The emergence of technology that facilitates a comprehensive coverage of news in real-time has enabled many media outlets to reach millions of viewers globally. The modernization of the media industry has also escalated live streaming of news online.
It is notable that the sovereignty, autonomy, and information over personal analysis determine the level of news coverage objectivity. However, some media outlets have failed the objectivity test because of their partiality when it comes to reporting certain events. This paper discusses the notion that some media outlets are biased and focuses the debate on the Al –Jazeera Television.
Al – Jazeera is the largest media outlet in the Middle East reporting events mostly to the Arab world. Presently, Al – Jazeera has also expanded to the Western world. Notably, individuals in the private sector own and run the media outlet. The media outlet is insensitively anti – Israel and America.
Al – Jazeera tend to report events involving Arabs and Islam positively and objectively. However, it has remained deeply against the Western ideals in its reporting of conflicts. The way it covers news in which the Western nations are involved normally shows a bias. This has been noted in its one-sidedness, unequal presentation, and unreasoned opinion on its commentaries.
It is notable that countries such as Algeria, Morocco, and Bahrain among others have alleged that Al – Jazeera is biased in its reporting of events. The media outlet’s leniency towards Iraq has been evident in its reporting. The media outlet reported anti – occupation aggression news in Iraq, which received global condemnation. In fact, the media outlet appears to be facilitating a psychological conflict with its fundamentalist opinions.
Al – Jazeera normally report news about the search for democracy in some Arab countries experiencing revolution. The media outlet has equated revolutions in Egypt and Libya with the ejection of totalitarianism in the search for political order. However, Al – Jazeera fails to report the lack of democracy in Qatar.
For example, Qatar does not conduct elections and the citizenry have no basic political rights. This is an indication of bias because it delivers sensational reports about problems in other countries without projecting to the world the challenges facing Qatar.
The unbalanced reporting of the war in Syria has also generated massive problems for the media house. This was occasioned by the resignation of some reporters over the media outlet’s lack of objectivity. The media outlet reported the revolutionary activities that occurred in Egypt and Libya.
However, it has reported nothing about the serious anti – government uprising activities occurring in Bahrain. The media outlet is allegedly forcing its reporters to twist their stories to conform to the ideals of Emir Sheik and his Qatar administration. Furthermore, Al – Jazeera has occasionally turned down stories, which are thought to be against the Qatari government brought by its journalists,
Al – Jazeera has created the notion that it is serving Emir Sheik’s personal agenda by failing to report on the role played by the Qatar leader in the Syrian war. In fact, many former employees contend that Al – Jazeera has degenerated into a propaganda platform. The former reporters have indicated that Al – Jazeera has deviated from its mission goals.
The media out let was originally the voice for transformation agenda and objective criticism of political activities in the region. The former workers argue that Al –Jazeera presently represents the views of the Qatari leadership particularly reporting in a lopsided manner when it comes to issues that require objectivity.
The two world wars played a vital role in transforming different states’ socio-cultural, economic, and political domains. One of the key factors contributing to the significant impact from the wrangles involved the media’s role in promoting distinct propaganda. The industry focused on monetizing news to acquire market and attain relevance (Lecture Notes, n.d “Propaganda and war”). In this case, the news agencies aptly violated the journalism spectrum’s ethos, pathos, and logos ideologies. An excellent example encompassed the lack of advocating for peaceful agreements among states and encouraging youths to enrol in the army to boost defence. The ethical obligation among the professionals enshrines promoting socialization and international relations based on the relayed insights. The press’s mandate is to advocate for harmonized and sustainable living under the spectrum of propagandas despite divergent opinions.
The news agency utilizes different forms of advertising and relaying information to the public. A significant percentage of journalists focus on outlets that render a significant number of audiences for marketability. In this case, researchers establish that one of the factors attributed to intensified war among nations entailed the essence of capitalism (Lecture Notes, n.d “Propaganda”). The key stakeholders in the industry prioritized profit maximization, hence amplifying the benefits of winning the war while minimally addressing the repercussions of the violence to the international community. Below is a poster from the American press enticing youths to join the army for the world wars.
War is an event that poses significant repercussions to the participants and non-partisans due to the optimal destruction. Different societies uphold distinct socio-cultural, economic, and political overviews concerning governance and relationship-building inbound and outbound. Human behavior mainly depends on the rules within a region. An excellent example of an outcome due to the conflict of interests is the emergence of the Great War, also known as World War I. The combat attributed to a profound loss of lives and the wreckage of costly properties. The survivors encountered prominent health effect due to the horrific experiences and existing wrangles. The lack of agreement among nations risks confrontations that significantly affect residents due to the displacement from their settlements, rise in insecurity, and loss of relatives (Hall and Ross, 2019 p.1357). Primarily, the psychological consequence among people after World War I encompassed the survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder.
One of the factors that led to World War I encompassed the influence of industrialization on the European and American nations. In this case, leaders rendered the initiative to utilize effective and highly graded tools for bombing, shooting, and facilitating counterattacks against enemies. During World War I, the U.S cooperated with the French armies to fight against the Germans in Arbonne (Cooper, 2021). Although the unity fostered the increase in the number of battalions, it is a situation that caused the loss of a significant number of soldiers due to the lack of strategies for attacks and counterattacks. Although weaponization empowered the armies with an additional support system, the issue lay in the traumatic experiences of hunger, thirst, and loss of colleagues.
The emergence of the two world wars is a phenomenon that led to a significant loss of lives and property globally due to the disparities in significant ideologies. During the industrialization era, the European nations attained profound developmental initiatives such as technological advancement (Lecture Notes, n.d “Psychology of influence”). It is a condition that cultivated tension across nations due to the differences in achievements and power status. An excellent example of the impact of modernization is the essence of imperialism and alliance justified by militarism. The short-term and long-term cause of the battles is a consequence of the notable blooming hence nations focused on establishing their worldwide position.
One of the significant differences between the two world wars is the immediate effect of the conflicts. At the onset of the first war, there was tension among nations; Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination who was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian leadership was murdered by a Serbian nationalist known as Gavrilo Princip (Bouza et al., 2018). The two countries were rivals; therefore, killing an influential personality in one of the parties triggered the clash. The provocation of the second military confrontation engulfed the disagreements and arrogance between the American and Japanese governments. The U.S administration received news of Nanjing’s rape and the Manchurian crisis that led to its decision to establish sanctions against Japan. These bans included the exportation of oil, iron, and essential supplies. It is an initiative that significantly affected the economic growth in Japan hence the promptness to foster an attack at Pearl Harbor hence triggering the tussle. Therefore, while incite for the first strife was political, the spark for the second battle was socio-economically motivated.
In a different spectrum, industrialization rendered the profound technological advancements that empowered key European nations with lethal weapons for war. While states focused on enhancing economic growth and development, they aligned the initiatives to boost martial power. The striving to attain military dominance based on armament led to a distinct margin among governments, mainly under the U.S and Japan alliances spectrum (Ahrenfeldt, 2018). On the one hand, the measure in the firearms’ strength geared the conflicts in the First World War. On the other hand, the workforce and resistance fostered the end of the second tussle.
