Download Here is my lecture - Daniel Aaron Lazar

Introduction to Propaganda
&
Soviet Propaganda Posters
Mr. Daniel Lazar
Operation Definition of Propaganda
"Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic
form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to
influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and
actions of specified target audiences for
ideological, political or commercial purposes
through the controlled transmission of one-sided
messages (which may or may not be factual) via
mass and direct media channels.”
-Richard Alan Nelson
Quotations on Propaganda I
“Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by
the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The
masses have to be won by propaganda.”
-Hannah Arendt
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of
the organized habits and opinions of the masses
is an important element in democratic society.”
-Edward Bernays
Quotations on Propaganda II
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,
people will eventually come to believe it. The lie
can be maintained only for such time as the
State can shield the people from the political,
economic and/or military consequences of the
lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State
to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the
truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by
extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the
State.”
-Joseph Goebbels
Quotations on Propaganda III
 "The 20th century has been characterized by
three developments of great political importance:
the growth of democracy, the growth of
corporate power, and the growth of corporate
propaganda as a means of protecting corporate
power against democracy.“
 “Propaganda is to a democracy what the
bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.”
-Noam Chomsky
Types of Propaganda I
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Ad Hominem: attacking one’s opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments.
Appeal to authority: Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a
position, idea, argument, or course of action.
Appeal to fear: Appeals to fear seek to build support by instilling anxieties and
panic in the general population, for example, Joseph Goebbels exploited Theodore
Kaufman's Germany Must Perish! to claim that the Allies sought the extermination
of the German people.
Bandwagon: Bandwagon and "inevitable-victory" appeals attempt to persuade the
target audience to join in and take the course of action that "everyone else is
taking." (akin to the “Beautiful People” approach)
Black-and-White fallacy: Presenting only two choices, with the product or idea
being propagated as the better choice. ("You are either with us or against us")
Big Lie: The repeated articulation of a complex of events that justify subsequent
action. The descriptions of these events have elements of truth, and the "big lie"
generalizations merge and eventually supplant the public's accurate perception of
the underlying events. After World War I the German Stab in the back explanation
of the cause of their defeat became a justification for Nazi re-militarization and
aggression.
Types of Propaganda II
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Demonizing the enemy: Making individuals from the opposing nation, from a
different ethnic group, or those who support the opposing viewpoint appear to be
subhuman
Direct order: This technique hopes to simplify the decision making process by
using images and words to tell the audience exactly what actions to take,
eliminating any other possible choices. Authority figures can be used to give the
order, overlapping it with the Appeal to authority technique, but not necessarily.
(The Uncle Sam "I want you" image is an example of this technique.)
Euphoria: The use of an event that generates euphoria or happiness, or using an
appealing event to boost morale. Euphoria can be created by declaring a holiday,
making luxury items available, or mounting a military parade with marching bands
and patriotic messages.
Disinformation: The creation or deletion of information from public records, in the
purpose of making a false record of an event or the actions of a person or
organization, including outright forgery of photographs, motion pictures,
broadcasts, and sound recordings as well as printed documents.
Flag-waving: An attempt to justify an action on the grounds that doing so will
make one more patriotic, or in some way benefit a group, country, or idea.
Types of Propaganda III
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Intentional vagueness: Generalities are deliberately vague so that the
audience may supply its own interpretations. (e.g. “Fight for Freedom”)
Obtain disapproval: This technique is used to persuade a target
audience to disapprove of an action or idea by suggesting that the idea is
popular with groups hated, feared, or held in contempt by the target
audience.
This is a form of Faulty Logic, where a is said to = x, and b is said to = x,
then, therefore, a = b. (Lazar likes sushi, fascists like sushi, thus Lazar is
a fascist)
Oversimplification: Favorable generalities are used to provide simple
answers to complex social, political, economic, or military problems.
Quotes out of Context: Selective editing of quotes which can change
meanings.
Red herring: Presenting data or issues that, while compelling, are
irrelevant to the argument at hand, and then claiming that it validates the
argument.
Types of Propaganda IV
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Scapegoating: Assigning blame to an individual or group, thus
alleviating feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or
distracting attention from the need to fix the problem for which
blame is being assigned.
Slogans: A slogan is a brief, striking phrase that may include
labeling and stereotyping.
