War Made Easy Essay

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

addressing them about war. The purpose of this paper is to expand on two films, Control Room and War Made Easy as it documents the American government and its military officials using deceitful tactics of propaganda to hide the truth about war, in order to persuade the American people that their actions are justified.

Literature Review

My paper will focus on the purpose of propaganda to build support and continue to preserve peace during unstable situations. In the documentary “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death,” the president and military officials are shown doing various broadcasts to the public. In the documentary Norman Solomon critics the U.S. media stating the media, uses propaganda in order to try to manipulate viewer’s thoughts on war. While all the news that is being broadcasted isn't completely true it is necessary. Propaganda is necessary to sway the minds of its people to believing into its cause. Americans are left to believe that what is being broadcasted is true (Alper 2007).

Propaganda, Deceit, and War is entitled, Selling the American Way: U.S. Propaganda and the Cold War. This literature examines how during the Cold War, people were sold the idea of the American Way of life. This entailed the use of propaganda used during the Cold War to help convey this image. The U.S. was determined to protect democratic capitalism and undercut communism by defining national interest not only in geopolitical, economic, and military terms. Through the use of radio shows, films, and publications, cultural narrative of freedom, progress and abundance as a means of protecting national security were also used in propaganda. This literature allots for viewing U.S. propaganda on how it was received abroad and at home and how the criticism of propaganda by Congress, and successful presidential administrations have contributed to the modification on U.S. war and propaganda (Belmonte 2013).

The media has control over its people that are being governed.

Chomsky further discusses his opinions on the capitalist system and ways that it has underlined democratic values. Something that was discussed in the article that can relate to the film, “War Made Easy” was when the author writes, “Media are the only way to purify the process of democracy when working as a prism in the mind of both i.e government and citizens.” what this quote is saying is that the media is a means of keeping democracy alive. If the government told their people the truth about what they are fighting for then that would cause panic and destruction. The term, purify, fits perfectly with the process that media undertakes in ultimately lying to its viewers. The media provide sugar coated information making it seem like they are fighting for a justified cause showing the process of democracy (Chomsky

2002).

Other countries go through great lengths to hide the truth through propaganda. Similarly to the United States, other countries employ the same strategies of propaganda through the media. When it comes to war, both sides must convince their supporters that they are fighting a just war with a just cause. According to the article, “The Propaganda War” by Hussain Haqqani Islamabad[SD1] , while Soviet had claimed victory over the area, eye-witnesses deny any such success occurring. While untrue the Soviet official felt it necessary to make the claim to create speculation among Pakistanis regarding the Islamic credentials of the Afghan resistance, this was considered crucial because all resistance groups were based in Peshawar. The purpose of this propaganda was to discourage more assistance from the Pakistanis. While the government was lying through propaganda, it was viewed as necessary and beneficial to assist them in the war (Haqqani 1998).

Conclusion/Recommendations

In conclusion, the use of propaganda is essential for a strong effective military campaign. This literature review was used to explain how what was displayed in “War Made Easy” relates and connects to other pieces of literature to show how propaganda is very essential. These articles showed the effects of propaganda and the reason behind the media displaying what the government saw fit. Whether for reasons of nationalism or overall victory in war, propaganda through the media is controlling society’s views. Prior to this literature review my focus on propaganda was on how it is used to influence the minds of that country's citizens. However, my last source explains how propaganda is used in war to affect the course of actions of the opposing side as well. This further supported my thesis that while lying through the media is unjust, it is something that is proved to be necessary. Not only to preserve nationalistic ideas, but assist in war as well.