The Pros And Cons Of Propaganda

Propaganda is a tool for manipulating and changing the opinions people. The bases of propaganda have come forth form the modes of persuasion, Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Propaganda was used by the government as a Mean to accomplish all their major objectives during the war. Propaganda played a very significant part in winning over the citizens of the Unites States of America in the First World War. This propaganda helped gain support for the war, and also created a high morale of the people. Although this is the definition of propaganda, the real question is how valuable really was this propaganda in influencing the views of Americans? The answer is very useful, and looking at propaganda used throughout this major world war you’ll notice its value.

American propaganda during WWI was used to spread ideas and information for the purpose of helping the American cause, specifically through, songs, posters, pamphlets and leaflets. America joined the Allies forces in 1917 in Europe to fight against the Central Powers. The American government needed something to spark the peoples' interest in the war. The most effective tool the government found and used was propaganda. The American government used propaganda to reach out to the people. The government wanted to reach people of all ages. Similarly, Germany fought back with her own propaganda, by purposely dropping leaflets and pamphlets on the ground to try and convince American soldiers, especially blacks, to join their side. In my opinion

Propaganda is information that is biased and used to promote a particular cause or point of view. Propaganda was used through movies, radios, news channels, posters, and movies. Propaganda was very important during this time because without it, people won’t join the army and the country will be at risk. Everywhere people looked there was propaganda. Propaganda influenced many people to serve During World War Two. In A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, he shows how the students in there school were easily persuaded to enlist in the war. The three main ways that propaganda was used to persuade individuals to enlist in the war are posters, films, and media.

World War II is one of many, most horrific and crucial events in world history and one of the most important events in the 20th century. Leonard and John (2007) define propaganda as “notions, facts, or accusations that are spread purposely with the objective of furthering one’s cause or damaging an opponent’s cause”. (7) They used media and propaganda in order to increase support for their side of the war. An immense feeling of patriotism was building up, and the nations used all the resources at their disposal to get their nations ahead of the race regardless of how humiliating and misleading the allegations were. Throughout World War II, propaganda was used to maintain the heat in fights and create unity among the citizens of a nation to achieve a single cause. People receive information on a daily basis since the beginning of the war and the parties of the confrontation. United States of America used propaganda for the creation of massive advertisements in the course of the war that could be interpreted as degrading to rival forces (Cogan, Brian & Tony, 53). Propaganda and information were distributed through numerous sources—radio, films, books and newspapers. The major aim was to impose on people the way of thinking and acting, both consciously and subconsciously (Rhodes 5). Though news sources attempted to be objective, there has always been ways to influence the way in which people interpret information.

Ever since its birth as a country in 1776, the United States of America has been a country surrounded by a certain aura that is not shared by other countries throughout the world. The country is one that was born out of a struggle and revolution, which has helped shape the character of its citizens and its national identity. Throughout the various wars the country has fought, such as the war of 1812, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War, propaganda has played an important role in influencing the people of America. The government of the United States has effectively used propaganda over the centuries to generate funds for war or relief efforts, save resources for war efforts, to get out and work or to possibly sway the minds of its citizens towards particular political ideals. Propaganda throughout the history of the United States, and throughout the world, have had various themes such as slandering an enemy as seen in anti-German, Italian, and Japanese propaganda in World War 2, or the opposite when trying to gain support for an ally. The main purpose of propaganda throughout history has been to persuade people to buy into or follow a set of ideals set out by whoever created the propaganda. Propaganda has played a large part in shaping the understanding of the United States by causing its citizens to buy into the beliefs of the government, which is a large reason why the country was able to become the great nation that it is today.

Propaganda is a form of rhetoric that manipulates information to influence public opinion. It lacks critical balance as it overemphasizes elements that support a position and ignores opposing viewpoints. Although propaganda, in its original sense, could be used to promote positive causes, it has acquired a negative connotation and is used as a pejorative to describe ideological messages that people usually disagree with. Film is regarded as the most effective medium to distribute propaganda to a large audience of different classes. “In comparison with other arts, film has a particular forceful and lasting psychological and propagandistic impact because of its effect not on the intellect, but principally on the emotions and the visual sense” (Interview with Fritz Hippler qtd.