Transfer/Association: projecting positive or negative qualities
(praise or blame) of a person, entity, object, or value (an
individual, group, organization, nation, patriotism, etc.) to another
to make the second more acceptable or to discredit it. It evokes
an emotional response, which stimulates the target to identify with
recognized authorities.
Virtue words: These are words in the value system of the target
audience which tend to produce a positive image when attached
to a person or issue. Peace, happiness, security, wise leadership,
freedom,
With shock labor we will ensure prompt delivery of
the giants of the Five Year Plan
Workers in supply
companies, pictured
below, have to speed
up production in order
to finish the large
factories above in
time.
Civilized life - productive work
 The message of this
poster is directed to
members of Komsomol,
the communist youth
organization. They have
to set an example of
civilized living and
productive working.
 The composition is flatter,
more 'socialist-realist'
than Klutsis' earlier work.
Klutsis has to comply with
ever stricter artistic
regulations.
Help build the gigantic factories
The first Five Year
Plan aims to build up
heavy industry from
virtually nothing. This
poster advertises a
state loan for the
building of large
factories.
Towards the collective
 The collectivization of
agriculture means the forced
merging of small private farms
into large state enterprises.
Here, the private farmer is
pictured as a rich saboteur,
jealous of the abundant
harvest of the collective farm.
 In reality, rich farmers had
already been disposed of. The
remaining private farms were
small, owned by poor
peasants. The forced
collectivization caused severe
food shortages for years and
years.
Female delegate, stand to the fore!
 Poster directed at women
farmers, delegated to the
meeting of 'the crack brigade
of forewomen of SotsStroitelstva' where discussions
are to be held concerning 'the
realization of full
collectivization and the
liquidation of the kulaks as a
class'.
 Packed in an avant garde
design, the political jargon of
the poster is stifling.
Women, adhere to the cooperation
A poster issued only one
or two months after the
Bolshevik takeover. The
image is traditional, the
typography
unsophisticated, but the
composition and the
deep, contrasting colors
lend this poster great
charm.
Literacy is the path to communism
In its first years, the
communist regime
organizes extensive
campaigns to combat
illiteracy. This poster uses
the classical symbol of
the winged horse
Pegasus as distributor of
knowledge. The text in
the book reads
'Proletarians of all
countries ...'
The life of the illiterate - The life of the
literate
The illiterate farmer, on
top, has a poor harvest.
His cow dies, he does not
know the way in town and
dies in poverty, leaving a
young child. The literate
farmer has read how to
improve his harvest and
knows where to buy a
good cow. When he dies,
his son is older and able
to take over the farm.
Note the bookshelf in the
last picture.
The USSR is the crack brigade of the
world proletariat
 One of Klutsis' most famous
photomontages. With the
heavily emphasized diagonal,
the dynamic composition and
the strong contrasts, this
poster is one of the classics of
Constructivism.
 The first impression of 30.000
copies had a selling price of 80
copecks, which is next to
nothing. The estimated market
value of a copy in good
condition nowadays is over $
10.000.
Long Live The Man of Steel!
A parade, tanks,
military airplanes and
soldiers: Stalin may
be smiling friendly,
but war preparations
are in full swing.
Stalin Revised…
 Beginning in 1928, Latvian artist
Gustav Klustis employs militant
typography and montage to promote
Soviet messages through eye-popping
posters.
 His main mission is to glorify Stalin,
which he does by making his image
large and always clearly in command.
 And when Stalin's purges claim the
reputations and the lives of the onceloyal, Klustis reworks his material, as
he does with this photomontage,
beginning by hacking two army
marshals from Stalin's side. Marshal
Yegorov, who remains in the poster, is
tortured to death in 1939. Klustis also
suffers under Stalin's regime; he is
arrested in 1938 and is eventually
killed.
In the Soviet Union, distorted images were used to further the cause of
communism and to boost the reputations of those in power. If
photographs are usually considered facts...
What happens to the truth when the facts are altered?
Postcard, 1917. Soldiers with sign
stating, "Watches of gold and silver."
Same photo, but signboard is
replaced with slogans. "Watches
gold and silver." Now it reads
"Struggle for your rights." Likewise
the flag being waved says, "Down
with the monarchy - long live the
Republic!" has no visible words in the
original.
Stalin is Not Alone…
A 1947 comic book
published by the
Catechetical Guild
Educational Society
warning of "the
dangers of a
Communist takeover".
Stalin is Not Alone…
Stalin is Not Alone…
Stalin is Not Alone…
The End
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