The first and second world wars emanated from similar long-term causes that encapsulated the effect of industrialization on the global territories. Technological advancement is an entity that empowered countries and the necessity to test the limits of power dynamism internationally. In this case, America and other European states focused on competing for recognition and martial dominance, a concept that enhanced the tension among rivalries (Bouza et al., 2018). As a result, societies with similar philosophies formed alliances to establish an influential baseline while the margin intensified. The significant frameworks spearheaded the conflicts, and the motivation involved imperialism, nationalism, and militarism.
The world wars fostered imminent negative effects on the psychological status between people. On the one hand, the long-term triggers of the confrontations involved nationalism, imperialism, industrialization, and militarism. On the other hand, different short-term factors led to the emergence of tussles. While the incitement for the first combat was politically inclined, the instigation for the second clash was socio-economically motivated (Ahrenfldt, 2018). The evolution of global society rendered a significant imbalance among communities to determine the power position globally.
Although different factors triggered the emergence of the conflicts, the core attribute engulfed the intensified tension across rivalry countries in the first World War. The nations at war enshrined Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Germany against Japan, Italy, France, Great Britain, the United States, Russia, and Romania. The alliances significantly influenced the mental perception concerning relationship-building across the distinctive states (Bouza et al., 2018). The phenomenon prominently affected the residents’ psychological condition that trickled down to the marginalization of communities regarding the freedom of expression and movement internationally. World War I sparked enmity across the nations and negatively affected economic growth and development. According to historical records, Germany set off the battle by coordinating attacks in Marne, causing a profound negative effect on the populace (Hall and Ross, 2019). The psychological effect enshrined the necessity of establishing dominance across the regions, a factor that negatively attributed to World War II.
A different psychological consequence that significantly influenced the nations in World War I included post-traumatic stress disorder, hunger, and grief. These factors featured the rise of Russia’s ideological perspective about communism to intensify the influential baseline internationally. The central economic policy that contributed to the significant growth index in the U.S is capitalism. The approach enshrines the personal ownership of property and wealth hence imposing the importance of business competition for optimal profitability margin. The concept rendered a proficient effect to the marginalization of poor communities from the elite social group. However, the American government encountered the challenge after the First World War due to the philosophy. The core reason for the problem involved the demand for togetherness and cooperation between all stakeholders in rebuilding the country for better living conditions (Bouza et al., 2018). The aftermath of World War I attributed to the justification of communism and the spread across the highly affected nations globally and a trickle-down effect to the U.S.
Stalin is considered one of the historic mass murderers due to his policies implemented in Russia. The leader considered the ultimate solution of resistance as terror. The first approach to promote development engulfed the exploitation of collectivism among the small farmers. Although the agricultural worker fostered optimal produce, Stalin imposed socialism to elevate productivity among the kulak (Hall and Ross, 2019). Nevertheless, the statesman geared violence among the peasants to agree and amalgamate farmlands. The use of intimidation and fear is a high cost that led to the loss of Russian lives to enhance economic development and supremacy on a global scale. The Russian leader adeptly used the press to spread propaganda regarding the necessity of war.
As a political leader, Stalin spearheaded communism in Russia, and the transition incurred a high cost of Russian lives. Between 1933 and 1934, the country experienced famine, and at least four million residents died due to hunger (Hall and Ross, 2019). The idealist argued that despite the decline in productivity, economic development was a prominent issue over the lives of the workers and the peasants. In this case, Stalin emerged as one of the greatest mass murderers as a result of his vision to lead the nation to greatness through industrialization. Apart from the famine that led to the deaths of citizens and laborers, terror as the primary motivational element caused a significant loss of lives.
Communism significantly affected the U.S economic growth and development due to the interplay of dynamic values. As a capitalist, the U.S government faced a profound problem after the two World Wars due to the demand for labor and resources to reconstruct the socio-economic system. However, other nations utilized bolshevism to establish the efficient rebuilding of the structures despite gender and ethnic disparity. It is contrary to U.S philosophy on private ownership of factors of production alleviating the inherent challenges of dependence and poverty. After the combats, tension intensified between the U.S and Russia due to distinct economic frameworks. It is an initiative that attributed the emergence of the Vietnam conflict and other South American nations with the U.S administration adopting Russia’s perspective (Ahrenfeldt, 2018). In the short run, socialism was necessary to enhance the residents’ unity and cooperation. Nevertheless, it was a threat to the enterprise’s profitability in the long run. As a result, the U.S government focused on enhancing a proficient influential value across a broader scope of the global realms, elevating commercialism.
World War I contributed to a significant loss of U.S lives and the destruction of property. Apart from the damage, the government prompted investing in weaponry to win the combat, compromising the economic growth and development index. Researchers argue that capitalism leads to competition despite the adverse effect on the population (Lecture Notes, n.d “The Public Sphere”). One of the factors that contributed to the conflicts as a means of profitability at the expense of the soldiers’ lives and the parsimony’s performance outlier. In this case, the mainframe attributed to a dynamic impact towards the burgeoning contrary to Russia’s recovery in the short run due to the coordinative efforts.
The media played a vital role in the advocacy for the war due to the accrued benefits from the entrepreneurial opportunities. Citizens in the respective countries believed in the necessity to participate in the battle as an option of boosting the social status. As a result, the press focused on relaying information based on the importance of defending the sovereignty of the individual states against the backbone of peaceful endurance (Lecture Notes, n.d “The Public Sphere”). It is vital to establish effective international treaties and agreements that restrain the professional practice among journalists mainly under the spectrum of promoting sustainability.
Despite the adverse effects of World War I on communities, the wrangles indicated the importance of establishing effective international regulations. The establishment of alliances to wage for combat is a situation that emerged based on the lack of rules that ban such groupings. Although the country highly affected was Austria due to the murder of their leader, other nations engaged in fostering justice under the violent spectrum (Ahrenfeldt, 2018). In this case, the member states attained insights concerning the importance of equity despite the disparity in the distribution of resources. On the one hand, the truce fostered the consideration of individual demands on the relational mainframe. On the other hand, World War I triggered the essence of power dynamics to determine superpower territories. As a result, the psychological impact featured a distinctive overview concerning dominance and the relevance of certain relationship ties.
In conclusion, the media text significantly contributed to intensification in the world wars due to the propaganda. The relaying of provocative messages to the public fostered a change in perception and attitude to international relations. As a result, the citizens in the respective nations enrolled in the armies to battle and overwhelmed the enemies. The lack of recognizing the ethos, pathos, and logos in the journalism spectrum attributed to the adept impact of the wrangles. It is the responsibility of stakeholders in the press sector to objectively engage in professional expertise as a sustainable aspect promoting harmonious living among people.
Reference List
Ahrenfeldt, R.H. (2018). Psychiatry in the British army in the Second World War. Routledge.
Cooper, M. (2021). The Birth of Independent Air Power: British Air Policy in the First World War. Routledge.
Hall, T.H. and Ross, A.A. (2019). Rethinking affective experience and popular emotion: World War I and the construction of group emotion in international relations. Political Psychology, 40(6), pp.1357-1372. Web.
