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Propaganda v. Persuasion

Propaganda and persuasion both have the same intent: to convince persons of society that a certain belief, idea, movement, or item is of merit to them; or in some cases, to persuade them otherwise. Persons who consume various forms of media each day are approached by a variety of persuasive articles including advertisements for products, political factions, and even deceptively subliminal content that serves to model what is considered desirable in our society. Whether people realize it or not, through a saturation of media content, their beliefs are influenced by the types of information they choose to use and interact with.

The term propaganda typically conjures up an image like figure one, which is a single frame from Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1934), a film that helped propel Adolf Hitler into the spotlight for German citizens at the time. The frame selected shows Hitler “heiling” with a restrained facial expression, looking out towards a crowd of his subjects. Not to mention, the image is taken at a low angle, depicting Hitler to be above the viewer’s eye level. While there were plenty of people who bought into Nazi ideology, the film essentially stretched the truth of how many followers Hitler really had by featuring the crowds in certain ways to make it seem that there were millions upon millions of people in the street, calling his name. In many ways, the film can be described as propaganda because of its use of filmic trickery, allowing Hitler to appear as powerful as a superhero to viewers.

On the other hand, take figure two, which is an advertisement for Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign titled “The Choice.” It begins with President Obama addressing the voters and framing the 2012 election as a chance to choose between one ideology over another, eventually urging his own over that of Romney’s. Following this is a montage of Obama partaking in a variety of tasks such as working at his desk, speaking at schools, and even talking to a family around a dinner table. Now, it may be extreme to compare two different pieces of media representing President Obama and Adolf Hitler, but under some thoughts of reasoning, one could argue that Barack’s advertisement is a piece of propaganda. Take these two ideas into consideration: first, one could argue that all of what the audience sees President Obama doing in the advertisement is a fabrication, suggesting that the speech he read was written ahead of time and that all of the montage clips were staged. It may sound absurd to suggest this, but all of the picture perfect moments shown in the ad are the types of clips that videographers strive for - beautiful bits of light. Conversely, one could argue that the use of filmic montage is a form of propaganda itself, since the practice of cutting several separate images together to form one message is a process of recontextualizing existing texts. This argument of course comes from a pretty strict interpretation of “deception,” as the medium documentary film format works quite deceptively because if an audience believes that what they are seeing is authentic, raw, and real, then they will be more likely to take in what they see without questioning it.

Moving on from these examples, most would say that propaganda is a piece of persuasive media that beckons for the viewer to think in a certain way by either exaggerating the truth or straight up lying about the enticing information presented, but its original meaning refers to an “effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by means of symbols.” (Lannes Smith). It is important to notice that this definition does not denote a negative or positive connotation but clearly states propaganda as a subjective approach, and it is my subjective view that propaganda is anything that begs the targeted audience to think their way.

In another example, figure three, a simple Coca Cola ad, positions the soft drink with the sentence, “things go better with Coke,” joined by a red and off-white color palate and a Coke bottle. Essentially, there is no legitimate proof that Coke truly is the better way to go. Instead, the ad positions the soft drink as so, sensationalizing the drink and attempting to create the idea that Coke is pristine, simple, and the best. Looking at the ad might make one feel like there are no other options for soft drinks, just Coke.

In a similar example, figure four, an advertisement for Campbell’s soup, frames Campbell’s product next to Progresso’s, their competitor, using this comparison as way to show that their product does not have MSG while Progresso’s does. In a sense, this could be true. Campbell’s may sell a line of products without MSG in them, but by framing their product against another entity in this manner, it technically is propaganda as the advertising is urging to the audience to buy one ideology over another and is running a slander campaign against the other.

Propaganda does not have to be explicitly aggressive or wrongful to be propaganda but rather it should be classified as any piece of persuasive information being used to sway the masses one way or another.

