Propaganda is information that is promoted to the public in a biased or misleading way in order to influence ones opinion. Propaganda may be used in both positive and negative ways that can greatly effect a civilization. Throughout history, we often see propaganda used in many historical events to gain control over citizens. One example of negative use of propaganda is the Holocaust. The governments in both The Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood use propaganda in similar ways to gain trust and control within society. In the dystopian novels, The Handmaids Tale and The Brave New World, there are striking similarities between the government's methods of spreading propaganda. The most similar techniques …show more content…
used throughout both novels are the distortion of historical facts through omission or misinformation, and the cast system to divide the population and hierarchy in order to promote division among the population. Though different methods of propaganda are used, the governments gain control over the population and instill trust in the new world order within the society. In the novels, both governments used the same techniques of propaganda for the same outcome; ultimate control over society. Atwood and Huxley both illustrate that the most effective techniques for spreading propaganda are when you can control a society’s history and relevant information. The presence of a Caste System to divide the population becomes very clear at the beginning of the novel ¬The Brave New World.
The population is divided into 5 different castes that are all different colours. The first caste is the Alphas who wear grey; they are the highest in hierarchy within society and intellectually. Second in the system are the Betas, they wear Mulberry and are somewhat intellectual, their jobs consist of occupations such as nurses. Third are the Gammas, they take part in jobs such as chauffeurs and butlers and are less intelligent then the Alphas and Betas. Deltas are fourth in the system and are the second lowest of all the groups in the caste system in regards of intelligence, they wear Khaki and work as construction and factory workers. The lowest and last group in the caste system are the Epsilons, they wear black are work as sewage workers and liftmen. All babies in The Brave New World are conditioned physically and chemically in a bottle before birth according to which caste system they are being placed into. They then are conditioned psychologically after birth by sleep teaching. The groups listen to recordings in their sleep that condition them to like, dislike or hate the other groups according to the group in the caste system that they were placed …show more content…
in. “‘Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm really awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able …’" The Director pushed back the switch. The voice was silent. Only its thin ghost continued to mutter from beneath the eighty pillows. ‘They'll have that repeated forty or fifty times more before they wake; then again on Thursday, and again on Saturday. A hundred and twenty times three times a week for thirty months. After which they go on to a more advanced lesson.’" (Huxley 27) As shown in the quote, the children are conditioned to believe in certain stereotypes about each of the other groups. The stereotypes that are planted in each of the children’s brain and are used to promote division among the society. Each group grows up believing the stereotypes that they were conditioned to believe about each other. Therefore, they do not associate with those outside of the group that they are caste into. This method of propaganda leads to distain and distrust in a society and ultimately leads to the government obtaining and abusing their absolute control. In The Handmaids Tale, the novel had a caste system very similar to the one in The Brave New World. All citizens were caste based on their role in society. The Handmaids wear red and are used for reproduction. The Commander's wives are women of high position, they wear blue and they are infertile. Ecowives wear red, blue and green. Commanders wear black and are males in charge of the society. The Marthas wear green and they are the older women that work in the kitchen and keep the house clean. Every group in the caste wears a certain colour, dresses in the exact same dresses and are not allowed to wear makeup. This is to prevent individuality, much like The Brave New World. There are very strict rules in The Handmaids Tale in regards to who the Handmaids can communicate with in the caste system. The Handmaids are not allowed to develop relationships with the Marthas and may not speak to men informally. The lack of communication allowed within the different groups in the caste system promotes division among the population. “I couldn’t talk to her for several days; we looked only, like sips. Friendships were suspicious, we knew it…” In the society of Gilead, there were strict laws on communication and regulations about what the citizens were allowed to speak about. Friendships were often found suspicious because of the regulations put upon the people of Gilead and what they were allowed to talk about, so when citizens had conversations and friendships it was viewed as suspicious. These suspicions made it difficult for rebellion within the society, therefore working in the government's favor in terms of gaining control of society. Distortion of facts through omission and/or misinformation is a form of propaganda as it allows information to be spread in a biased way, promoting a certain point of view.