The 1942 film Why We Fight represents a classical example of American wartime propaganda. Given the fact that, during the course of thirties and forties, the majority of Americans shared an isolationist sentiment, it was crucially important for the America’s policy-makers at the time to convince citizens that country’s joining the WW2 was not optional.1
However, being a propaganda-piece, this particular film features a number of different of inconsistencies and even outright lies. In this paper, I will aim to substantiate the validity of an earlier suggestion at length.
The main ideological premise, upon which the line of film’s argumentation appears to be based, is being concerned with its creators exploring the apparent dichotomy between what they refer to as a ‘free world, on the one hand, and a ‘world of slavery’, on the other.
According to film’s narrator; whereas, America advances the cause of liberty, the countries of a ‘good ole Europe’ (specifically Germany and Italy), with their ally Japan, advance the cause of an oppression – pure and simple.
What is being particularly ironic about this claim, is the fact that film’s creators went about substantiating claim’s legitimacy by making references to world’s major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), as such that in their view endorse the cause of liberty.
According to the twisted logic of film’s argumentation, American citizens’ strong sense of religiosity makes them naturally predisposed towards professing the values of democracy.
This, of course, could not possibly be the case, because the very notion ‘religion’ is being synonymous to the notion of ‘intolerance’.2 Nevertheless, even if filmmakers were right about the fact that, people’s strong affiliation with religious values causes them to profess the values of democracy, film’s pathos would still not make much of a sense.
The reason for this is simple – contrary to what it is being suggested in the film, the overwhelming majority of German Nazis, as well as ordinary German citizens who never ceased supporting Nazis right to the very end of the WW2, used to be just as devoted to Christianity as it was the case with America’s founding fathers, for example.3
Another proof, as to a conceptual fallaciousness of Why We Fight, is the fact that throughout film’s entirety, the narrator continues to refer to Hitler as someone who wanted to conquer the world. Such claim, of course, cannot be referred to as anything but extremely ignorant.4
After all, it is not only that Hitler never publically expressed his presumed intention to ‘conquer the world’, but throughout the initial phase of WW2, he actively sought to end the hostilities with Britain and France.5
Whatever improbable it may sound – the actual reason, behind the outbreak of WW2, was Poland’s stubborn unwillingness to allow Germany to build a railroad between Berlin and the German city of Danzig (Gdansk), which in 1918 was separated from the rest of Germany by a Treaty of Versailles.6
If creators of Why We Fight were concerned with trying to protect the world from being conquered, then it would not be Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito featured in their film, but America’s ally Stalin. After all, unlike Hitler, Stalin never had any reservations against coming up with public statements as to the fact that world’s ‘capitalist’ were facing only two choices – to embrace the Communism or to be destroyed.
Right up until the collapse of USSR in 1991, the Soviet coat of arms featured a Communist emblem of a hammer and sickle in the foreground of the whole planet. Moreover, Soviet Constitution openly stated that it was only the matter of time, before world’s independent nations would join USSR as ‘Soviet republics’.7
In the light of recently declassified Soviet secret documents, it appears that Stalin was preparing to attack Germany in July of 1941, with the ultimate purpose of this attack having been the ‘liberation’ of the whole Europe of a ‘capitalist oppression’.
If it was not up to Hitler’s preventive attack of Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, even as early as by the end of 1941, Europe would have become nothing but a Westernmost part of Soviet ‘workers paradise’.8
After that, it would be the turn for America to suffer the same fate – not an utterly improbable suggestion, especially given the fact that many members of Roosevelt’s inner circle (including his wife Eleanor) were self-admitted Communist spies.9
Therefore, film narrator’s referrals to the scenes of marching German soldiers and to the scenes of German obsolete tanks Pzkpfw-1 and Pzkpfw-2 rolling into Poland, as such that confirm the validity of his claims about the sheer evilness and potency of German war-machine, appear hypocritical, at best.
First of all, film tactfully avoids mentioning the fact that it were not only ‘evil’ Germans that invaded Poland in the autumn of 1939, but their good ‘friends’ from Red Liberation Army, as well. If Poland’s Western allies were so much concerned about protecting this country’s independence, then why did they not declare a war on Soviet Union?
Second, contrary to what film implies, up until 1943, the functioning of a German economy was based upon the essentially peacetime principles. This, however, cannot not be said about the functioning of Soviet economy from 1933 to 1945, which had only one single objective – to manufacture of as many weapons as possible.
This is exactly the reason why; whereas, by the beginning of 1941, Hitler only had 3235 tanks (2500 of which were hopelessly obsolete), Stalin had 2830 tanks (including 700 tanks T-34 and 530 tanks KV-1).10
Nevertheless, one does not have to be a scholar of WW2 to note the essentially hypocritical nature of Why We Fight, as the example of America’s wartime propaganda, because film’s hypocrisies are being well visible even to a naked eye.
For example; whereas, narrator never ceases to state that America’s only objective in the WW2 is to promote democracy, equality and tolerance, on the one hand, he simultaneously continues to refer to Japanese people as ‘dirty Japs’, on the other.
It is fully understandable that, after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the majority of Americans have realized Japanese as their enemies. Still, even though film’s narrator portrays Nazis as America’s sworn enemies, as well, he nevertheless does not talk of them as nothing short of sub-humans.
Therefore, it will only be logical to conclude that, despite his pretentious ‘anti-Nazism’, the narrator himself is not being too different from Nazis, to begin with.
I believe that the provided earlier line of argumentation, in defense of a suggestion that many claims, contained in Why We Fight, cannot be considered even slightly objective, is being fully consistent with paper’s initial thesis.
In its turn, this implies that citizens should never cease thinking critically about what the governmentally endorsed propaganda wants them to believe, especially if this propaganda appears to be designed for weakening a self-preservation instinct in people, so that they would not be having any objections against the prospect of being turned into a ‘cannon meat’ overseas.
References
Boyle, Peter. “The Roots of Isolationism: A Case Study,” Journal of American Studies 6, no. 1 (1972): 41-50.
Carlton, David. “Churchill in 1940: Myth and Reality,” World Affairs 156, no. 2 (1993): 97-103.
Cline, Catherine. “British Historians and the Treaty of Versailles,” Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies 20, no. 1 (1988): 43-58.
McNeal, Robert. “Roosevelt through Stalin’s Spectacles,” International Journal 18 (1962-63): 194-206.
Nagata, Judith. “Beyond Theology: Toward an Anthropology of ‘Fundamentalism’,” American Anthropologist, New Series 103, no. 2 (2001): 481-498.
Raack, R. C. “Stalin’s Role in the Coming of World War II: The International Debate Goes On,” World Affairs 159, no. 2, (1996): 47-54.
Steigmann-Gall, Richard. The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Suvorov, Viktor. Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War? London: Hamish & Hamilton, 1990.
Taylor, A. J. P. The Origins of the Second World War. London: Penguin, 1964.
The War Department. Why We Fight Part 1 – “Prelude to War” (1942). YouTube. [Video]. Web.
Uldricks, Teddy. “The Icebreaker Controversy: Did Stalin Plan to Attack Hitler?” Slavic Review 58, no. 3 (1999): 626-643.
