Propaganda and Its Effect on America
Thesis: Propaganda was a tool that leaders used to get people involved in wars of the past.
Propaganda, a term that only reminds people of corruption and manipulation. Others, it reminds of advertising and raising American spirit. Well, they are both right. [“Propaganda” Pg. 1, sec.1]
Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda. At its root, propaganda is to propagate (spread around) a certain position or point of view, rather than just reporting the facts. Most propaganda is associated with politics or war time. It is used to help unite countries, especially the U.S. in the past. [Pg. 1, sec. 1]
Most propaganda that people have heard of came from World War II in Nazi, Germany. They would be surprised to learn that the U.S. has done the same thing in the past. [Pg. 1, sec. 1]
Before World War I, uninterrupted public support was thought to be critical to all the wartime effort. In 1917, Wilson created the War Aims Committee on Public Information (CPI) to promote World War One Nationally, while advertising America overseas. Under the guidance of a journalist named Creel, the CPI gathered people from different aspects all over the world. The CPI mixed advertising techniques with a refined understanding of human psychology; its efforts represent the first time that a modern government distributed propaganda on such a large scale. It is intriguing that this occurrence, often linked with totalitarianism, emerged in a democratic state. [Pg. 1, sec. 14]
Also, being that video was more popular than written propaganda, they begin to make videos. One propaganda video I came across was of an American citizen pretending to be a Japanese man in a very racially discriminating way. The man was obviously a fake Japanese man who was made to look Japanese by using stereotypes and donning a very obviously fake Japanese accent. [“My Japan” Pg. 2, sec. 2]
The video went on to try and convince Americans at home that Japan was to strong and formidable opponent in the war using Japanese newsreels. By using stereotypes and fear (see “Types of Propaganda”), America was trying to get America to accept their idea that the war was a good thing. [Pg. 2, sec. 2]
Yet another example would be around Pearl Harbor. Right after Pearl Harbor, propaganda helped unite people in ...
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...I. They were also a measure to manage inflation by removing money from the economy heated up by war efforts. [Pg. 1]
By the end of WWII, over 85 million Americans had invested in war bonds, a number unmatched by any other country; and most of the credit can be given to propaganda. If a country had a mass of supporters it has a better chance of winning then a country that has to fight with only government funding and no supporters. Frankly, it would be a whole easier to strike fear into another country if you have more supporters to go along with a large army of well-trained soldiers. [Pg. 2]
To some people, the only reason we won any war was because of propaganda. They might also consider it sad that we had to manipulate America in order to get support, of course, that is their opinion. Maybe it wasn’t more of manipulation; maybe propaganda could be considered a “push” rather than a total brainwash. The U.S. is a democracy, and the survival of democracy depends on the ability of people to make decisions based on information; propaganda would be an easy and efficient way to get people this information and therefore give them the choice to support an idea or not. [ Rooij 2]
Susan Brewer brilliantly illustrates the historical facts of American government propagating violence. Scrutinizing the Philippine War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War the reader discovers an eerily Orwellian government manipulating her citizens instead of educating them. Brewer states, a "propaganda campaign seeks to disguise a paradoxical message: war is not a time for citizens to have an informed debate and make up their own minds even as they fight in the name of freedom to do just that." pg. 7 The Presidents of the United States and their administrations use propaganda, generation, after generation to enter into foreign wars for profit by manipulating the truth, which it is unnecessary for our government to do to her people.
Some Japanese propaganda depicted the unity of Japan, China, Korea, and surrounding Asian countries. The Japanese also used POW’s as tools of propaganda speaking of how well the POW’s were being treated and they were all healthy showing that Japan was compassionate and not as brutal as the Germans. This helped convince the Japanese people to join the imperial army and fight for a cause seeing that things were not a brutal as depicted. Louis was offered to speak on Tokyo radio and correct America on that statement that he was dead. As stated on page 253 “As long as Louie didn’t read propaganda there was no harm in accepting.” Louis then went on to speak on the radio and correct the statement given by the U.S. and no propaganda was used and he was then offered to speak
The year was 1939; the Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler, was in power and Europe was in a state of distress and soon the whole world would be involved in a war that would devastate mankind for generations to come. World War II involved many great nations of the world, such as the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan; and the Allied Powers: France, Britain, and Russia. On December 7, 1941, America would join the Allies after Japan attacked Hawaii’s coast at Pearl Harbor, Oahu. The war was a terrible fight; however, the fight wasn’t just fought on land, air, or water. There was a more subtle fight being fought by the Axis and Allied government’s movie makers and poster designers. These men and women played an important role in drawing up certain beliefs about their enemies and the war by spreading these types of thoughts to their fellow citizens to bring some type of unity for their nation. These psychological soldiers tried to promote a love for their country through the power of propaganda.
During the early 1900s a new era of warfare emerged as governments began to employ all economic, technological and psychological resources available to defeat their enemies. This concept of Total War altered the direction of humanity and governments understanding in their allocation of resources. This essay will examine the relationship between propaganda used during World War I, its effect on the masses and the absolutely essential need for the success of such campaigns in obtaining military victory. While leaflet propaganda used during the war will be the main focus, considerations will be given to other forms to illuminate the necessity of understanding and utilizing the tools of this very powerful weapon.
“Propaganda means any attempt to persuade anyone to a belief or to form an action. We live our lives surrounded by propaganda; we create enormous amounts of it ourselves; and we f...
