The Truth Shall Set You Free

 

Propaganda, the fuel to the fire. I like to believe that for many, propaganda is the reason for racism, religious beliefs, and political ideologies. Like my last blog post, I have to connect this back to the time we live in. I'm sure someone can argue that we still have propaganda all around us today, and in some sense it is true, however, today we have a choice. Being conscious adults we have had the opportunity to learn and develop analytical skills which would aid us in processing information that is presented to us. 

I was born in Ukraine. Many people there have had their entire life molded around propaganda. Many older people there grew up during the cold war in the Soviet Union, which has marked itself in the history books of propaganda. Propaganda is the block to free thought. As I stated earlier the propaganda I will be focusing on is the one that took part in a time before social media, and the internet. As I have said, we are surrounded by propaganda today as well but because we have a free choice we are not forced to mold our life around it. 

Propaganda is genius. It is used to achieve a goal, whether that is to establish fear, to material people to work or to march into the battlefield. It is a tactic that embodies visual communication. (to me)

A lot of propaganda art is beautiful, it's artistic, it portrays a narrative, and most importantly it makes you feel something. 

I've never seen the piece before but It makes me remember that propaganda, especially during the second world war was a battle all on its own. I often imagine the positive propaganda, like the "We Can Do It" piece but it is important to note that there were plenty of propaganda pieces against the United States as well. Like this one done by Nazi propagandist Harald Damsleth. I am highlighting this because, I don't really remember being shown in school the many anti-American propaganda, and seeing something like this really shocks me. But you can also see how this would motivate individuals. And I am not only talking about adults. Propaganda can mold the mind and the mentality of an individual. Often this mentality will be attempted to be passed on to the younger generation, continuing beliefs that were sparked because of said propaganda. 

In my opinion, the best way to convey the power of propaganda is to look at the many propaganda pieces that promote and motivate women, and African Americans to join the fight. I chose to go with this example because it's not one that is talked about often. Many women joined the army as nurses and other jobs that would aid military efforts, and many African American men joined the fight overseas. 1945 was the year World War II ended. 1964 was the year segregation ended. Think about that. 

It was always baffling to me that the people who were encouraged to help the U.S. fight for freedom, were the same people who had their freedom taken away by the U.S. It almost undermines human intelligence. Many African Americans came back as heroes just to be segregated against. Women were undermined as well. The many women who risked their lives, who gave up their lives to aid the U.S. were not given the respect that should have been at this point earned. It was only in 1960 that the FDA approved the very first oral contraceptive, Envoid. It was in 1969 that the first no-fault diverse law was passed. And it was 1978 when the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed.

Propaganda is a very powerful tool. I hope that these examples help exemplify, just how powerful.