Propaganda: The Cultivation and Spreading of Information

Television is not the truth. Television is a goddamned amusement park.

We are an information gathering species. Our cultures, our religions, the way we communicate, even our survival depended on our ability to see, process, and diffuse information to others. It should come as no surprise that we find meaning in events and in our lives because there is information there. We just need the tools to unpack and interpret it. There is always a meaning that is meant to be seen. Sometimes there is even a motive behind the information we find. Music speaks to us. Art (some art) elicits an emotional response. Specialized lines connected on paper form words to convey information to us. Movies pull us in, pull us out of reality and into a new (or similar) world. Sometimes to entertain, sometimes to enlighten, and sometimes to make difficult information easier to digest. If we seek out (consciously and subconsciously) information in all endeavours, then what does it mean. What is its purpose in the modern era?

https://pixabay.com/en/abstract-art-camera-cinema-cyclone-1861471/

Propaganda is the spreading of information in support of a cause. It’s not so important whether the information is true or false or if the cause is just or not — it’s all propaganda.
https://goo.gl/sD19TF

When most people hear the term propaganda images of Nazi-era and Soviet-era films exist. Art to praise the greatness of their Regimes. Recently Americans have seemed to become more conscious of the propaganda filling their screens. To be fair all governments engage in propaganda techniques, and especially corporate entities since the widespread availability of television quickly followed by internet opened a new realm of advertising - and yes, advertising is propaganda. Even before we could share images and motion picture, catchy jingles where used to convince people to buy the product.

https://pixabay.com/en/coca-cola-signs-coke-nostalgia-2483259/

While there isn’t much of a difference, it is worthy to note that the most practical and “dangerous” way to communicate information is through mixed media. In fact, our brains process visual information 60,000 times faster than audio information. It is well known that 90 percent of information transmitted to our brain is visual, which is why body language is very important in our communication. Less well known is that 70 percent of our sensory receptors are in our eyes, practically this is a result from our ancient ancestors needing to spot predators, especially well-camouflaged snakes as well as our need to be able to spot fruit-bearing trees and other sources of food. (Click this link for infographics, more stats, and a short article on The Importance of Visual Content in Your Marketing Strategy. https://goo.gl/Znmmq3).

Apart from visual content, there is another, arguably more important, strategy to employ when conveying information. Emotion. Emotional manipulation, while not as effective at conveying information, is far more important in the retention of said information.

https://pixabay.com/en/girl-50-s-style-retro-vintage-fashion-50-826876/

Information tied to a specific emotional response is far easier to remember accurately, than information that doesn’t. It is why we remember events from our lives that have a huge emotional response. It is also why I can’t listen to There You’ll Be by Faith Hill without crying, thanks, dad. It is why our interest and alertness peaks when we smell the perfume, shampoo, or lotion that a loved one uses - even after they are gone. As much as it pains me to say this, the best way to sell a product or sway someone’s belief is to use emotion. Sex sells, no really find me another great example of emotional manipulation. There is nothing more basic and primal than sexual arousal. We have all seen those ads, the ones with no business being sexualized, yet they work.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/

We'll tell you anything you want to hear, we lie like hell.

As we stated earlier propaganda in and of itself is not evil. Is it subversive, you bet? Is it at play in our reality, very much so, even in our sleep.

“These findings are about the fundamental processes that occur in the brain during the >consolidation of memory during sleep,” said lead researcher Dr Jack Mellor from the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience. “It also seems that the successful replay of brain activity during sleep is dependent on the emotional state of the person when they are learning. This has major implications for how we teach and enable people to learn effectively.” (https://goo.gl/1AUXb5)

We should be less concerned with asking if something is propaganda and instead recognize it is all propaganda and ask, “To what end?” What is the creator trying to tell you? Are they selling you a product? An ideology? Are they trying to help you? American’s are quick to claim that Fox (America's Most Trusted News Source) is conservative, racist, and homophobic propaganda, and that CNN (The Most Trusted Name in News) is liberal, communist, and anti-freedom propaganda.