​Throughout the history of the United States, the American government has employed many propaganda techniques, usually during times of war and hardships, to evoke an intended reaction from Americans. "Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.” To control the public during difficult times, the government heavily utilized propaganda. The wars that propaganda was most prominently employed in were World War I and World War II. Propaganda, specifically in World War I and World War II, has had far more negative effects on American society than positive effects.

Propaganda is one of the quickest, most successful ways to manipulate or push particular beliefs upon a large number of people. Politicians, dictators, and many other people in positions of power have used propaganda all throughout history to get civilians to support their ideals. The group that was most successful in using propaganda to gain supporters and spread their harsh beliefs was Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Hitler’s blatant, yet strategic incorporation of Pro-Nazi propaganda into German society during his rise to power is the reason why the Nazi’s gained so much support. Hitler was effectively able to brainwash such a large group of people because of how well he planned his usage of propaganda and how closely he and Joseph Goebbels

First, one must define propaganda and since many have done so already, I shall use the Sheryl Ross model. Her model defines propaganda as “an epistemically defective message designed with the intention to persuade a socially significant group of people on behalf of a political institution, organization, or cause.”

During World War I and World War II, propaganda was used to promote a cause. It was very influential in promoting people to join the war, but it was usually done in bad behavior. Colorful posters, war films, and slogans appealed to men, women and children. Now, propaganda is not only used to promote the war. People are not as easily influenced to join the war, either.

Both negative and positive, propaganda affects our lives daily sometimes without us even acknowledging that it exists. The main goal of propaganda is trying to sell your product or idea to other people, one major form of Propaganda occurs in the news. Propaganda is used for companies and trend setters who want to get their products and ideas out in the world so that they could potentially become popular. Smart propagandists discovered that to create the best propaganda, the viewer must not even realize that the product or idea is being sold to them. Propaganda creates an extremely large impact on us and is sometimes mistaken for being “just another advertisement” when they actually change the way we live our lives.

Propaganda is not a recent idea or concept however since the creation of film propaganda has found its way into them, especially documentary’s. Documentary filmmaking is a platform and mode of filmmaking associated with truth and actuality to present an overview of a topic or issue (Aufderheide, 2007). Audiences expect this when watching documentary films because generally the topic of a documentary film is based on a real issue and/or event without the use with actors, sets and special effects (with the exception of docudramas) (Nichols, 2010). Although they may be based on a real-world issue/event the filmmaker(s) behind the documentaries have an agenda and are trying to push certain ideologies or points of view on the audience. However, the assumption is made that they are doing this through fact and truth (Bizz). Propaganda on the other hand does not rely on truth or fact as it is an idea of dishonestly. Propaganda never tries to persuade or inform instead it attempts to deceive an audience by conveying/creating representations and ideas in a text that can only have one dominant reading (Aufderheide, 2007). Propaganda filmmaking is usually created by governments and political figures to impose hateful/nationalistic viewpoints and ideologies on the general populous (Aufderheide, 2007). Triumph of the Will (Riefenstahl, 1935) and Prelude to War (Capra, 1943) demonstrate that documentaries have the ability to create a false representation of history due to the filmmaker's

Propaganda in today’s society serves the same purpose as it did many years ago, and that purpose is to promote a fitting solution to a problem or to sell an idea or item. There are various types of propaganda in the world. The main way that propaganda is advertised would be the media. Whether it be television, newspapers, radio etc . the “promoter”advertiser will always find a way to promote their idea or product. You also have seven basic sections or types of propaganda; transfer, testimonial, glittering generalities, plain folks, bandwagon, name calling and card stacking. Each of these is used in propaganda whether it is current and modern art forms such as Nike™ commercials or from 100 years ago in political cartoons. Each of the seven types of propaganda differs and is unique in their its own way. Propaganda is, has always been, and shall continue to be, a huge part of the advertising world of society.

Many individuals involved in the political world require some form of propaganda to gain more followers, advance in their career, and to bring attention to the issues that they find significant. Politicians are not the only ones who use propaganda. Propaganda has been used for many years and for many different purposes. Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler were extremely good at creating propaganda to benefit themselves, while much of the United States contributed to the creation of racial propaganda. Propaganda is significant for populations and political leaders, because it is a way to pull people into something, good or bad, and make them feel like they are a part of something bigger.