalism & propaganda as applied to
Ender’s Game.
PRAYER
COLLECTION/DISTRIBUTION OF HOMEWORK
DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY
4/24
Propaganda has been to manipulate public opinion for hundreds of years – particularly propaganda geared
toward whipping up national pride during wartime. Propaganda is a concerted set of the messages aimed at
influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of the people. Instead of impartially providing
information, propaganda in its most of the basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience.
Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or
gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information
presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience to
further a political agenda. Some examples include:
 February 15th 1898: The USS Maine sinks off the coast of Cuba due to an accidental explosion of
gunpowder inside its hold. “Yellow journalists” claimed that a Spanish ship had purposefully sunk the
Maine and the United States used this as a pretext to go to war with Spain.
 1933: Joseph Goebbles is placed in charge of the Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda; all
journalists, writers, and artists were required to register with one of the Ministry's subordinate chambers
for the press, fine arts, music, theater, film, literature, or radio. Hitler would meet nearly every day with
Goebbels to discuss the news and Goebbels would obtain Hitler's thoughts on the subject; Goebbels
would then meet with senior Ministry officials and pass down the official Party line on world events.
Broadcasters and journalists required prior approval before their works were disseminated. Along with
posters, the Nazis produced a number of films and books to spread their beliefs in German superiority
and the inferiority (and need for “containment”) of groups like the Jews, homosexuals, blacks, etc.
 2001: During the Afghanistan War of 2001 in the wake of September 11th, psychological operations
tactics were employed to demoralize the Taliban and to win the sympathies of the Afghan population. At
least six EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft were used to jam local radio transmissions and transmit
replacement propaganda messages. Leaflets were also dropped throughout Afghanistan, offering rewards
for Osama bin Laden and other individuals, portraying Americans as friends of Afghanistan and
emphasizing various negative aspects of the Taliban. Another shows a picture of Mohammed Omar in a
set of crosshairs with the words "We are watching."
Propaganda is usually carried out using a number of techniques; I want to go over some of the more pertinent
ones as they apply to Ender’s Game [teacher distributes the “Propaganda Techniques” handout].
4/25 – 4/29
Class Discussion: Students will be divided into their groups and each will be asked to select a propaganda
technique from the handout distributed on the first of these three days; students will be instructed to:
1. Locate at least two examples of their assigned propaganda technique within the book
2. Explain in what ways they mirror these techniques, and
3. Explain if these examples represent an effective use of this technique or not and why.
Students will work in groups to this end on this first day and will present their findings to the class on the
second and third of these days. The unassigned technique will be discussed with the whole class by the
teacher at the end of this exercise. Possible examples for each technique may include:
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Name-Calling: Ender’s title of “third” (or any number of the other insults he endures); the name
“buggers” for the aliens.
Glittering Generality: The prestige of Battle School, the nobility of humanity’s mission vs. the buggers;
the heroism and ease of victory by Mazer Rackham over the buggers in the 2nd Invasion.
Transfer: The constant references to Mazer Rackham as the hero of the 2nd Invasion to imbue the human
war effort with an righteous nature, the association of Bonzo’s righteous bearing with his success as a
commander by his men; the association of Ender’s prestige and abilities with his success as a commander
by his men and others (Graff, etc.).
Testimonial: Any time a character attests to the nature of Ender’s abilities, particularly Graff (to the
scientists and Colonel Anderson), but also Valentine, Bean, and others.
Plain Folks: Peter’s and Valentine’s presentation of themselves as Locke and Demosthenes on the nets;
Dap’s ingratiating nature to the end of connecting with the Launchies.
Card-Stacking: Anytime Ender’s superiors withhold the truth from him, with the most egregious example
of which is their withholding from Ender the fact that the “games” he plays in Command School have
real-life consequences.
Bandwagon: The willingness of several national governments and military leaders to follow Ender after
the war against the buggers is over; the pervasive nature of the religious “sect” begun by Valentine with
Ender as its symbolic figurehead; the unity of humanity in the face of the bugger threat.
HOMEWORK
 4/24: Study your Nationalism and Propaganda handout sheets.
 4/25: Essay: Imagine you had to convince a family member to believe something you believe; write an
essay in which you describe how you would do this using one of the propaganda techniques from your
handout.
 4/29: Study for your Nationalism and Propaganda game.
PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES
1. Name-Calling: Also known as an “ad hominem” attack, name paints a cause or product on a bad light by
discrediting of a proponent of a cause. For instance, while a teacher may be firm with regard to
disciplining his classroom, students may call him a “Nazi” in order to undermine or discredit his efforts.
2. Glittering Generality: The opposite of name calling, glittering generalities are labels used to paint a
product or cause in a positive light without going into the specifics of that product or cause. For instance,
when a food company labels a product “100% organic” or “all natural,” the consumer is made to think
that that product is the healthiest on the market.
3. Transfer: A technique in which the author of an argument uses the prestige, authority, or virtue of a
group to promote a cause or product that may not be associated with the original group. Example:
Transfer might be evident in a Ford car commercial when, at the end of the commercial, the car is shown
against the backdrop of an American Flag and the caption: “Ford: Built American Strong” appears at the
bottom of the television screen.
4. Testimonial: The use of a celebrity or authority figure to endorse a cause or product. This is evident in
any commercial that uses a movie, television, sports (etc.) celebrity in their advertising, and is also
evident in commercials such as those that promote health, hygiene, or food products: “9 out of 10 dentists
prefer new Crest Whitening toothpaste over the leading brand.”
5. Plain Folks: Simply, when the author of an argument attempts to present himself as just an ordinary
citizen so that he may relate to his audience. Used frequently by politicians in the beginning of their
speeches: “My fellow Americans…”
6. Card Stacking: Refers to the selective presentation of information in an argument that will lead audiences
to a favorable or desirable conclusion. Example: An oil lobbyist may tell those in government that
opening up new drilling platforms in Alaska will cut the price of gas in half while omitting the fact that it
will pollute and destroy the area around those platforms in a 50-mile radius.
7. Bandwagon: The “everybody’s doing it, so you should too” argument. Audiences succumb to this
approach because they like to be part of the “winning team” and are conformists by nature.
Note: It is important to remember that all of these techniques use a “binary choice” methodology; in other
words, that the audience is either “with us or not,” “part of the solution or part of the problem,” “supporting
freedom or supporting terrorism,” etc.
Content derived from: http://www.rbs0.com/propaganda.pdf