brush up on your history a little: National Holocaust Museum, 1936 Summer Olympics.
I have yet to find the actual source for this picture. From what I can gather, this picture was taken in San Fransisco during a protest about China's bid for the Summer Olympics. You can feel how you want about that bid, but before you say things, you should research them. Using a "fact" that is not true to generate quick one liners like this leads to a lot of problems. I'm sure that without a knowledge of the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin, that sign is a good rallying point. But the truth of the matter is that Nazi Germany did host the Olympics and 49 Nations attended, including the United States, the "WE" that I'm pretty sure that protester is referring to.
The association of Nazi Germany and the blatantly false one liner perpetuated in the picture above brings up another issue. In a sort of ironic twist, that person is doing the exact same thing that Nazi Germany was so successful at. The art of turning half-truths and blatant lies into commonly accepted fodder, commonly known as propaganda.
The term propaganda is being thrown about in the media at the moment. When certain words catch on like that, I'm reminded of a very significant line from one of my favorite movies "I do not think it means what you think it means." (Say it with a Euro-Spanish accent, it helps).
Instead of caving to the media frenzy over this buzz word, I decided that I would brush up on the concept of propaganda a little. I found this wonderful little chart that I think pretty much sums it up: "Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda?"
I'm fascinated by WWII, how is it that a society that was anywhere from accepting to somewhat tolerant of many of the groups singled out in Nazi Germany ends up attempting to annihilate them? There were many factors, but I'm pretty sure that one of them was that the people were not well armed with the ability to differentiate between a lie wrapped up to look pretty and the truth however grotesque it might be.
Hitler was charismatic, extremely so, he had a knack for knowing what people wanted to hear. He understood how to use propaganda to his advantage. His government devoted significant resources to the production of propaganda. Germany was political marketing run amok during these years.
Government isn't the only entity capable of producing propaganda. Ever watch TV? Ever check your mail box? Propaganda delivered right to your home. Marketing, is all about producing propaganda, and getting people to buy into it.Take the time to evaluate what you hear. Take the time to find other points of view. Take the time to write an argument for an issue on the side that you agree with, and then write one for the other side. It can be a difficult exercise, but very very helpful in weeding out propaganda. It can also help you to put into words the things that you are thinking and feeling, which are highly beneficial exercises, and you may even see that the other side really isn't as crazy as some would have us believe. (Although you may find that they are every bit as crazy as you suspected, but once again, you never know until you write it.)
If you have some time, peruse this: National Holocaust Museum Propaganda Exhibit,
8 comments:
I found the sign amusing. They could fix it by asking should we have? Isn't Hitler opening the Olympics the first tv aliens would receive?
So will you be nablogwrimo this month? I am trying for nanowrimo, so not blogging it. :)
That was pretty amusing. The sign that is.
I studied propaganda with Dr. Cole at USU. I wrote that report on Utah State University propaganda for my propaganda class. It was by far the most interesting class I have ever had.
Goebbels was Hitler’s master of Propaganda and he was brilliant. During the Olympics that Germany hosted they started the tradition of the relay race with the flame. It was never done before Germany but has remained one of the strongest parts of the games, ironically symbolizing brotherhood, but for Hitler’s purposes it was to express a new empire like those of Ancient times. Hitler’s games were filled with Greek gods, architecture and gladiators. The German games also had something to do with the rings, I think.
Yes, I think protesters should do as much research as possible before they paint their signs and march. It would be nice if they did.
Thank you for this. It can be hard to differentiate between advertisements and propaganda. I have to put significant effort into keeping my views balanced--it is easy to be persuaded.
I remember that report, Sunnie. I believe that I dug up some information for you. I think propaganda is interesting. How it shapes our ideas and concepts.
Mary, I think that I would place most advertising in the category of propaganda. It is generally one-sided, distorts the truth (have you ever seen a hamburger from McDonald's that really looked like the ones in the adds?), relies on emotion, doesn't present other view points, and ignores consequences. Companies spend atrocious amounts of money researching how to manipulate your dollars out of your hands. It something that we should be more aware of.
The term propaganda I think is usually referred to in a political context, but what companies do to get you to buy their product, is essentially the same.
"Some American opinion leaders feared that unregulated propaganda would destroy the foundations of democracy by creating a nation of obedient slaves MARCHING in lockstep to the government’s orders." (What is Propaganda?)
-Interesting wording. I also did some research on this in college but from a totally different focus. As a dance major I wrote about dance during WWII and how Goebbels used it as a form of propaganda. --He created a female dance troupe that all looked alike and danced in complete unison. Today we call it a "drill team".
L,
what is your source for that quote? I googled "What is Propaganda?" and didn't get much back that looked like the place that you got that quote from. I also looked at amazon, perhaps you could elaborate for me.
I didn't know that about drill teams, it explains a lot.
http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/resources/
Sorry! It was from your Link to The National Holocaust Museum, then I followed the "What is Propaganda" link.
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