Footnotes
1 Peter Boyle, “The Roots of Isolationism: A Case Study,” Journal of American Studies 6, no. 1 (1972): 44.
2 Judith Nagata, “Beyond Theology: Toward an Anthropology of ‘Fundamentalism’,” American Anthropologist, New Series 103, no. 2 (2001): 482.
3Richard Steigmann-Gall, The Holy Reich. Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 267.
4 A. J. P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War, (London: Penguin, 1964), 15.
5 David Carlton, “Churchill in 1940: Myth and Reality,” World Affairs 156, no. 2 (1993): 101.
6 Catherine Cline, “British Historians and the Treaty of Versailles,” Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies 20, no. 1 (1988): 54.
7 R. C. Raack, “Stalin’s Role in the Coming of World War II: The International Debate Goes On,” World Affairs 159, no. 2, (1996): 49.
8 Viktor Suvorov, Icebreaker: Who started the Second World War? (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1990): 10.
9 Robert H. McNeal, “Roosevelt through Stalin’s Spectacles.” International Journal 18 (1962-63): 203.
10 Teddy Uldricks, “The Icebreaker Controversy: Did Stalin Plan to Attack Hitler?” Slavic Review 58, no. 3 (1999): 642.
Propaganda advertising refers to the process of advertising, which is aimed at influencing consumers towards the consumption of products through the presentation of one side of an argument. Advertisers cautiously select information to present to the public by omitting counterproductive information.
As such, the target of information presented is to alter the attitudes of consumers towards the interests of the advert sponsors. This practice has led to the creation of manipulative adverts, which do not convey the features of actual products being advertised due to exaggeration (Moon 97).
Consequently, consumers become the victims of propaganda advertising since they cannot receive the expected utility from products acquired based on adverts.
The Marlboro ads are examples of propaganda adverts. In this regard, the adverts are used to promote consumption of cigarettes by using a great cowboy. Leo Burnett represents a skillful cowboy with the capability to perform extraordinary activities.
The cowboy can undertake extremely difficult tasks, which cannot be achieved by common people. In essence, consumers are directed away from the product being advertised to the skills of the cowboy. This is attributed to the small proportion of space covered by the marketed product in the whole advert.
The intention of placing a skillful cowboy in the advert is to depict that smoking cigarettes has magnificent effects. Through this initiative, consumers are triggered to consume the product in order to achieve extraordinary heights.
For this reason, consumers would not view the product as being harmful but essential for their survival. At the same time, consumers are not shown the harmful effects of the tobacco smoking making potential individuals smoke while the smokers continue to smoke.
Although the product is known to have reasonable health hazards, no such information is covered appropriately in the advert. The advert does not present such information with emphasis since this would be counterproductive to the initiative.
This implies that one side of the issue is portrayed to consumers, which is manipulative and misleading. In addition, the intention of the advert is to market cigarettes, and for that reason, consumers have to be lured with unrealistic achievements in the usage of the product.
The consideration of outsourcing of activities from third-world countries demands the adoption of ethical practices. In this regard, it is vital to ensure that organizations hire third-world labor provided that the jobs are better than any other options they might have, they are treated decently, and they are provided with opportunities to improve their lives.
This implies that the US firms would be motivated to incorporate the labor contribution from the third world countries. For this reason, the third-world countries would be offered opportunities that are ideal with respect to their skills and knowledge (Moon 145).
As a result, they would have decent opportunities, which ensure that they are treated appropriately as other workers. Furthermore, the provision of opportunities would be critical in ensuring that they earn a living. Through the rewards they receive from the international organizations, they would improve their standards of livings.
Following these initiatives, it is possible to motivate organizations to consider third world labor and promote the standards of living in the countries.
Integrity refers to the consistency, truthfulness, honesty and accuracy of the activities that are undertaken by an individual or an organization. This implies that information is presented in the actual of way of existence regardless of the consequences.
In such cases, integrity would cost an individual’s character or organization image, but it is essential for the interests of the society. Through such a value, transparency and accountability are promoted.
Work Cited
Moon, Chris. Business ethics. London: Economist, 2001. Print.
Commercial advertising involves portraying an image of high quality of manufactured products of an organization in order to create a highly visible impact to the general public, whose attitude is however expected to change. This is an effective means for an organization to win more clients in a more competitive environment. The company does so through promotional campaigns which involve advertising and creates a unique identity against competitors and thus gain a competitive edge over them. Since commercial advertising is intended to influence the perception of the audience towards a particular product, it can be related to propaganda where exaggerations may be mixed with facts to create an emotional response from the audience.
The propaganda system is a commonly used tool of winning the attention of the audience and is mostly used in political circles although it has of late gained popularity in the business environment. Generally, propaganda may be viewed as a process of manipulation of symbols and people’s minds to influence them towards a particular product or agenda. According to Jowett and O’Donnell (p. 5), Propaganda is a “deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.” In addition, commercial advertising has been of great influence in fueling business propaganda to win the appeals of the consumers. This paper will discuss the use of commercial advertising as a propaganda system.
The link between commercial advertising and propaganda
Commercial advertising is used as a tool for enhancing and promoting the products of an organization through persuasion to win over the appeals of the audience. In this case, communication prowess is very important bearing in mind that the process involves playing around with the psychology of the audience. This means that commercial advertising forms systematic propaganda and has been commonly used in the contemporary business environment as a marketing strategy to influence people towards consuming a certain product by portraying it as more superior to others even though the case may not be so (Jowett and O’Donnell 7). For example, most pharmaceutical companies have won their market share by presenting their drugs to the public as more superior to any related drug thus fighting off generic drugs. There are various shapes that advertising may take including broadcast media, print media, billboards, and the most recent roadshow advertising.
In a business environment, a great number of entrepreneurs analyze the cost-benefit of various advertising modes and most of them view that T.V and Radio advertising can be very expensive to manage, but have a very great impact in persuading and influencing the emotions of people through an effective mix of symbols and oral communication. Indeed, when an enterprise is armed with the right information it may find that the broadcast model of advertising seems to deliver more as compared to other types of the propaganda system. The most important thing is to have a better understanding of the market to ensure that there is no waste of funds in the campaigns given that advertising is a very expensive affair. Proper planning before deciding to jump-start the campaign is important.
Commercial advertisement is not new; it was used in the fueling political propaganda in the early political alignments, the most notable being the era of Hitler in Germany where the Nazi party used the symbol of the swastika and the image of Hitler in order to capture the largest audience (Spicka 9). This means that commercial advertising was used to sell the party amid intense competition from other parties and was used as a deliberate means of hoodwinking people to believe that the party was strong. This also applies to the business environment where some companies associate themselves with influential personalities or reputable enterprises to create an impression to the audience that the company is in the class of the portrayed image yet the contrary could be true (Marlin 23). For instance, a company may use the image of a US president or a prominent footballer in order to deceive the public that those personalities approve of the company as high class. This strategy is also abused by some companies to inflate prices as they understand that people’s perception will be that high prices imply high and superior quality.
