"Propaganda is the art of persuasion - persuading others that your 'side of the story' is correct. Propaganda might take the form of persuading others that your military might is too great to be challenged; that your political might within a nation is too great or popular to challenge etc. In Nazi Germany, Dr Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda. Goebbels official title was Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. . .
"To ensure that everybody thought in the correct manner, Goebbels set up the Reich Chamber of Commerce in 1933. This organisation dealt with literature, art, music, radio, film, newspapers etc. To produce anything that was in these groups, you had to be a member of the Reich Chamber. The Nazi Party decided if you had the right credentials to be a member. Any person who was not admitted was not allowed to have any work published or performed. Disobedience brought with it severe punishments. As a result of this policy, Nazi Germany introduced a system of censorship. You could only read, see and hear what the Nazis wanted you to read, see and hear. In this way, if you believed what you were told, the Nazi leaders logically assumed that opposition to their rule would be very small and practiced only by those on the very extreme who would be easy to catch."
I shudder as I read about what happened in Nazi Germany. I cannot but ponder how much of what we hear through the media in our country is the same. I do know that during the days of World War II there was propaganda in the United States. The poster portrayed below is but one of many examples. Note the comedic cartoons of Hitler and some Japanese soldier with large teeth. Study the looks on their faces and the colors. All part of the propaganda.
Makes me wonder what the cover of my book should look like.
I shudder as I read about what happened in Nazi Germany. I cannot but ponder how much of what we hear through the media in our country is the same. I do know that during the days of World War II there was propaganda in the United States. The poster portrayed below is but one of many examples. Note the comedic cartoons of Hitler and some Japanese soldier with large teeth. Study the looks on their faces and the colors. All part of the propaganda.
Here's a question to chew on. Should an author resort to propaganda, either in writing his/her book? And should the same author use propaganda to promote the work? The negative answer is built into this question. But it is going on. The cover of a current book is one example:
Makes me wonder what the cover of my book should look like. 
Is much of today's advertising 'propaganda'?
ReplyDeleteOne's own 'propaganda' is another's authentic propagation. An authentic propagation could be considered by government mandate to be illegal 'propaganda'.
Will a government legislation of a 'fairness doctrine' worm its way into governmental clamping down on legitimate opposition?
Does legitimate 'government control' often over-extend itself and become the 'big Orwellian brother' ?