What we feared.

An inquiry into propaganda, persuasion, and George Orwell’s

1984.

Persuasion and Propaganda

• ‘Propaganda’ was first coined in 1622 when Pope Gregory XV established “the Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith”.

• The term came to be known as a method to convince large numbers of people to believe a certain set of given ideas.

• Propaganda has been traditionally used to achieve distinct measures in war, but has also been used for the benefit of social movements.

Tactics of Propaganda

• Bandwagon: Pump up the value of 'joining the party'.• Card-stacking: Build a highly-biased case for your position.• Glittering Generalities: Use power words to evoke

emotions.• Name-calling: Demeaning opponents.• Plain Folks: Making the leader seem ordinary increases

trust and credibility.• Testimonial: The testimony of an independent person is

seen as more trustworthy.• Transfer: Associate the leader with trusted others.

George Orwell

• Published “1984” in June1949, not long after the end of WWII and at the beginning of the Cold War.

• This book encapsulated many people’s fears about the role of the government in individual freedom.

• Significantly impacted the way people thought about persuasion.

O’Brien held up his left hand, its back towards Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended.‘How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?’‘Four.’‘And if the party says that it is not four but five — then how many?’‘Four.’The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over Winston’s body. The air tore into his lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by clenching his teeth he could not stop. O’Brien watched him, the four fingers still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly eased.‘How many fingers, Winston?’‘Four.’The needle went up to sixty.‘How many fingers, Winston?’

‘Four! Four! What else can I say? Four!’The needle must have risen again, but he did not look at it. The heavy, stern face and the four fingers filled his vision. The fingers stood up before his eyes like pillars, enormous, blurry, and seeming to vibrate, but unmistakably four.‘How many fingers, Winston?’‘Four! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? Four! Four!’‘How many fingers, Winston?’‘Five! Five! Five!’‘No, Winston, that is no use. You are lying. You still think there are four. How many fingers, please?’‘Four! five! Four! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!’Abruptly he was sitting up with O’Brien’s arm round his shoulders. He had perhaps lost consciousness for a few seconds. The bonds that had held his body down were loosened. He felt very cold, he was shaking uncontrollably, his teeth were chattering, the tears were rolling down his cheeks. For a moment he clung to O’Brien like a baby, curiously comforted by the heavy arm round his shoulders. He had the feeling that O’Brien was his protector, that the pain was something that came from outside, from some other source, and that it was O’Brien who would save him from it.‘You are a slow learner, Winston,’ said O’Brien gently.

Reflection

• What ideas are illustrated in both various forms of propaganda and Orwell’s 1984?

• What means of control did people during this period fear the most? Is that the same fear modern Americans still have?

• Was Orwell correct in his assumptions that governments would try to control people in this way?

• How did this inform society’s fear of media in the mid-twentieth century? Can you see any effects of this fear still lingering today?

Orwell was correct… in his time.• In a time before the

television was the medium of choice in American life, Orwell commentated on the ability of media to spread fear amongst citizens and change their beliefs about the world.

• The best example comes from Orson Welles’ 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds.

• An estimated 9 million adults heard broadcast.– 28% thought it was news.– 1.2 million frightened.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGUuUudv53k

• It became evident that media and persuasion needed to be studied and understood more thoroughly.

• This unit will provide basic inquiry into the discipline of media studies.

The Power of Advertising

Brief History• Before the radio and television became

common features in American homes, most advertising was done in print form.

• This refers to images and text that are physical in nature– Ex. Newspaper, magazines, and billboards

• With the widespread use of television, advertising has become much more powerful than it once was previously.– Has the power to reach many groups of people

simultaneously.

What a long, strange trip its been.

• Before the institution of laws defending consumers against false advertising schemes, companies could basically say whatever they wanted to in order to make their products more marketable.

• For instance…

Many of these advertisements were not only dangerous, but deeply offensive…

Modern Advertising

• While the danger and bias of these ads are evident, is it safe to say that we have abandoned many of these tactics as a culture?

• Take a few minutes to discuss this with a partner.

Children as a special audience

• Children aged 2-7 are often the target of extreme false advertising that they cannot understand– Piaget’s developmental stages– Preoperational (2-7)• Difficulty separating fantasy from reality• Egocentrism

What about these characters may confuse young children?

What makes these characters different from….

Sugary Cereals and Children

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0DbM0Zet1k

Cereal Advertising Campaigns

Sugary Cereals and Children• There is a higher amount of cereal companies

that advertise during children’s programming than elsewhere.– Historically, companies advertised in comic books

and during children’s radio shows.• Sugary cereals are placed closer to the floor in

grocery stores to entice children to ask their parents to buy them.

• Companies employ cartoonish characters that mimic stimuli that children have already become accustomed to.

• Often portray adults as incompetent and foolish.• Tactics that advertisers use are still target certain

demographics through less than ethical means.

Analyzing Visual AdsThe spectator’s gaze: the gaze of the viewer at an image of a person (or animal, or object) in the text;The intra-diegetic gaze: a gaze of one depicted person at another (or at an animal or an object) within the world of the text (typically depicted in filmic and televisual media by a subjective ‘point-of-view shot’);The extra-diegetic gaze to the viewer: the gaze of a person (or quasi-human being) depicted in the text looking ‘out of the frame’ as if at the viewer, with associated gestures and postures (in some genres, direct address is studiously avoided);The look of the camera: the way that the camera itself appears to look at the people (or animals or objects) depicted; less metaphorically, the gaze of the filmmaker or photographer.

What sort of brand image is this ad promoting?

Advertising and Controversy• While controversy certainly still exists in the world of

advertising, successful companies have taken more to promoting a certain brand image.

