MACS 110 | Introduction to Mass Communication Theory translate
Week 5: The Rise of Media Theory in the Age of Propaganda -back to MACS 110 Home-
Propaganda
“There is no such thing as unmanipulated writing, filming or broadcasting. The question is therefore not whether the media are manipulated, but who manipulates them." Hans Magnus Enzensberger, The Consciousness Industry (NY: Seabury, 1974)
Propaganda | Persuasion | Strains of Analysis | Nazis | Exercises
Propaganda plays a significant role in our mass mediated culture. It's made up of three parts: information, disinformation, and non-information. As you know, what's left out of a message can have as much effect on its persuasiveness as what's in the message. Propaganda is usually considered a negative term associated with a political message. It's also commonly understood as a technique to mislead people by telling and perpetuating either lies or distortions of the truth. In extreme cases, propaganda is associated with brainwashing.
The purpose of propaganda is twofold: encourage a certain viewpoint, and encourage action.
How do propaganda messages affect our values, attitudes, and opinions ? In answering this question we need to consider the dominant culture, i.e. the wider context of the message, along with theoretical perspectives on the way media communications work.
For more on propaganda and persuasion, click on the following links
- Propaganda in America - History of Public Relations 1/6 by Adam Curtis
- Meet Edward Bernays 2/6
- The Art of PR Spin 3/6
- Hitler's Ideological Beast 4/6
- Business vs. Politicians 5/6
- The Enemy Within 6/6
- How to Brainwash a Nation YouTube clip about Edward Bernays