Propaganda. It has permeated the society of wartime nations for centuries, and has provided a useful role in the morale of troops and citizens alike during difficult times. There is both positive and negative propaganda, and it has had a huge effect, especially in the 20th century onward. World War II has some of the most well-known and widespread propaganda. The Keep Calm and Carry On poster, shown below, was made by the British government at the beginning of World War II. It's a very well known quote and image, and is prevalent in popular culture today, namely due to its popularity among graphic designers.
The iconic Keep Calm and Carry On image promotes nationalism and attempts to quell the fear that is rising in its citizens. This is part of a whole category of propaganda, which encourages its citizens to pitch in however they can, and to support their troops. They instill feelings of pride and nationalism, and try to create a stronger, more united nation. Not all propaganda is about nationalism, however. There are other kinds of propaganda that paint the "enemy" in an evil light and try to instill anger and contempt in the citizens of one's own nation, spurring them to support the war effort. These kinda of propaganda would depict the enemy as pigs or animals or even demons, or simply state the horrible things they have done to try and push people towards a stronger opposition. A derivative of this kind, there is a third type of wartime propaganda, which attempts to instill fear in the citizens, and tries to guilt them into supporting the war effort. These have images reminding them to be more conservative in their use of food and resources, or telling them that if they do not help our troops, they are supporting the enemy.
However, these can raise the question of just how morally just is propaganda? To what extent can a government go with it before they've gone too far? Is it just in peacetime as well or only during war? Oftentimes propaganda is seen as a bad thing, and is considered to be manipulative and deceitful, even. Governments spread messages and tell their people what to do and even what to think. They ostracize those that don't follow what they say, and some societies can even reject them altogether for disagreeing with it. A common trope of a dystopian society is widespread and invasive propaganda.
George Orwell's 1984 proves the effect that widespread propaganda can have. Many dictators and fascist governments use constant propaganda to keep people in line or promote their own public image. How can we, then, as a supposed "free nation" use the very same methods to condemn others for doing it?
You raise some interesting points. I've always wondered is there such thing as positive propaganda? What about anti-bullying campaigns with all of their posters, commercials, etc. Is that considered propaganda? In essence, the objective is the same as the propaganda used by dictators - to control the behaviour of citizens.
ReplyDeleteWe justify our political propaganda by demonizing our opponents as being evil, and often subhuman. To combat them requires "taking off the gloves". To see how all sides in a war see themselves and each other, look at my web page, Faces of the Enemy. http://www.classroomtools.com/faces.htm
ReplyDeleteIf you want to explore propaganda in our culture and history more generally, I've posted lots of resources here: http://www.classroomtools.com/prop.htm
Good thoughts. You have to check out this propaganda poster from Persia during WW2 that I found the other day. I can't wait to use it in my class!
ReplyDeletehttp://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2013/03/world-war-ii-propaganda-in-persia.html