The media of adverting plays a key role in fueling propaganda. Advertising, in general, has become the norm in society such that the society is always bombarded with numerous commercials and messages trying to divert their interests towards a certain direction or phenomenon, a phenomenon that has been labeled institutional propaganda. The wealth of the advertiser also is influential, for instance, where the advertiser has a lot of money available for disposal that will be used to create the impression that he is successful may lead to the fueling of propaganda (Thomas 41). The ad propaganda has been in recent times been associated with major image and price wars especially where the players in the industry are few (since depicting one product as superior will be seen as targeting a specific rival product. A cost-benefit analysis should be a priority in placing a commercial ad to ensure the business enhances its profitability trend and careful selection of media is very important; for instance, T.V advertising, if wrongly used may lead to loss of customers and reputation damage of the business, thus failure of the propaganda campaign. A well-executed plan will impact positively the performance and profitability as customers will pay attention to the kind of graphics used, the headlines used, and the appealing nature of words used in the advertisement. Therefore, the placement of commercial advertising should try to grab the viewers’ attention using a concise, clear, and simple communication format that stresses the benefits of the products being advertised bearing in mind that people will most likely remember much of what stimulates their ego or emotions
The connection between commercial advertising and propaganda comes in through the element of persuasion. In most cases, persuasion has been used in political propaganda but in business, companies conceal their intentions by pretending that they are placing commercials in the media to provide news or information to the audience while in the real sense, what comes out is an element of persuasion. Since propaganda aims to divert the perception of the audience as well as influence a change in their actions and expectations to a desired direction of the mover, it can be seen as an ‘effective tool’ for business enterprises to change the perceptions of consumers towards the company’s products. The use of deception and ambiguity through commercial advertisement leads to confusion of the audience and misleading attitudes thus making commercial advertisement form of propaganda a delicate and risky move since it can ruin the reputation of the company when otherwise the consumers get the facts clear that what they have been forced to believe is actually not true.
Importance of commercial advertising
Due to the competition in the market today, it is obvious that without advertising, goods cannot be well made known publicly, and similarly, without consumers’ knowledge, goods cannot be sold to the target market. Better commercial advertising takes the production approach where priority is given to the consumer’s viewpoint and then the company constructs the advertisement from the perspective of what the consumers want to hear thus leading to business improvement.
Clear communication and delivery of messages to the targeted audience is important in advertising and choosing a medium that combines both visual and oral communication is paramount, for instance, television is more likely to capture attention and influence putting in mind that people tend to grasp to a higher degree what they see than what the hear. The message delivered should be relationship-oriented and should communicate a high degree of trust; as the audience will prefer to be associated with the products they can trust or products that are described as trustworthy.
However, there are side effects of commercial advertising, especially where the products being advertised are sensitive or crucial for personal survival, for instance, manipulating the information about the strength of a drug that is meant to save the life of a person. In addition, some exaggerated advertisements may not influence the behavior of people (considering that commercial advertisements affect the attitudes of people) especially the young ones. For example, advertising cigarettes will hoodwink the youth to believe that smoking will make them appear like images they view in the advertisement.
Conclusion
Commercial advertising has been one of the major influences of propaganda not only in the political arena but also in the business field. Through deception and exaggerations, commercial advertising propaganda has been used by major business enterprises as a marketing strategy to gain market dominance. Propaganda leads to wrong decision making and therefore, commercial advertising should be vetted to ensure the information provided is factual.
Advertising is an important element in the process of marketing a product, service, or company. In addition, advertisement plays a key role in process of a firm disseminating concepts and ideas about its products and services. Over the years, there has been a change in the process of commercial advertising from being a fact-based marketing strategy that benefits both the firm and the customers to a method of just benefiting just the firm. This makes commercial advertising to be closely related to propaganda since it tends to be one-sided (Kataras Para. 4). According to Kataras (Para. 4), propaganda refers to a message that is specifically designed to influence the opinions, emotions, behavior, and attitudes of individuals to whom the message is directed. Rutherford asserts that propaganda is specifically designed for a particular group of individuals (5). This also applies to advertising which is designed for a particular target market. Propaganda is meant to attain certain objectives which may include political, social or economic benefits. For example, propaganda can be used to disapprove or gain the support of a given group of people. Therefore, the result of propaganda is that the message communicated to the target group appeals to them making them respond in a manner that benefits the individuals who had designed the message.
There are various forms of propaganda which include black, white, and grey propaganda. Black propaganda refers to a message in which the message communicated is misrepresented by purporting to originate from a particular source while it is actually from another. In white propaganda, the source of information is identified but the message may be distorted. On the other hand, grey propaganda refers to propaganda in which the source of information is not identified.
Creating product information through commercial advertising can be classified as a form of propaganda. This is due to the fact that the objective of advertisement is to promote a product or service resulting in a financial benefit to the firm. This makes advertising to be a form of propaganda since it has ulterior motives to benefit the firm through making a sale. Just like propaganda, advertising is aimed at shaping the opinion of the public so as to attain a particular goal. There are various forms of commercial advertising. These include industrial, consumer advertising and prestige advertising. The discussion of this paper is aimed at illustrating how commercial advertising is a form of the propaganda system.
Ulterior motives and forms of communication
For propaganda to be effective, the message has to be communicated to a large number of individuals through various methods such as television, radio, online communication and print media (‘Mu’ Para. 1). Advertising is considered a propaganda system since the information is availed to a large number of individuals. Various mediums such as television, radio, print media, and online mediums are incorporated in creating product information. In addition, the message carried through advertisement results from ulterior motives. The individuals who communicate this message through advertisement have the interior objective of maintaining their status quo and increasing their level of profit.
Prestige advertising
The objective of prestige advertising is to improve the image of a company, its products, or services. This form of advertising is mainly evident when a company releases its annual financial statement and other company-related information to the public through mass media such as newspapers. Despite the fact that the information is factual and will be communicated to the firm’s shareholders through emails and newsletters, the firm makes sure that it advertises the information to the general public. The objective of this form of advertisement is for the firm to develop goodwill from the public (Kataras Para. 7). By developing goodwill the firm benefits in various ways such as increased brand and customer loyalty.
Consumer advertising
The objective of every business is to maximize its level of profits and the shareholders’ wealth. Consumer advertising is mainly incorporated by firms as a strategy to propel the firm’s financial profits and maximize the wealth of the stakeholders. Propaganda is aimed at discouraging or encouraging a certain behavior amongst the consumer. Like propaganda, commercial advertising is aimed at influencing the consumption patterns of individual and institutional customers. To appeal to the consumers’ firms conduct intensive product and service advertisements. The objective of consumer advertising is to influence their decision-making process. In addition, the communication used in the advertisement is effectively devised to suit the tastes of the targeted group. This enables the product that is being promoted to appeal to the consumers as well as increase the awareness of the product.
One of the most common forms of consumer advertising is persuasive advertising which is aimed at positively impacting the behavior of the consumers. Persuasive advertising refers to a form of advertising that is aimed at developing a selective demand in relation to its product or services. The firm’s marketing department develops a communication strategy in conducting its advertising to persuade potential customers to purchase the product or service. For instance, advertisements have got slogans that positively impact the consumers’ purchase decision (‘Advertisement’ para.1).
Some firms also incorporate the use of celebrities and models who endorse their products and service. The use of celebrities and models arouses emotions amongst the consumers that result in a purchase decision.