In The Brave New World the public is often misinformed about their history and much of it is dismissed. After the nine years war, which involved large amount of chemical and biological warfare, there was a large amount of propaganda that followed. After the war, there was destruction of all books that were published before A.F 150. Also, museums were closed down and there was destruction of the historical monuments that had survived through the nine years war. Mustafa Mond stated, “you all remember, I suppose, that beautiful and inspired saying of Our Ford's: History is bunk.” (Huxley 34) Throughout the story, history and the fact that people used to love each other and have families was looked down upon. The citizens were told that strong emotions that occur because of family relationships lead to instability which can lead to war, disease, and suffering. Due to the misinformation and the omission of facts and books, the citizens were lead to believe in and think a certain way. The society was unable to grow and progress as they didn’t know the mistakes of the past in order to avoid them in the future. The citizens were not informed enough about their past to completely understand that the society they are living in may not be beneficial to them but rather detrimental. The citizens were fed biased
information, therefore making them think the way that the government wanted them to. Omission and distortion of facts is portrayed throughout The Handmaids Tale in many ways. It’s shown through the media and the limitations that are set on the Handmaids within society. Offred stated while watching the news about war, “They only show us the victories, never defeats. Who wants bad news?” (Atwood 83) The media portrays the government in only a positive light. The news available is highly censored to ensure that the government is only shown in positive ways to the citizens of Gilead. The woman of Gilead were shown women's rights protests in black and white, without sound. There was no sound when showing these protests to make the new world order seem positive and in their benefit, though it took away many of their rights and freedoms. Omission of facts occurred in other ways throughout The Handmaids Tale, through the bans that were placed on the Handmaids ability to read. "But all around the walls there are bookcases. They’re filled with books. Books and books and books, right out in plain view, no locks, no boxes. No wonder we can’t come in here. It’s an oasis of forbidden. I try not to stare” (Atwood 137). This quote was stated by Offred the first time she had been into the Commander’s office. Offred was amazed that there were books in plain view, where she could see and read them. The Handmaids are not allowed to read and there are no signs or anything with words on them in order to keep them uneducated. Due to the ban on reading, the Handmaids cannot get educated on certain topics or read about history. As a result, they are very uneducated about how the society was before and is in present day, aside from their past lives. They are kept from learning and not allowed open communication in order to prevent any possible rebellion within the community. The omission and misinformation is portrayed throughout The Handmaids Tale through the omission of reading and censorship throughout the media. The most efficient way of spreading propaganda is to control the information that a population is allowed to access as well as what they are allowed to know about the history within their society. Atwood and Huxley demonstrate this in many different ways through the methods of propaganda that they use throughout their novels The Brave New World and The Handmaids Tale. Through the methods of omission and misinformation and a caste system to divide the population and hierarchy to promote division among the population, the governments in both the Brave New World and The Handmaids Tale used their methods of propaganda successfully to gain control over the population. Propaganda is used in both of the novels The Brave New World and The Handmaids Tale without the realization of most citizens. Propaganda, as portrayed throughout both the novels, can be very manipulative. Not only is propaganda presented in both these novels, but it is used in current times by different governments, news stations, and education systems around the world. One can only wonder what truths we really know.
The book Fahrenheit 451 and the movie Hunger Games both display a dystopian fiction setting. A dystopian setting is when it is a futuristic, made up universe, and the illusion of a perfect society is maintained through corporate, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. In dystopias the characters make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system. At the beginning of each of these the main characters follow through with what their government wants them to do however toward the end of each they start to do what they want or what they believe is better than what the government recommends..
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.
The first type of propaganda is stereotypes. Stereotypes is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified or idea of a particular type of person or thing. A excellent example of how it is used I the play is how Goody Osborne is accused of being a witch just because she is poor. In act one Tetuba was accused of being a witch and when she realized that she was not going to change Parris’s mind, she accused two people that did not have a lot of money or friends. Those two were Goody Good and Goody Osborne, and Parris believed her because he assumed that it was truth just because they were poor. Another example of stereotyping is how women don’t really have jobs they just do house work and really only talk to
The novel Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley has been reviewed over time by many different people. Neil Postman is a man who has read Huxley’s novel and came to conclusions himself about the comparison between the novel, and the modern day problems we have in today’s society. Postman has made many relevant assertions as to how our modern society is similar to what Huxley had written about in his novel. The three main points I agree on with Postman is that people will begin to love their oppression; people would have no reason to fear books; and that the truth will be drowned by irrelevance. The first assertion Postman made regarded people loving their oppression.
"Propaganda consists of the planned use of any form of public or mass-produced communication designed to affect the minds and emotions of a given group for a specific purpose, whether military, economic, or political" (Levinson). Propaganda is used to gain the support of its viewers on an issue by either false or misleading information.
Information or ideas that are spread by an organized group or government to influence people's opinions, especially by not giving all the facts or by secretly emphasizing only one way of looking at the facts is what propaganda is (“Cambridge Dictionaries”). So basically, it’s the government making people believe in what they want them to know. These simple truths determine the underlying or governing principles of democratic propaganda.
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 consists of the planned use of any form of public of mass-produced communication designed to affect the minds and emotions of a given group for a specific purpose, whether military, economic, or political.