The truth is that all major network news is a business. They have a product to sell you and it is called identity. It is obvious to most people who are not ideologically possed, which is far more people than we really realize. The 24-hour news cycle compounds their ability to over analyze and sell fear. Fear is governed by the flight or fight response. When in this state oxygen is forced away from the brain and into the arms, chest, and legs. Rarely in the modern world are we confronted with a life or death situation; however, anxiety over anything is triggered by fight or flight. Which is even more troublesome as anxiety can occur over anything that negatively affects you. ( https://goo.gl/UJndQZ)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229340/

(Spoiler Alert) If you have seen Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, then you know the plot of the movie revolves around Ron Burgundy getting recruited to anchor the first 24-hour news network, with the climax taking place during sweeps week. In an amazingly written few scenes, the writer kills two birds with one stone. Ron is not allowed to run his story on planes falling out of the sky since the owner of the airline is also the owner of the network. Having no time to find a new story, Ron instead has them show a live feed of a high-speed chase, where he sells and emphasizes the fear of this horrible incident. The network is flooded with viewers until the chase ends anticlimactically. By far these the best few scenes of the movie. Not only does this movie show the negative effects of corporate-owned news sources, but also shows how the desire for viewers and ratings dictate what news stories run.

Because the only truth you know is what you get over this tube.

Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube! This tube is the Gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers... This tube is the most awesome God-damned force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people…
From The Network (1976)

While so far we have discussed what propaganda is, the strategies employed, and what should be a little obvious as propaganda, there is propaganda that is unseen and not even thought about. Art. Specifically, we will focus on film but all art, as everything, is propaganda.

https://pixabay.com/en/other-world-war-war-propaganda-2845198/

https://pixabay.com/en/lenin-communist-chinese-books-book-pile--1724576/

While if asked about war movies, it would seem obvious that most are propaganda. From Pearl Harbor to Hacksaw Ridge to Pride of the Nation I mean American Sniper. But what about other genres? When you go see Transformers (just stop going to watch them… please) what is the theme? What is Michael Bay or whoever is doing them now trying to say or accomplish?

Of course, I am not making the argument that every writer and director and creator out there is trying to “say something” or manipulate you, but as a thought experiment: Think of your favourite movie. Why is it your favourite movie? What about it speaks to you? You answer those question and congratulations you are well underway to discovering the propaganda within your favourite film.

Of course, it isn’t the end all be all, certain messages can be tailored to specific types of people. While my dad was deployed overseas I watched tons of Romantic Comedies with my mom. I hate them. I always thought they were shallow. I wasn’t their target audience though. Those movies are not marketed to teenage boys, the messages aren’t meant for them. Even specific movies have varying themes tailored to the various types of people in the audience. The meaning you get from watching Wonder Woman is going to be different, from your husbands. A civilian watching it will see different themes than a soldier. I love Wonder Woman by the way, by far the best movie in DC’s failing universe. Yet to my lack of surprise, the most talked about the theme of the movie was women’s right and gender representation. That wasn’t even what the movie was about, apart from a few scenes the commentary on the representation to me was shallow and revolved around few scenes that would only make sense in the context of the early 20th century. The theme of the movie was anti-war. Spoiler alert the main antagonist was the Ares - the god of war. Yet it was all overshadowed by the first female-led superhero movie. (It wasn’t. It was just the first good one. No offence Jennifer Garner and Halle Berry).

Welcome to the real world.

Firstly, thank all of you who took the time to read through this post. If you found this post interesting please upvote and resteem. Your support is greatly appreciated. Do you feel like I missed something, is it too vague, or am I flat out wrong? Feel more than free to give me feedback in the comments, so I can continue to bring great content to this site and help it grow. I always want my post to open a dialogue, as this how our species grows and raises in awareness and knowledge. Again, thank you, and I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

Afterthoughts and links:

Originally I was unsure where I was going to take this post. I thought I would take a moment to give some insight into my thinking process, opinions, and thoughts so that you have some expectations of what the content I will post in the future will be like.

https://goo.gl/sD19TF
https://goo.gl/Znmmq3
https://goo.gl/1AUXb5
https://goo.gl/UJndQZ
Not used in the article, but an amazing study on the effects of stress on memory and learning: https://goo.gl/2vvT3u
Not used in the article, but a great little article on the difference between the Conscious, Subconscious, and Unconscious mind:
https://goo.gl/g5m1t4