Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes

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Final Essay We live in a world ruled by protagonist leaders that shape our lives in the way individuals think, speak, dress and even influence our emotions. Most individuals in society are often blinded by the effects or influences of news sources (television, newspaper, magazines, radio, movies, social media and books) these sources influence us daily by the information we receive by experts. How does propaganda works? It attempts to alter an individual’s perception regarding a specific agenda on how we should think in order to make a moral decision. What makes propaganda different from other forms is the willingness of the propagandist to change an individual’s understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. Adolf Hitler is known for being one of the most powerful dictators to ever use propaganda to his advantage manipulating people to follow his orders, according to Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Ch. VI) "The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan." Propaganda uses psychological techniques to create falsified information from sources that portray to be truthful, yet often misrepresent by the facts which can be done by utilizing special words or the avoidance of words. When the media shows images (i.e. 9/11) the audience has an emotional response than a rational response. Media sources intentionally use this psychological method to aid an individual to think that he/she has an opinion ... ... middle of paper ... ...s ruled by the elites who manufacture consent the information it would like to distribute to the audience. We must always question the information being provided no matter what we may view on television or read in the newspaper for it may be news filled with falsified information from an individual and not an expert. Propaganda can easily change the perception of one’s view; it’s up to you on how you will perceive it and the action s/he will take. Work Cited Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda; the Formation of Men's Attitudes. New York: Knopf, 1965. Print. Littlejohn, Stephen W., and Karen A. Foss. Theories of Human Communication. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011. Print. Orwell, George. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Published by Signet Classic, 1977. Print. Sparks, Glenn Grayson. Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.

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