• However, after careful analysis of these promoted images, it may be possible to synthesize a deeper, more complicated meaning from simple visual images.

• Finally, as a reflection, is it possible to make a statement about the current state of sexualized advertising? Is advertising slanted towards a certain perspective or set of beliefs? Do certain demographics get the metaphoric “short end of the stick” when it comes to representation in advertising? What stereotypes does this help enforce?

social media

widespread use

• social media is the fastest growing form of communication ever in the history of human interaction.

• as of february 2012, there were 1 billion registered facebook users.

• it is becoming increasingly evident that social media needs to be studied in order to improve its effectiveness and appropriateness.

widespread use

widespread use

widespread use

investigating your social media habits

How To Vote via Texting

1. Standard texting rates only (worst case US $0.20)2. We have no access to your phone number3. Capitalization doesn’t matter, but spaces and spelling do

TIPS

EXAMPLE

Poll: Have you ever had an online argument wit...

Poll: Have you ever used profanity when postin...

Poll: Have you ever 'vented' about school, wor...

Poll: Have you customized your privacy setting...

Poll: On average, how long do you spend online...

Poll: Have you ever referenced illegal behavio...

Poll: Which social media habit do you find mos...

Poll: Have you ever posted incorrect informati...

advertising

• various companies have taken to social media to increase consumer response, reach new audiences, and gather new ideas.

• from the following examples, attempt to answer these questions:– what groups are these brands targeting? How can you tell?– does this brands’ social media outlet represent the

products/services they provide?– what brand image is this company trying to convey? How

can you tell?

the necessity of social media etiquette

• every time someone posts on or updates a social media outlet, they are participating in the construction of their very own brand image.– these can be specifically tailored to fit a certain niche or can be

completely incidental.– however, whether the user likes it or not, this image effects the way

that others view your offline entity. – further, in a world where people communicate 40% more online than

they do off, it is important to consider this extension of oneself.– most importantly, 86% percent of employers use social media to

conduct background checks on prospective employees.– careless online behavior has the power to cost real world jobs, money,

and status.

the necessity of social media etiquette

• Just some guidelines to inform proper online behavior:

Current QualmsHuxley, Vonnegut, and Postman

Harrison Bergeron – Kurt Vonnegut

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley"But the tears are necessary. Don't you remember what Othello said? 'If after every tempest came such calms, may the winds blow till they have wakened death.' There's a story one of the old Indians used to tell us, about the Girl of Mátaski. The young men who wanted to marry her had to do a morning's hoeing in her garden. It seemed easy; but there were flies and mosquitoes, magic ones. Most of the young men simply couldn't stand the biting and stinging. But the one that could–he got the girl.""Charming! But in civilized countries," said the Controller, "you can have girls without hoeing for them, and there aren't any flies or mosquitoes to sting you. We got rid of them all centuries ago."The Savage nodded, frowning. "You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them … But you don't do either. Neither suffer nor oppose.

Brave New World – Aldous HuxleyYou just abolish the slings and arrows. It's too easy."He was suddenly silent, thinking of his mother. In her room on the thirty-seventh floor, Linda had floated in a sea of singing lights and perfumed caresses–floated away, out of space, out of time, out of the prison of her memories, her habits, her aged and bloated body. And Tomakin, ex-Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, Tomakin was still on holiday–on holiday from humiliation and pain, in a world where he could not hear those words, that derisive laughter, could not see that hideous face, feel those moist and flabby arms round his neck, in a beautiful world …"What you need," the Savage went on, "is something with tears for a change. Nothing costs enough here."("Twelve and a half million dollars," Henry Foster had protested when the Savage told him that. "Twelve and a half million–that's what the new Conditioning Centre cost. Not a cent less.")"Exposing what is mortal and unsure to all that fortune, death and danger dare, even for an eggshell. Isn't there something in that?" he asked, looking up at Mustapha Mond. "Quite apart from God–though of course God would be a reason for it. Isn't there something in living dangerously?""There's a great deal in it," the Controller replied. "Men and women must have their adrenals stimulated from time to time."

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley"What?" questioned the Savage, uncomprehending."It's one of the conditions of perfect health. That's why we've made the V.P.S. treatments compulsory.""V.P.S.?""Violent Passion Surrogate. Regularly once a month. We flood the whole system with adrenin. It's the complete physiological equivalent of fear and rage. All the tonic effects of murdering Desdemona and being murdered by Othello, without any of the inconveniences.""But I like the inconveniences.""We don't," said the Controller. "We prefer to do things comfortably.""But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.""In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy.""All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.""Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen to-morrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind." There was a long silence."I claim them all," said the Savage at last.Mustapha Mond shrugged his shoulders. "You're welcome," he said.

Reflection

• What kind of worlds did Vonnegut and Huxley envision? Who is at fault for their respective causes?

• How are these futures alike and different?• How would you categorize ambition in settings

like these?• Are the notions of future civilizations far-

fetched or realistic? Why?

Amusing Ourselves to Death – Neil Postman

• What were the primary fears that Orwell illustrated in his novel, 1984?

• How does this differ from the dystopian future that Huxley envisioned?

• Neil Postman, a media theorist, argues that Orwell was right in his time, but Huxley predicted our future more accurately.

Philosophy of Communicative Media

• In a paragraph, answer the following questions:– How do you view the role of technology in your daily

life? In your opinion, is this a blessing or a curse?– What experiences have you had that helped form

this belief? What popular media are good examples of this positive or negative contribution to society?

– How can we, as a society, learn to appropriately adapt to a technologically dynamic world and avoid “amusing ourselves to death?” What do we need to do to avoid a Huxleyian future?