People have been unsatisfied with their lives and they want change. Their lives are filled with imperfection. They realize that their lives could be improved if everything around them and themselves were cleanse of the disadvantageous aspect of life. In the case of Brave New World the Controllers came into power sometime after the Nine Years’ War began. They had a “campaign against the Past” after the war where any remnants of the former way of living were destroyed. They considered that the past contained too much imperfection so they had to destroy museums and impede publication of certain books to shield the people from the harm of imperfection. The revolutionaries of that time wanted a new life for the people on Earth where all the adverse elements of life were removed. They desired perfection. A perfection similar to the perfect drug they created, soma, which has “All the advantages of Christianity…; none of their defects.” This drug embodies perfection because it only benefits the user without any maladaptation. And they hated and were discomforted by anything related to the past or anything less than perfect. An example of the displeasure of the imperfect past would be when the students became extremely distressed at the Director’s mention of the concept of fatherhood and motherhood. Their disdain for the past is also delineated through the Controller’s reminder to the students of how they revere the quote of Henry Ford: “History is bunk.” As the Controller reflected upon the old family life of his ancestors he recognizes it as having “appalling dangers” that Freud made a revelation of. He thought by the presences of fathers and mothers in the world is parallel to a world “full of misery…” and “full of madness and suicide...
Brave New World is an unsettling, loveless and even sinister place. This is because Huxley endows his "ideal" society with features calculated to alienate his audience. Typically, reading Brave New World elicits the very same disturbing feelings in the reader which the society it depicts has notionally vanquished - not a sense of joyful anticipation. Huxley's novel presents a startling view of the future which on the surface appears almost comical. His intent, however, is not humor. Huxley's message is dark and depressing. His idea that in centuries to come, a one-world government will rise to power, stripping people's freedom, is not a new idea. What makes Huxley's interpretation different is the fact that his fictional society not only lives in a totalitarian government, but takes an embracive approach like mindless robots. For example, Soma, not nuclear bombs, is the weapon of choice for the World Controllers in Brave New World. The world leaders have realized that fear and intimidation have only limited power; these tactics simply build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects.
Take a second to think about the word propaganda. What comes to mind? Do events such as World War II or The Cold War? According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, propaganda is a noun which means “the systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause.” In other words, propaganda, in this particular definition, is viewed as the deliberate transmission of an idea or document that a group of people believe in. This definition suits the description of propaganda in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. The Inner Party is pushing the concept of “Big Brother,” the ultimate leader. But words can have multiple meanings and can leave room for interpretation. In an alternate definition, from The Analysis of Propaganda by W. Hummell and K. Huntress, propaganda is defined in a different manner:
Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, showcases a world alternate from ours, in a dystopian setting. Where human morals are drastically altered, families, love, history, and art are removed by the government. They used multiple methods to control the people, but no method in the world is more highly used and more effective than propaganda. The world state heavily implemented the use of propaganda to control, to set morals, and to condition the minds of every citizen in their world. However, such uses of propaganda have already been used in our world and even at this very moment.
“Reality Control” is the concept that with manipulated information, if all records showed the same, the lie will eventually pass into history and become truth. Traditionally dystopias hold characteristics such as propaganda used to control and manipulate citizens, whilst banning other independent thoughts and freedoms. The only way the illusion of a perfect society is maintained is generally through the manipulation of the state on the individual. Though there is a degree of manipulation to benefit the states own interests in both texts, the focus in Fahrenheit 451 is much more to benefit the state as a whole, where The Handmaid’s Tale manipulate situations to benefit the states control over the individual.
“"Propaganda is as powerful as heroin, it surreptitiously dissolves all capacity to think” by Gil Courtemanche connects to the sad fact of using propaganda as a deadly weapon to feed people with false information and stop them from thinking. George Orwell’s novel, 1984 describes a totalitarian dystopia society where the Party is constantly brainwashing its citizens with information that is beneficial to its own rights. On the opposite side people are working for the party just like dominated slaves for their masters without knowing of what’s going on. But, in order for the party to achieve this goal they have to use different techniques of propaganda in Oceania to create fear for people so that they can obey the rules. The use of propaganda
Propaganda is influencing the attitude of countries and nation’s communities toward some cause or position. There are two different extreme types of systems of government that use propaganda, totalitarian and democracy. In a totalitarian government, this government has power over every aspect of personal and private life. It is an extremely controlling and dictatorial type of government. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the democracy government where the people get to vote for the party they want to rule. This type of government is open and extremely permissive and allows freedom of speech and freedom of the press.