The “heroes” portrayed in the propaganda, no matter the nation it came from, were also designed to be considered conventionally attractive. However, the nation’s enemies were depicted as ugly and unattractive so they would be perceived as more evil. The enemy was shown as awful and innately cruel. American propaganda often displayed the rights and personal freedoms that enemy nations had violated. By showing how other countries were purely evil, nations were able to convince their citizens that they were on the “right” side of the war (Navarro). Shaping public opinion is the main goal of propaganda, and countries were desperate to have influence over the
Propaganda is intended for those who are seeking a greater understanding of what goes on in the minds of those
Barnett, Correlli. World War II: Persuading the People. Orbis Publishing Limited, 1972. Pgs. 76 -- 102.
With the conflicts on the other sides of the oceans, Americans would not witness the brutality, destruction, and suffering of civilians and soldiers alike. ?Only the United States was not both a destroyer and a victim of the destruction in the war.? (73) The civilians of the United States, therefore, relied on other sources to shape their view of World War II. ?Ads implied that if you bought a war bond your sacrifice was on par with that of the man in the front lines.? (74) The US government and industry played on Americans? sense of patriotism in order to get them to support the war or buy their products. However, ?it [advertising] is by nature emotional, rather than intellectual; it sells feelings rather than ideas.? (73) Government propaganda and business advertising were not the only factors in forming the inaccurate myth of the Second World War.
What does the word propaganda really mean? For most of us we assume that it is a word for negativity use. Just to assure those that think of propaganda as a negative word. Propaganda does have a positive objective if used correctly. The word propaganda is defined in a few different ways, But in the most general usage, it varies from bad to good persuasion of our minds. It is used during election time to our daily lives on television to our newspaper stands. According to Donna Cross’s essay, “Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled,” there are thirteen different types of propaganda; this paper will discuss six varieties. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney used primarily every sort of propaganda to influence the citizens; therefore, our national society needs to develop awareness in the propaganda used by such politicians so that they can make wise decisions intelligently.
Propaganda is a form of information especially of a biased or misleading nature. It is used to promote or publicize a specific cause or point of view. For instance during The Vietnam War propaganda was huge in many places. It was used to stop the US from staying in the war. It was a major reason why the US lost the war on a political view. When someone stumbles upon propaganda I believe that they should really look at it and try to understand were the creator is trying to say. It is important to understand what you are looking at before you judge because it may be important information and helpful. After you fully understand what the creator is getting at then you decide whether you agree or disagree. It is very important to show what you think because it will benefit the creator and may benefit you.
The American government and its military officials use deceitful tactics of propaganda to hide the truth about war in order to persuade the American people that their actions are justified. They use various different means of accomplishing deception. All in all, their reasoning for doing this is for the better good. I change my topic from Paper 1 to focus on how using propaganda, while immoral, is beneficial. The topic is interesting to me because as a citizen (1) you don't consider the democracy that you live in will purposely deceive you of what's really going on in the war and (2) however deceitful it is there is some positives to find in propaganda. The documentary War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death displays several scenarios where American government officials have purposely deceived its citizens. For years, propaganda has been used during war to depict the reasoning behind war, and to illustrate the damage done by the opposing party during time of war. The American government has used propaganda countless amount of times deceiving the people when
Propaganda is information that is spread whether it is true or not, in order to bring people together to support a cause. The United States and other countries within World War II made use of propaganda. Propaganda was used for the purpose of getting the country’s people or The United States citizens rallied against the enemy of the war. Some of the propaganda used in World War II was also used to protest the war. It was also used as a weapon of war and as a way to control the opinions of the public. It can be spread in multiple forms, in particular the United States used posters, movies, cartoons, and radio broadcasts to spread these ideas. Propaganda was used long before the start of World War II and continues to be used in modern
Propaganda was not only used in World War II. In the modern world, propaganda is prominent in our everyday lives. I see stories of sexual assault, covered up. They have thrown the women and men down, and shattered their sense of security within the world – yet, these lawsuits are brushed aside, adding criticism to the women who “should have worn longer clothing” and to the men who “cannot” be raped. I see narrative of xenophobia towards Muslims, with shootings and hate crimes on the rise, since false articles have been spread. There are also hundreds of stories of police officers discriminating against African-American men and women, kicking and punching and hurting some who have done nothing wrong. Yet, there are still cases in favor of the assaulters, and they ignore the true pain of those assaulted. I see explosions of a method called conversion therapy, torturing kids to change their sexual identity. Nevertheless, many homophobic parents will, and have, consider(ed) it, regardless of the increased risks of mental illness, as their preconceived notions prevent them from tolerance. These are all perpetuated by the thousands of articles published on the internet everyday, many of which are fraudulent, fake, and fictitious. We are also able to see a form of propaganda everyday: advertising. We think that it is harmless – until it is not. Products are shown edited and adjusted, as perfect and immaculate. However, advertisers will rarely show a darker side
Has propaganda played a part in this war too? My answer is: absolutely. Propaganda techniques can be successfully implemented if the dogma is deliberate and targeted to a group with an intention or purpose on mind (Jowett and O"Donnell, 2014). Ethnic stereotypes can be portrayed differently throughout our society and is made up of both negative and positive connotations. An individual with a Middle East ethnicity is stereotyped as an Arab, regardless of the different countries within the region, which contains diverse cultures, beliefs and extensive religions. Looking at the propaganda that has been used to recruit military members and citizens support since September 11, 2001, one can see that history tends to repeat itself. There are many venues have been used to broadcast pro-war propaganda, from posters to commercials to the use of the internet. The truth about the war that started after 9/11 has not been fully unveiled to the public. This war has been driven by propaganda that preys on our country’s weakened mental strength post tragedy and our bias against