Figure One:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pl3mj

Figure Two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBorRZnqtMo

Figure Three:

https://propagandafoodcomms9.weebly.com/glittering-generality.html

Figure Four:

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Absolut Impotence Analysis (CMS294 Post 1)

Alcohol has always held a significant role in our society, whether it be as a liquid accompaniment to members of copious wealth, raw moonshine brewed in basements and cellars, or more universally, as a lubricant for social situations. Despite the scientific research that advocates against the overuse of alcohol, much of humanity continues to rely on it to a fault, leading to addiction, violence, and in some cases, death.

In commercial media, alcohol is often depicted as a nectar of the gods; an item that will create spontaneity in the life of a commoner, springing them to the big leagues full of wild parties, gorgeous women, and a life of eternal youth. However, such imagery is usually followed by the quick monotone utterance of the words, “please drink responsibly,” which in theory should remind the viewer that what they just saw is a work of fiction, but unfortunately gets swept under the rug as the consumer runs to their fridge for another drink. With these four Adbusters spoof ads, such representations are flipped by utilizing similar symbols, fonts, and layouts to convey the message the reality of the adverse effects of alcohol use.

The first ad features the words, “ABSOLT IMPOTENCE,” at the bottom, while above it sits a bottle of Absolut vodka, with all of the typical markings and font found on a real bottle of Absolut, but rather than stand tall with vitality, the bottle is slumping, going limp. At the very bottom reads the quote, “Drink ‘provokes the desire but takes away the performance,’” which causes the viewer to infer that the limpness in the bottles posture is a reference to impotence, or more formally, “whiskey dick.” In addition, liquid spills over onto the ground next to the bottle sitting next to the cap in an all black and white image. As mentioned earlier, such advertisement materials are usually vibrant and full of color and punch, but here we see the the Absolut as a strong phallic object no more, but instead mimicking a flimsy penis.

The pictures that follow the non-erect bottle all follow a similar format for criticism towards alcohol and Absolut, but each with varying points of view. For example, the second image bares the text, “ABSOLUT MORON,” with a yellow bottle shaped smiley face standing above it. The face of the bottle is simple, two small circles, a curve for the mouth, and a tongue gently hanging out: essentially representing an indistinguishable and plain moron who does not seem to notice the bullet wound in their head dripping blood.

Following comes a similar layout as the previous, but instead of an actual Absolut bottle are a series of red chairs in the shape of an Absolut bottle, captioned with the words, “ABSOLUTE AA.” In this case, AA means Alcoholics Anonymous, a program for those trying to recover from their alcohol dependency and become sober, but the use of the chairs to form the shape immediately tells more than the caption. Because of our culture’s representation of AA and other help groups in popular media, we are able to immediately identify that a series of stiff and minimalist chairs under a spotlight means an intervention of sorts. With this image, its message points to the result of AA by using the shape of Absolut, an idea that many consumers already have in their head, as a means of recontextualizing what the viewer thinks of when they see the Absolut shape, font, and brand.

The approach to the fourth image continues on with the practice of changing the meaning of the Absolut bottle by placing it in a different setting, but in this one the bottle is quite literally turned upside down. Instead, it is broken, lightly covered in blood, and held by a hand much like a shiv. The caption says, “ABSOLUTE MAYHEM,” at the bottom, alluding to the violent behavior that alcohol can cause. From a perspective of studying the semiotics of the image, I find it to be the least effective as the crude drawing style does not seem to denote any significant meaning except the chaos of alcohol and violent behavior. However, the font at the bottom, which is not alike the Absolut font from the preceding images, appears in the rough and aggressive IMPACT font, projecting a feeling of raw and uninhibited anger.

Through these images argue a clear point of the dangers of alcohol, but such a message would not be able to be transmitted without the viewer’s prior knowledge of what the Absolut brand is. Such materials working to counter a moving are most effective because they are working with the prior knowledge of the audience and using such signifiers to reposition their viewpoints.

All images from https://www.adbusters.org/spoof-ads