Misleading information
In some cases, the information communicated to the potential customers through commercial advertisements is misleading. A misleading advertisement refers to an advertisement that deceives the individuals to whom the message is addressed resulting in an impact on his or her economic behavior. Commercial advertisements affect the economic behavior of individual and institutional consumers by inducing them to purchase a product or service that they would not have purchased. The consumers’ purchase behavior is based on the information provided through the commercial advertisements. For instance, some of the commercial advertisements do not reveal all the information about a particular product or service (‘misleading advertisements’ 3). This means that the message that is communicated to the consumers is one-sided. In addition, misleading commercial advertisements also occur when the message communicated creates a false impression to the potential consumers despite all the information communicated is true. By deliberately concealing some facts related to the firm’s products or services, the firm benefits by increasing the volume of its sales. This is much more related to both black and white propaganda. Black propaganda is evident from the fact that the information communicated is misleading. On the other hand, white propaganda is evident in that the source of information is identified.
Conclusion
Commercial advertisement is important in creating product awareness in the process of marketing a product or service. However, a commercial advertisement can be classified as a propaganda system for several reasons. Commercial advertisements are aimed at influencing the consumers’ behavior, attitude emotions, and opinions relating to particular products and services. The ultimate goal is to influence the consumers purchasing decisions. The message communicated through advertisement is devised in a way that influences the consumers’ emotions.
Commercial advertisements have got ulterior motives for increasing the firm’s level of sales and hence the profits. In addition, commercial advertisements are also aimed at ensuring that the firm attains a positive public image apart from promoting products or services. This is achieved by incorporating the concept of prestige advertisement. Prestige advertisement promotes the firm’s goodwill to the general public which benefits the firm in the long term. Like propaganda, commercial advertisements are conducted through various mediums such as television, radio, print media and online mediums to ensure that it reaches a large number of individuals.
Commercial advertisements are also aimed at influencing the process of making a purchase decision amongst the consumers. This is through incorporating persuasive advertisements for their products and services.
Some of the commercial advertisements do not reveal all the information pertaining to their products or services. The result is that the information is one-sided. This affects the consumers’ economic behavior since they make their purchase decision on the basis of the information provided.
Commercial advertisements are devised in a way that has an immense impact on the target customers. The ultimate goal is to benefit the firm through increased sales and hence the level of profit.
Propaganda and advertising have many similarities. Both rely on mass media in order to be effective and are typically utilized to control behavioral patterns of others. However, while propaganda may serve different purposes, such as promoting various political and religious goals, advertising has only one purpose in mind – to increase sales. As such, advertising could be considered a subdivision of propaganda.
For a hypothetical scenario, we could take an advertising campaign for chewing gum. Chewing gums are typically sold in convenience stores, where they are usually found next to the cashier’s stand. All chewing gums are placed together, meaning a direct competition between various brands. As it stands, the most popular brands are Dirol, Stimorol, and various types of Wrigley’s chewing gums, such as Doublemint. A new brand of chewing gum, if placed next to these giants, would not stand a chance, even if its qualities were similar or even above the norm. The majority of customers are going to buy familiar brands and avoid unusual or new gums unless something catches their attention, or the price is significantly low.
In order to even the playing field, a strong advertising campaign is necessary. In order to be successful and reach out large numbers of potential customers, it has to utilize all available media outlets, such as TV, Radio, visual advertisements, and internet social media. The end goal is to solidify the brand in the subconscious mind of the buyers, in order for it to be able to compete with other brands.
One of the simplest and most widespread propaganda methods to be used in advertising is repetition. Dr. Joseph Goebbels, who is heralded as the father of modern propaganda, used to say that a lie repeated 1000 times becomes the truth. In advertiser language, that transforms into a saying that even bad advertising is still beneficial in the long run. Exposing potential customers to all manners of advertising on a regular basis would make them more familiar with the brand.
Another effective propaganda technique is the use of loaded language in order to promote claims associated with the brand. Many gums use words like “Ultra-fresh,” “Double-mint,” and “Arctic Breeze” in order to sell themselves. However, these words have been overused to the point nobody pays attention to them anymore. Our brand of chewing gum can advertise through other means. The selling point would not emphasize its taste, as by now everybody knows that most gums taste the same. Using a different set of slogans like “Comfortable, stylish wrapper,” “The gum for cool people,” and similar techniques might attract attention due to being alluring and unique at the same time.
Lastly, in order to reinforce the slogans, the advertising campaign can use associative projection techniques in order to solidify the relationship between the gum and perceived status of using it. Having successful people, movie stars, sportsmen, and other noteworthy personas advertise the gum as their brand of choice would make customers think they would also be successful if they emulate consumer habits of these people. This kind of advertising solicits an emotional response, meaning that any claims used in advertisements would be viewed as more credible.
The design of the gum package should correspond to the goals mentioned above. To stand out, the gum would have a dark mated wrapper with etched letters and stripes of contrasting color, such as blue, green, red, yellow, or orange. Such a wrapper would look more expensive and attractive compared to the majority of the brands, and resonate well with the advertising techniques chosen above.
Through the perspective of Chomsky and Herman, it can be seen that the propaganda model helps to create an explanation behind the power of mass media within the current capitalist economy of the United States.
The propaganda model presents the notion that the content produced by mass media outlets is invariably aligned with the inherent interests of the political and economic elites in that the produced content supports the current sociological and ideological biases that this specific sector of the population espouses.
Through such support, this in turn impacts the perception of viewers who rely on the media as a means of information regarding daily events around them. Through the study of Gimenez et al. (2013), it was seen that the correlation between the propaganda model and the power of the media can be summarized on the impact of irrational exuberance as a means of influencing the behavior of a media outlet’s audience.
Irrational exuberance can be defined as the means of by which an individual molds their behavior on the actions of other people. It is defined as being “irrational” since some individuals tend to take things at face value resulting in their opinion being swayed by outside media without necessarily considering the other side of the issue.
One example of this can be seen in the recent case involving Trayvon Martin, an African American teen that was shot by George Zimmerman in an act of supposed self-defense. The coverage of the media involving this particular case continuously focused on the issue of race as being the prime factor behind the shooting with the media portraying Zimmerman as being racist towards African Americans.
What was “neglected” to be mentioned was that Zimmerman had in fact helped an African American family in the past and was not known to be overly racist. Furthermore, the photo of Trayvon Martin that was utilized by the media as a means of showing the face of the victim was not in fact a recent photo of him.
Rather, the photo was several years out of date and it can be assumed that a younger looking photo was utilized as a means of creating public anger at Zimmerman for shooting an innocent boy with a promising future ahead of him.
However, it should be noted that Martin was considered by his school as a “high risk” student due to him being involved in various violent fights and dubious undertakings that were rarely mentioned by the mass media.
The end result though were numerous rallies and protests regarding the verdict of the trial where Zimmerman was found innocent, yet, those rallying were clearly impacted by irrational exuberance since they did not take into consideration the views of the school regarding Martin and the possibility that he may have been violent instead of the “saint like” portrayal that the protesters were rallying behind.
By placing the case of Trayvon Martin and the lack of sufficient coverage of both aspects of his life through the lens of the propaganda model, it can be seen that the issue was in part used as a means of furthering the cause of gun control advocacy. President Obama himself used the issue as a means of furthering stricter gun controls measures which at this particular point time was a “hot button” issue so to speak.
