EOTO 2 Analysis - Propaganda

I thoroughly enjoyed the second batch of EOTO presentations. The topic and presentation I was most fascinated by was the one on Propaganda. The talk opened my eyes to how important it was in history and wartimes; yet, how prevalent propaganda still is today.   

Propaganda was important throughout history. Commonly, it could be found in the form of posters or speeches. In a world without smartphones, what one saw on the walls or heard on the radio could influence them in day-to-day life. This propaganda wasn’t always positive, but it was usually effective in creating narratives and expectations in society.  

Nowadays, propaganda is not as obvious and straight forward as a blaring “I WANT YOU FOR U.S. ARMY” poster. It is more often spread inadvertently through social media, peer pressure, news outlets, and so on. Even the advertisements we see pop up on our devices can be propaganda used to manipulate consumers and their choices. 

In history, propaganda was used profusely in political movements and wartime efforts. Through the vessel of art and creativity, governments demonized their opposers in order to rally their people against the common cause. Hitler, for example, used propaganda posters to display superiority of his people, while degrading looks and actions of his enemy. He was successful with this effort, as he influenced his people to despise those who didn’t fit the Aryan pinnacle of the human race. I believe this truly proves how effective propaganda was when displayed for unification purposes – but even more so for division purposes. 

We are all influenced by propaganda whether we like to admit it or not. Just on the morning walk to class at HPU, one will be exposed to the “God, Family, Country” tagline more than once. But it works! When asked what High Point University is based on, I recite that line without a second of thought. Which is all the proof I need that propaganda is alive and well in our present society.