Propaganda

created by escher

(thing) by Jet-Poop (4 min) (print) ? 1 C! I like it! Sat Nov 13 1999 at 8:39:23

Technically, any message designed to sway a large group to your way of thinking is propaganda. And propaganda can be used for either good or evil. Both the Nazis and the Allies used propaganda. Microsoft, Apple, and Linux all use propaganda. All advertising is propaganda. News broadcasts, even at their most impartial, are propaganda. Many Everything writeups are propaganda. A whole lot of the stuff you tell people, from your friends and family to your employer to the cop who stops you for speeding, is propaganda.

You can't avoid it.

(person) by Segnbora-t (4.6 hr) (print) ? I like it! Sun Feb 06 2000 at 22:16:06

German band, best known for their 1985 electronic album "A Secret Wish" which was recorded with members Ralf Dorper, Suzanne Freytag, Claudia Brucken and Michael Mertens. Andreas Thein had been a founding member with Dorper but left between the first single and "A Secret Wish." These were released on the Zang Tuum Tumb label, along with a remix album "Wishful Thinking."

Claudia left at the end of 1985 due to conflicts between her marriage and the band, and due to a contractual problem with ZTT the band could not release anything until 1987. By that time Ralf and Suzanne had found other things to do and Michael went on with Betsi Miller singing; Derek Forbes on bass; Brian McGee on drums. This lineup released a 1992 album "1234" on Virgin Records.

As of late 1999 the news seems to be that Michael, Claudia, and Suzanne are working on a third Propaganda album.

(thing) by Toastie (10.4 mon) (print) ? I like it! Fri Mar 31 2000 at 17:03:23

An excellent set of seamless tiles designed to effectively be your desktop background, which are described by it's authors as Desktop Enhancements For Linux. Made by Bowie J.Poag (a former Amiga junkie) and Naru Sundar on The GIMP and distributed under the GPL. The cover story behind it features US president JFK who faked his own assassination in 1963.

Can be found and downloaded freely at:
http://propaganda.themes.org

(idea) by patientfox (1.5 y) (print) ? 2 C!s I like it! Wed Sep 13 2000 at 19:14:55

Propaganda, n.

Propaganda can simply be defined as any piece of information(factual or otherwise), that acts as a means to indoctrinate, or sway the reader to the propagandizer's cause. Propaganda has been an incredibly effective tool throughout history, used as a means to either bring the glorius light of truth to the blind masses, or, more often, to persuade the masses to support another canidate. This was the case with the Weirmar Republic being slandered by the National Socialists in pre-WW2 Germany, with the help of a retarded Dutchman, of course.

As Jet-Poop has so elegantly mentioned in the above writeup, we as a populace are bombarded with propaganda on a daily basis. In such a case, the most frequent, yet least potent(or so we think) of this indoctrination would have to be commercial advertising. It's constantly around us. Even if you don't have a single television in your home! It's all around you, seeping in the walls. Now, I think it would be almost paranoid to construct some kind of conspiracy theory at this point, but isn't there an interestingly perceived correlation between the rise in consumerism and the rise in general political apathy?

Of course at this point, you can say a number of things. "You're full of shit!", "Isn't that a little presumptuous?" or the perrenial favorite here on E2, "You're ideas have occured to others.", well do you want a fuckin' cookie or somethin?

I mean, we're moving into a new millenium, we stand on the threshhold of what could be marvelous technology. It's. All. Right. There. But, I don't see the technology being used for human embetterment, why? Because the developers of said marvelous technologies are what you call a private corporation, which is bent doing what? Making profit.

Now, you can believe whatever far-out theories on the future of mankind you want, but I've always been a person of the "corporatist" school of thought. Namely, that within the next 50 years or so, corporations will be their own countries, with private armies, lifetime contracts and corporate funerals(ala Cyberpunk in general).

Boy, and this started out as a simple blurb about propaganda.

But anyways, to get to the point of this writeup, isn't it an interesting possibility to consider that just perhaps, all this commercial white noise we're constantly bombarded with is an attempt to draw our minds away from the sad realities of life (That is what pop culture was meant for, after all. To shield consumers from the angst of daily life, making them better shoppers, better workers, etc). But why would they do something like that? Why wouldn't they want us to face reality, and hence seek a real improvement of our lifestyles, not just "more toys". These are the chains that bind us. Now, I don't really think this is all some kind of constructed conspiracy to enslave us with material comforts. It's more like, over the years, this is the way the organics of corporate policy have just evolved. And I gander, now that it's in this state, why wouldn't they harness the benefits? We're all entrenched in this invisible war for more goodies.

I think, if enough people got together and focused their energy on the improving of humanity in general, that is, if we all really wanted it to happen, we could make things better for everyone(there's that goddamn altruism again). You know, forgoe our own gluttony and just share the wealth. That is, if you really wanted everyone, every-single-human-being and lower-lifeform-alike, to really be contented, you'll have to sacrifice some of your own. Of course, doing this would probably involve overthrowing corporate and govermental rule...

*Shrugs*

(idea) by NotBridgetJones (1.1 y) (print) ? 1 C! I like it! Fri Feb 22 2002 at 22:38:02

I just read a short essay by Anne Morelli, a renown historian from Belgium about wartime propaganda. (Principes élémentaires de propagande de guerre, editions Labor).

The book, too short to be boring (about 100 pages), and well written, was publish just a few days after the start of the retaliation against the talebans and Bin Laden's Al Qaeda. It is a explanation of the ten commandments of wartime propaganda, published by Arthur Ponsonby. Morelli takes one chapter for each commandment, and compares the points with examples picked in recent and less recent history principally WW I, WW II, and the operations in Kosovo.

"We do not want war"
"The other side is the only one responsible for the war"
"The enemy has the devil's face"
"We are defending a noble cause and not some particular interests"
"The enemy provocates atrocities; if we goof it's never voluntarily."
"The enemy uses unauthorized weapons"
"We have nearly no losses, the enemy's are huge"
"Artists and intellectuals support our cause"
"Our cause has a holy character"
"Those who doubt propaganda are traitors"

Unfortunately, the book was my baby brother's late Christmas present, and I gave it prior to summarize. Illustration is straightforward, and is left as an exercise for the reader.

(definition) by Webster 1913 (print) 1 C! I like it! Wed Dec 22 1999 at 2:16:44

Prop`a*gan"da (?), n. [Abbrev. fr. L. de propaganda fide: cf. F. propagande. See Propagate.]

1. R. C. Ch. (a)

A congregation of cardinals, established in 1622, charged with the management of missions.

(b)

The college of the Propaganda, instituted by Urban VIII. (1623-1644) to educate priests for missions in all parts of the world.

Hence, any organization or plan for spreading a particular doctrine or a system of principles.

printable version
chaos

Tricks of the Propagandist	How to go to Mars as an Astronaut	Evil	Microsoft
Achtung Baby	Rush Limbaugh	President Reagan's Evil Empire Speech	Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
FUD	Lava Lamp	Linux	Hidden Message behind the New York Times hacking
Everything	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	I	Advertising
Zang Tuum Tumb	Smoking can kill you	Breasts, otters, creativity and greed	Beef: it's what's for starvation
Sand Creek Massacre	Bill Clinton	doublespeak	Apse

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