This shows how the mass media as it is known today has its own inherent biases in portrayal and presentation which are impacted by the powers that be (i.e. government and corporations) wherein issues are edited and presented based on what they want people to think and how irrational exuberance can set in to impact the decisions of viewers.
Usefulness of Understanding the Power of the Media: Media Ethos and the propaganda model
In their analysis of the mass media within the U.S. Jackson & Stanfield (2004) attempts to simplify the assertions made by Chomsky and Herman by correlating the ownership of mass media outlets and the means by which such institutions function (i.e. through advertising and news sources) as a method by which media content is controlled.
This level of control as described by Klaehn (2003) is not limited to the content of the media that is being presented; rather, it also encapsulates the type of ethos that such media abides by.
Media ethos refers to the way in which the media shows itself to the general public, in a sense; it is a method in which the mass media present an “image” to their viewers so that their opinions coincide with what those of the media on the basis of the media being an expert in portraying factual news.
This particular “image” refers to the media’s “character” in the sense that media is attempting to persuade a group of viewers of the righteousness of their statements based on their inherent character (i.e. as a supposedly unbiased presenter of news).
In the case of the mass media ethos this takes the form of the media attempting to convince other people of the “righteousness” or “validity” of their statements and what they present on the basis of the image that they are portraying, namely, as individuals that have a great deal of experience and knowledge regarding news and current events (Klaehn 2002, p. 147).
It is this argument on the basis of a projected image that is a cause for concern since basing it on a person’s/media company’s knowledge and experience alone does not justify the action itself.
This is an important aspect in understanding the why the propaganda model is useful in understanding the power of the media since it shows that it is possible for the media to utilize its image as a purveyor of unbiased news to actually portray biased news with the general public believing otherwise.
For example, a person may argue for the righteousness of a cause on the basis of their knowledge of the event yet this attempt at persuasion may in itself be self-serving for the person/company that is attempting to persuade other individuals.
Through an understanding of the propaganda model, the impact of media power becomes clearer since the model shows how media ethos is actually self-serving towards the media corporations themselves since it justifies their actions under the basis of a righteous cause yet in the end is more beneficial to them than to other individuals (i.e. presenting an edited and manufactured version of the news to appease advertisers and government officials rather than present the news as it actually is).
In the case of media ethos, what must be understood is that through the propaganda model it can be seen that they type of ethos it espouses is a type of “artifice”, meaning that is created, manufactured, made, constructed etc. It can be considered a type of surface image which may in fact have an entirely fictitious relationship to what is actually true (Goodwin 1994, p. 101).
This aspect is exemplified by the four main aspects of the propaganda model namely: funding, ownership, sourcing and flak. In the case of media ethos, what must be understood is that the way which an idea or concept is “packaged” drastically changes the perception of the audience towards accepting the idea itself or the validity of its statements.
The Chomsky and Herman assertions regarding the impact of the 4 factors of the propaganda model, when boiled down to its very essence, says the following: ” the media is controlled by outside forces who can influence what you read and in turn how you think”.
It is in the way that such a concept is packaged and presented to the public that changes the perception of the public to the idea that what they receive is an edited version of the news (Goodwin 1994, p. 101).
It is not outright explained that the news is based on the interests of currently established powers (i.e. corporations and the government), rather, the mass media presents itself as unbiased despite what the propaganda model shows is a situation where bias is actual aspect of its operations.
Conclusion
An examination of the historical nature of media ethos has shown that in one way or another, despite its apparent ethical appearance, there is always an underlying reason behind its creation which does in fact create a beneficial effect for the individuals that created it.
As it was stated earlier, ethos is not something that is inherent but rather something that has been created and manufactured with a surface image in order to fulfill a particular purpose.
It is often utilized as a method of convincing people or justifying a particular set of actions and as such it is crafted in such a way so as to be convincing, believable and thus adaptable. The propaganda model thus helps us see the underlying ethos behind the content created by mass media and to what ends they serve.
Reference List
Gimenez, M, Revelli, J, Lama, M, Lopez, J, & Wio, H 2013, ‘Interplay between social debate and propaganda in an opinion formation model’, Physica A, vol. 392, no. 1, pp. 278-286
Goodwin, J 1994, ‘What’s Right (and Wrong) About Left Media Criticism? Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model’, Sociological Forum, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 101
Jackson, P, & Stanfield, J 2004, ‘The Role of the Press in a Democracy: Heterodox Economics and the Propaganda Model’, Journal Of Economic Issues (Association For Evolutionary Economics), vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 475-482
Klaehn, J 2002, ‘A Critical Review and Assessment of Herman and Chomsky’s ‘Propaganda Model”, European Journal Of Communication, vol. 17, no. 2, p. 147
Klaehn, J 2003, ‘Behind the Invisible Curtain of Scholarly Criticism: revisiting the propaganda model’, Journalism Studies, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 359
Stereotypes play a significant role in contemporary society and particularly in propaganda. Stereotyping is a rigid traditional conception or an idea of an individual or people, endeared by a number of people. Stereotyping can be fundamental or complicated classifications that people attribute to individuals or masses steeped in their appearances, attitudinal patterns, and beliefs. They are pervasive. Although our world is undergoing refinement in many respects, yet is hard to eliminate all traces of stereotyping and thus liberate us from its claws and clutches. Stereotypes have survived from the dawn of human civilization down to this day. They have traveled by the vehicles of religion, politics, and media. Stereotyping is embedded in almost all human beliefs whether it is humor, explanation of others, and other articulations. One may think that it is possible to surmount the array of such thinking, but the persistent propagating suggests that task is huge and even impossible.
Propaganda is a persuasive force, which can be deferential for everyone. It brings in its wake transformations in attitudes and beliefs. Media is a great tool for impacting the opinion of the viewers who feel compelled to mold their value patterns after media information is processed in their minds. A huge quantity of stereotypes aired through media infuses the same effects. The media has the habit of misrepresenting stereotypes; they are, however, listened to by people and they seem to be amiable. TV shows like that of Simpson are littered with stereotypes even if the duration of the program is just half an hour.
The show attracts a large number of audiences, as it is broadcast in prime time. Characters, for instance, Apu are poured with much discrimination and in turn, stereotyping. In this show, he is marginalized as a person hailing from Indian origin. He has a strange accent, which is easily noticeable as it is common with none. This is stereotyping -plain and simple. Youngsters imbibe it as something very funny and they replicate this humor in real-life situations. Viewers of this program the numbers of which are very large readily tend to believe in the facts presented and they have little idea about the genuineness of the contents being offered. They also do not bother to take pains of having little research about the authenticity of the claims. The results are horrifying for society.
The unfortunate reality is that the propaganda onslaught is continuous and the gullibility of the audience is also too often and thus the thinking of the majority of the audience is corrupted on heavy scales. Media has perfected the art of grabbing the attention of viewers by means of various tools in the form of comedy, drama, talk shows, and the exploitation of prime times. “We do not really understand how media technology works, develops, and changes over time”. (Dr. Joseph D. Straubhaar, Media Now: Understanding Media Culture and Technology). In fact, sometimes the very survival of these programs is based on the quantity of the stereotyping they churn out. On the other hand, the propaganda exploitation of stereotyping is not always retrogressive. It is sometimes instrumental in endowing some people with the much-needed passion to carry out the completion of the task with greater zeal. Hence, the entire propaganda cannot be dismissed and condemned.
