Propaganda Of Art Within The Ussr, Dprk, And The Prc

With the increasing influence of communism spread by the Soviet nation, tensions rose between Russia and the United States, starting the Cold War. Communism, an ideological theology derived by Karl Marx, promoted the war against separate social classes. In this philosophy, meant to free the excessively poor working class from the oppressive shackles of the rich, the abolition of private property, the government control over education, communication and labor, and a heavy income tax were crucial elements. Though the people ruled under this system maintained their natural rights, such as the freedom of speech or expression, they could only do so if they expressed ideals supported by the government. Due to the restricted expression that communism supported, Russian artists were forced to follow the confines of communist ideals in their art. Though the validity of the art as a weapon was previously thought to be solely a tall tale, it is now known that the American Abstract Expressionist movement became a vital tool to the CIA, and the art form was weaponized through propaganda.

Propaganda is about power and persuasion, and is used for many reasons by the government. This essay will explore the overt means by which the government uses systematic propagation to control the citizens of the society and the subtle ways in which information, independent thought, and their freedoms are restricted through radio and television.

Propaganda often receives a bad name. People believe that influencing people as negative, however “propaganda as a mere tool is no more moral or immoral than a pump handle” (Laswell pg 21). It is not until the writers of the propaganda intentionally become vicious and spread lies that it becomes

In the time after WWII, propaganda that was used to garner support and encourage patriotism for the war had turned into a tool to perpetuate a state of paranoia. America feared losing its integrity to the conflicts that continuously cropped up on the other side of the world. One of the greatest threats came from communism: an entity that seemed to be intent on the consumption the entire European continent and would quickly reach out towards U.S. shores. In an attempt to combat this perceived threat, the U.S. government produced a new line of propaganda to convince her citizens that the communists were evil. One of the most common, and effective, ways to reach the people was through cinema. In the short film, “Make Mine Freedom”, John Q. Public represents communism as deceitful, corrupt, and non-individualistic in comparison to capitalism’s opposite representation as a prosperous, free, and economically mobile society that can be conflated with freedom in a patriotic light.

Propaganda, though not the most effective war time strategy, allows people to come together as one to contribute to the success of the country as a whole. However with this idea, there is also the idea that they are not whole truths being told by governments within countries. Propaganda is a form of a lie seen in both North Korea in the book Escape from Camp 14, and in one of the world’s darkest times, World War II; the world allows these lies to surface due to the fact that they do no outwardly hurt another race.

After the end of World War II, the culture of the world underwent a drastic change. In the United States, the postwar era brought many social and political crises including the Second Red Scare, the Cold War, a rise in television as a “determinant in the culture industry”, and a means for “a spread in advertisement” (Zipes 4). The 1950s brought an intense fear of communism to the American people due to the conflict with the Soviet Union that led to the Cold War. During the Second Red Scare, the United States government, driven by the fear of communism, repressed those who were suspected to be communists, even if there was little evidence against them. The rise of television and advertising allowed for the spread of these fears, and the fear of communism along with the pressure of the 1950s to conform

In order to brainwash the masses, the North Korean government publicizes nationalist mottos everywhere throughout the nation. Demick describes

Movies have become a powerful form of media used to sway a large audience. Not only is a story told to the viewer, but an overall message is also portrayed through film as well. So it is no wonder that in North Korea, the usage of movies to create propaganda films in order to project a certain view of their country towards their people. The strengthened usage of film as propaganda could be see after Kim Jong Il moved the to the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Korean Worker’s Party in 1966 and eventually lead him to become director of the Motion Picture and Arts Division in 1970 (Armstrong, 210). Kim Jong Il was known to have an affinity for arts and film and in a county with such strong influence with propaganda, Kim knew that these position would propel the message and powers of the leaders.

The Secret State of North Korea offered a great look into what basic things North Koreans are lacking. Even within the realm of Communism. Lack of freedoms, lack of food, lack of community, lack of trust, lack of a social society, lack of programs for children, lack of equality, and a lack of information. When Kim Il-Sung created North Korea, the government was based on Marxism and Leninism, called “Juche.” Just as the Soviets, the North Koreans followed suite with massive inequality between the government officials and the common people. The documentary showed its viewers what the government is omnipresent in the everyday lives of its people, so much so that recordings of daily life are illegal, and “random” searches take place commonly.

Propaganda played a major role in the Cold War. In a 1947 comic book, the idea of the future was depicted as, “Communists infiltrate nearly every aspect of America, including subverting the Speaker of the House, before assassinating both the President and Vice-President...” (Document 7 caption) while showing chaos and crisis under communist rule. The cover of the book shows a frantic disarray of people screaming and a burning American flag, implying the damage Soviet Union will bring. The comic book sent a message to Americans that communism will bring horror, murder, and utter chaos to the US if allowed to spread and take over

During the Cold War, the Soviets were trying to spread communism throughout Europe and Asia by exalting its achievements, and undermining democracy. Part of their approach was by launching ‘Hate-America’ propaganda. “As the Cold War intensified, the Truman administration launched an aggressive “Campaign of Truth” […] to counter the Soviet Union propaganda machine (Ubah, 2012).” The Campaign of Truth was created to help convince the world that the United States has “no purpose of going to war, except in the defense of freedom. (Vaccaro, 1950)” Truman encouraged the media to show the world that the United States was ‘wholly dedicated to the cause of peace (Vaccaro,

Propaganda is used in controversial matters, but it is also used to promote things that are generally acceptable. For both those purposes propaganda can be expressed in different forms such as, exhibits, drawings, goal-pictures, graphs, parades, songs and many more. Propaganda can be found concealed or open, emotional or containing logical appeals to reason, or in combination (Casey,

The soviet communist party, or the Bolsheviks, always new that strong propaganda was essential to increase the consciousness of the masses. As stated in the Encyclopedia of Propaganda, " propaganda was central to Marxist-Leninist ideology long before the Bolshevik revolution of 1917."(675) The power of persuasion and coercion were exercised with great force by Soviet leaders. The two leaders whom utilized propaganda to influence public opinion in the USSR were Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Both men used many different facets of the media to spread their propaganda. They also used the troubled social climate along with the ignorance of the masses to custom tailor a regime that lasted for over seven decades.

“A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth” – Joseph Goebbels, German Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. This is the exact words of Nazis most famous propagandist in using media as a mass weapon of propaganda and mind control. Could you imagine Germany in 1930s, without Television channel, without the Internet, without every mobile device in your palm, what channel of information will you get? Of course, newspapers, flies, images, celebrities were used as tools for propaganda purposes, designed to provoke a reaction, and ultimately, a form of control over their citizen. Nowadays, with all the advanced of technologies, information can reach everyone in every corner of the Earth, the message is delivered in the subtlest ways, without people’s conscious, has shaped everyone’s decision, or at least shape their behavior toward the decision that the orchestrator want the audience to perceive. With the booming of internet, information sharing seamlessly, we must ask ourselves, the role of media in conveying, shaping the society that we are living in. Let look at few examples of U.S propaganda machine, and later, the particular case of fish sauce in Viet Nam back in October 2016.

There are two types of propaganda: sociological propaganda; the spreading of an ideology through the mass media, and political propaganda; efforts that are sponsored by governments and political groups that alter a persons’ interests. All propaganda has a direction, and the overall quality determines whether it will have a positive or negative effect over the masses. Our entire nation is a vast propaganda operational system that is greatly linked to education, consumerism and politics. A great deal of what makes up propaganda and how it is placed among the masses lies in understanding the overall emotional and physical states of these groups of people and in finding a way to draw a persons’ attention to capture their hearts, breaking down