Politics have long been known as a stage for made-up drama by two-faced politicians set to instill pity and sympathy in the hearts of the citizens to gain public votes. In a place where only a few sincere people succeed, "great" acting is indeed, a weapon for mass destruction. Along with a truthful life story, and a marvelous platform for change and improvement of their sectors, politicians have the power to bend their audiences' perception of them, willing the public to eventually vote for them for the upcoming elections. There's no doubt that the noisiest politicians often get the vote of not only their peers but of the public too; signifying their strong place in their country's government. Political theater serves to show the will of political …show more content…
Humans, are gullible by nature, taking in what they think would make them feel or do good and so, through proper use of this weakness, politicians could gain a vantage point of how to lay down their platforms to gain the good side of the people. An example of this would be American 2016 Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's view on gun laws, and the NRA's response to it. By using the people's fear and reliance on guns, these political propagandas reached out to the public, targeting their own feelings about these gun laws for their own advantages. Furthermore, drama also comes in handy. If you're a victim, you shall be favored. Trump's use of twitter and fight against "fake news" is the best example of this type of political drama. His eagerness to stay in the spotlight of his own mini-controversies help spread his name to as many people as possible. It may not be under good light, but more and more people are going to know who he is and his popularity would soar. However, most people may be gullible to these types of dramas, but there are still some who prove that they actually take their votes seriously by being immune to these desperate attempts to gain public vote. Overall, politicians would do anything to get their names on headlines as there are really no good or bad publicity – Publicity is publicity – to make their names known to as many people as
Hardball: How Politics is Played Told by One Who Knows the Game by Christopher Matthews compares politics to a game played by individuals seeking to gain and maintain power. Matthews defines hardball as “clean, aggressive Machiavellian politics. It is the discipline of gaining and holding power, useful to any profession or undertaking, but practiced more openly and unashamedly in the world of public affairs,” (13). Matthews offers maxims to explain tactics and truths that better a person’s position in the game of politics. These maxims include “It’s Better to Receive than Give”, “Keep Your Enemies in Front of You”, and “Hang a Lantern on Your Problem”. These three maxims have proven successful in bringing success to those who utilized the tactic.
Neil Postman begins chapter 9 of his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, by discussing if politics is actually a spectator sport or if politics is just like the way show business is run. This chapter is titled ‘Reach out and Elect someone’, and Postman first writes about how politics is more like a "spectator sport" or, as Ronald Reagan put it, "like show business" (125).
In this article Bruce Miroff explains what a presidential spectacle is and how it relates to the government of the United States and its presidents. A spectacle is a kind of symbolic event, one in which particular details stand for broader and deeper meanings. At spectacle also presents intriguing and often dominating characters not in static poses but through actions that establish their public identities. A spectacle does not permit the audience to interrupt the action and redirect its meaning. The most distinctive characteristic of a spectacle is that the actions that constitute it are meaningful not for what they achieve but for what they signify. What is important is that they be understandable and impressive to the spectators. The mass
Propaganda is information that is biased to promote one point of view. Propaganda is mostly used during political campaigns. It is one of the most widely used and effective political tactics. It gives its user the opportunity to move people to action in both positive and negative ways, by either bringing fame or shame to a selected person or idea. Propaganda is used to sell a candidate or a belief to the public, by ruining the opponent’s chances of winning, or by falsely advertising an idea of their own as better than one of their opponents.
On September 5, 1995 Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech to the United Nations 4th World Conference during a Women Plenary Session, located in Beijing, China. Clinton spoke about how women around the world were not treated equally, how women rights should be equal to human rights, and the ghastly abuse and discrimination women faced around the world. The reason for the conference was to strengthen women, families, and societies in order to empower women to taking control of their lives and not be subject to such discrimination. She emphasized how education, health care, jobs, and political rights were not equal between genders and that the world needed to change. Clinton gave a very convincing speech because of her use of rhetorical techniques. The use of pathos, ethos, logos, and anaphora created a powerful, persuasive argument against the way women were treated around the world. Clintons main goal of this speech was to appeal to the audience and convince them that this is unequal treatment is an immense matter and needs to be addressed all over the world.
In doing this, the Political Party is in complete control over the citizens’ minds, blasting what they want each individual to think (Orwell, 6). They psychologically stimulate each individuals mind, limiting their ability to think and have a mind of their own. In a similar way, Stalin’s created “The Poster” and The Pravda (the Russian newspaper controlled by the government during Joseph Stalin’s regime) to twist and manipulate the minds of people into believing that what they were saying was absolutely right and true. Using this power, Stalin and his regime would get people to do anything for them. (Basgen, 2010).