People are taught the lessons through restricted and inaccurate information by sources like televisions, cartoons, or even humorous literature. Stereotyping is inextricably linked with media. Both have no existence without each other. They are mutually reinforcing. Media is the vehicle of stereotyping to spread its tentacle in society. Media propaganda is the other type of media that is entitled to media manipulation. Stereotypes of ethnic groups often thrive in media and it is the most significant source of corrupting the thought process of an entire nation or a given community. The two world wars in the last century are highly indebted to the media propaganda, which encouraged one nation to go to war with another nation. Bismarck once remarked, ” each nation is one day held responsible for the widows broken by its press, the bill is formed in the shape of hostile sentiments in another country.
Propaganda can be regarded as the foster womb of stereotypes. It is the purposeful manipulation of public views by means of clandestine messages in advertisements and other genres of media.
Frightening scenarios, brainwashing, calling names, dashing generality, mismanagement, and others are the methodologies that media propagates to mold the opinion of the people on a very large scale and thus is co-opting the people to climb up to its own perception of others. “It is not possible to isolate the effects of the media nor can either system be fully defined or understood” (Lorimer, Mass Communications In Canada).
Propaganda gets the utility of stereotypes because it is smooth, abrupt, and penetrates straight into the public without any hindrances. Some of the ethnic groups are portrayed as terrorists, uncivilized, unfit for urban life, naïve, barbaric, and uneducated. It is propagated successfully that no sane thing can be expected from every member of this group. The entire group is condemned because the media throws so much mud on them that some of it are stuck with them. Maneuvering by media successfully operates in the hearts and minds of people and they ultimately give their verdict to take strict actions against such people and even their elimination is justified on various grounds. The generality is thus converted into a theory, which switches on automatically when any of the members of a society imbued with stereotyped notions come to interact with those against whom media has done remarkably well.
It is highly unlikely that every man would travel and make endeavors to dig out the truth; consequently, these stereotypes flourish in societies. News reports and movies are the modern-day tools of stereotyping that pervades the thinking of the people. The flood of information consumes the attention of people and they have little time to take a pause and think deeply about the quality of the information they have to process in their minds. Egyptians have been dubbed as a nation lacking in sophistication and education, but it has been proved fallacious by the various studies undertaken. “According to Sahar El-Tawila, the principal researcher on the team, interviews conducted with girls and boys nationwide show conclusively that work and marriage were rarely stated by boys and girls respectively as reasons for leaving school. […] These may be options for those who have already left school, but they are not the impetus behind their decision to leave” (Tadros, Mariz, Reading, writing, and plowing).
How many people buy products just because of persuasive advertisement on TV? How does the advertisement encourage the audience to buy their products even though people do not know whether displayed items actually work or not? According to the research, almost 90% of advertisements whether on TV or printed apply two or more propaganda techniques.
Propaganda is a very persuasive effort to direct or change people’s ideas, in order to make a certain view or side that propaganda provides. There are seven beneficial techniques such as name calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, card stacking, and band wagon, which are used in every advertisement.
Many people prefer to drink the Vitaminwater instead of taking vitamin capsules because they have seen a very successful advertisement. The Vitaminwater’s facebook flavorcreator advertisement promotes the product by using three specialized propaganda techniques.
The Vitaminwater advertisement uses the name calling technique. This technique implies that instead of focusing on how good the products are, the advertisement shows the awful effects that one faces in case he/she consumes another good (particularly, a substitute competitor: a good that satisfies the same needs as the given good).
This technique is often used in politics and a bit more seldom in advertising. In many cases, it is quite difficult to compromise one product in another product’s advertisement, as this technique is illegal. However, an advertisement can address an “anonymous” enemy. The advertisement of the Vitaminwater is this very case: the drink’s “enemy” is traditional vitamins taken with water.
The advertisement does not mention any concrete names of vitamins, but addresses them all. The advertisement illustrates how difficult and unpleasant it is to take vitamins. The effect is strengthened with the play on colors: while we see a girl taking vitamins in black and white, the Vitaminwater is shown in bright attractive colors.
Furthermore, the Vitaminwater advertisement uses the testimonial technique. In order to persuade the audience to believe and to choose the items, companies invite experts in related fields or irrelevant famous stars in the advertisements.
No doubt, this technique has the very old roots: when Aristotle was writing his Rhetoric (by the way, the focus of rhetoric is making a speech persuasive, which is incredibly important for advertising), he could not imagine that his notion of ethos (the appeal in one’s speech that emphasizes a speaker’s authority, power and competence) will be used by advertisers in the 21st century.
To use the testimonial technique successfully, it is important to choose a “right person” to appear in an advertisement. For example, if we promote cosmetics, it is reasonable to invite a beautiful female singer or actress who is popular with girls or women included into the target segment. If we talk about a medicament or a health care product, the personage of a doctor in a white smock will be appropriate.
In the advertisement of the Vitaminwater, the celebrity is chosen very successfully: Steve Nash is a famous professional basketball player. In consumers’ mind, his image associates with strength and energy, which makes them think that drinking the Vitaminwater will help them to become as strong as Steve. Besides, we see Curtis “50 cent” Jackson: he is popular with many young people, and his image is supposed to encourage young consumers to buy the product.
Moreover, the commercial chooses the glittering generalities technique to recommend the product. Applying this technique implies that an advertisement uses strong, attractive words and phrases to show how good a product is in order to attract the audience’s attention.
In many cases, the words have broad meaning and are interpreted by different people in different ways: for example, such words as “freedom”, “pleasure” arouse different associations in different people’s minds. The words “effective”, “healthy” innovative et al are also supposed to work well in advertisements.
In the advertisement of the Vitaminwater, we hear strong, persuasive phrases: for example, “changed the game”, “futuristic” – these words present the product as a real breakthrough: it is innovative and has no analogs; “stress” – the advertisement shows that getting vitamins in a different way is quite exhausting; “as easy as 1, 2, 3” – it is incredibly easy to purchase the product.
Besides, Steve emphasizes the words “you”, “your own vitamin water”, which also has its effect: a consumer feels that the advertisement addresses him/her personally, and he/she becomes psychologically closer to the product. At the same time, the strong words are emphasized with the intonation (Steve’s speech is very bright and expressive) and the pictures (the words are displayed in bright colors).
Thus, the Vitaminwater advertisement takes advantage of three propaganda techniques, which persuades the audience to believe and to purchase the product. The name calling technique is aimed at “eliminating” the product’s competitors: it positions the Vitaminwater as the most convenient and innovative way to take vitamins.
The testimonial technique helps to make the advertisement more persuasive: the words of celebrities are expected to interest and convince consumers. The glittering generalities technique helps to emphasize the message of the advertisement and influence consumers’ minds with the help of bright words. Three techniques are fused successfully and supplement each other.