As easy as actors put on clothes and become a different person to film a movie, successful politicians appear much more heartfelt and honest as they are in real life. This is backed by the idea posed by Chris Hedges that “political leaders…..no longer need to be competent, sincere, or honest. They need only to appear to have these qualities.” If a politician were able to appear honest and heartfelt in a campaign event, they would much more likely to appeal to the audience and be able to win their trust and vote in some cases and succeed in winning an election to the benefit of the politician and not the audience. . Similar, posed propaganda and social medias of today are often used to exploit the audience and give them poorly supported feelings of support and trust for these political leaders.
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.
One’s depiction of a powerful figure in society can ultimately persuade on into implementing their reverence into that individual because of the position the figure acquires in society. Authoritative figures in society obtain a substantial amount of influence over ordinary individuals in which they utilize their power to fabricate falsifications of real life. An exemplification of this is how our contemporary government utilizes propaganda to implement a false or fabricated seed into an individual’s mind in order to distort factual occurrences of the world. Specifically, author Orwell notes that both the Inner and Outer parties form “the brain of the state” (Orwell, 208). Truly, this conveys how these manipulative parties construct the thinking patterns of the individuals in their society. This enables one to not even process an ethical thought or emotion, rather accepting what they are told to speak and think of.
“ Television often provides politicians with more attention turning them into more celebrity than politician” (Hart). This holds some truths in some situations television does over publicize some politicians , but this always is not a bad thing. The modern day politician is suppose to receive a plethora of attention due to their important public figure. Some television networks do sway towards parties , but not all of them. If anything a viewer can watch the network that reports exclusively on his or her interest rather than the interests of the people from another political party. When placed under this public spotlight the true character of the politician is revealed , and the public can get to know them in depth. “Politicians have the choice to abuse their public figure to derive attention or use it for acts of good” (Bazalgette) . This ultimately comes down to the morals of who we chose to represent us. Television plays an important part but at the end of the day if a politician is gonna mislead the public he will do it. Television acts as a checker to make sure the public cannot be fooled so easily. Above all television has helped propel our modern day society into realms that were before thought to be impossible to
The public falls into three main traps about politicians. The first main trap that the public falls into is “The Leader-and-Follower Trap.” The public wants politicians to be leaders, but when they do not lead the way citizens want, they are disliked. Expecting politicians to lead the way they believe the country should go and also follow what citizens want is unfair to them, (Medvic p. 9). Another trap that the public falls into is the “The Principled-and-Pragmatic Trap.” The public wants politicians to stand up for their beliefs, but to also negotiate to solve issues...
As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house” (Orwell). The especially dislike when the act of expressing our thoughts is mitigated by political correctness. The act of disguising our language in order to move ahead or appear something you are not is not moral. I observe this with politics today and its intent to control those around them more than it is for being polite. The candidates do not appear to be original in their stance; rather manipulation is the foundation of their candidacy in order to appear the better
Engelstad, Audun. "Watching Politics: The Representation of Politics in Primetime Television Drama." NORDICOM Review 29.2 (2008): 309-324. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
An example would be a politician who managed to get a major bridge built in their district let the bridge be named after themselves. It would be also a congressmen’s desire to be seen as the cause of benefitting constituents mutually helpful. For candidates who are trying to win an election, the “image” or impression they give has been very important in politics. And through credit claiming, the image of the candidate would definitely give an impact to the people to vote for them. First impressions are extremely important as it is the factor of success or rejection. It shows the personality and how it can come across to voters. Politicians are aware of how the public views them and take years to build trust, make connections, and establish a vision for a community. However, one negative comment or distrustful action can destroy the foundation. There has to be an image of confidence, in order for citizens to trust politicians. As body language plays a significant role in public communications, it delivers a level of comfort leading the public and the standings of their ideas. Politicians must also keep calm in high- pressure situations, such as debates. Strong images must be kept whenever the public’s attention is on them, as every word and movement matters. Since public politicians are constantly in the public eye, image has been important as to how they appear
In the US, mass media plays a significant role in politics. One of the key roles mass media plays in politics includes the airing of the platforms of various politicians. The media influences the view of people on politics and politicians. As the opinion of individuals is affected, the results of the votes are consequently changed (Holden, 2016).