This is the blog for GNED 1202-007 in Winter 2013 at Mount Royal University. 20% of your grade depends on the quality and consistency of your responses to the films posted here. You must respond at least once each week, before the week is over (Sunday at midnight), in a thoughtful and substantial way.
Monday, April 1, 2013
The Century of the Self
This final video of the term deals with the origins of propaganda. Since one of our main goals in this course is to explore the question of how we know what we think we know, we shall end the term with a consideration of the vast machinery of propaganda and how it came to be.
Above is part one of Adam Curtis' documentary The Century of the Self. You do not have to watch all three parts.
What does this film say about the nature of propaganda, and how does this history of propaganda affect your sense of how well you know the world in which you live?
This video was very based upon Freud's theories of psychoanalysis, and how this influences how governments and corporations control us. This film questions our superficial attitudes toward ourselves and society. The nature of propaganda is to maintain control over the people and through this control gain power. People just need to be aware of the power and media and not underestimate it. Personally i try not to let media influence my view of the world but being surrounded by it it is difficult to not let it influence you at all.
As a marketing major this film was fascinating and highlights the level of influence in our lives in the consumerist society we live in today. The ground breaking knowledge of psycho analysis used against the masses to invoke irrational desires for things they don't need was a new phenomenon that now is common practice and is what we call marketing. Understanding the mind is the key to selling people anything, and it isn't about the product as much as we would like to think it is. The amount of control they have over our minds is mind boggling. I have taken a few psychology courses and was not aware how big an influence Freud's American cousin Edward Bernays. Making money by manipulating the unconscious, the heart of great marketing. The exploitation of irrational and emotional feelings is common knowledge now, but to be the one to first understand and use this theory is truly revolutionary. I found it very interesting and true the connotation propaganda has with the Germans and subsequently the Nazis, which makes its use very much outlawed. Freud is most famous for his relation to sexuality and the explanation of why people smoke was more succinct than any I've ever heard. Whether it be a cigarette, unnecessarily giant truck, or name on a building, men use everything as a symbolic penis. The deep understanding and use of this mentality to sell women cigarettes as a pseudo penis and thus independent and a representation to who you are to the world shaped marketing, consumerism, and the world as a whole for future generations.
In this film we see how Freud's and Bernays' theories and ideas have become the basis of not only advertising but also propaganda with the government. It is interesting to think how people's decisions have become so focused on emotional responses. Regardless of whether or not people try to avoid such means of persuasion, we as a human beings naturally look to seek out personal desires. This concept allows the manipulation of society by promising to fulfill those desires if a certain response is made. While this is obviously a theory that strongly coincides with advertising, it can also be directly tied to conspiracy theories as well.
When evaluating conspiracy theories, the main concept is the idea that government or powerful organizations manipulate the ideas of the public in order to achieve a desired result. While advertising seeks to manipulate beliefs to make profit, conspiracies can have a similar threat. Conspiracists are constantly trying to use means of persuasion to help solidify and validate their claims, while on the other hand government organizations are doing to same to help secure what they have called the truth.
These concepts and ideas have created a constant struggle in democratic societies. With the people holding the ultimate power, it has become a battle to try and persuade the publics beliefs and ideas in order to take back some of that power. If the people truly hold all of the power in a democratic society, then the person/group who can do the best job at controlling their beliefs and emotions can ultimately seize control and power over society.
This video emphasizes the impact propaganda and advertisement can have on society. This impact can be both positive and negative, but when the word propaganda is mentioned, people usually think negative thoughts due to events such as the Holocaust. What I found interesting in the video was the part about tricking women into smoking in order to make them feel powerful. This made me question the world we live in because it showed how easily we as a society can be pressured into doing certain things in order to create a certain image for ourselves. Regarding the smoking it is said "It made him realize that it was possible to persuade people to behave irrationally if you linked products to their emotional desires and feelings." This shows how weak people are and the effect propaganda can have on them without them even realizing it.
Looking back to the origin of Propaganda, Bernays was the man who was famous for knowing the mind of the crowd. This is a huge disadvantage because you can trick people into doing and basically anything you wanted. This in a way relates to companies today, because with the power of advertisement and the media, it is not a challenge for them to fool people into buying products they don't really need but only because they will boost their ego. This video made me more conscious about advertisements and propaganda and to be careful on what to believe.
Propaganda is portrayed as being the key contributor to differentiating between wants and needs. This clip shows how America has undergone transformation in order to become a society that is trained to give into desires. It reflects the promoting of a new mentality where people are expected to acknowledge and prioritize their wants. Products that were taboo such as marketing cigarettes to women is differently viewed now and has now become more “socially acceptable”. The nature in which propaganda gets into ones mind and depicts how one should lead their lifestyle, is absurd. Using marketing techniques to attract consumers has played a major role in how our world has become so materialistic. For instance, there is the symbolism of having a sought-after cell phone such as an iPhone. By this, if one has this particular device, there is a stigma attached which reflects ones status in society. The clip referred to this as “expressing one’s character”.
Although one may argue that they are not influenced by propaganda, it is likely that in some way they have been but have just failed to recognize this since propaganda is a normal part of society. If makes one question the world we live in and wonder if there is a way to escape propaganda. We are all subject to the exposure of propaganda and it is ultimately up to the individual to choose whether they are consumed by the marketing of products.
This video symbolizes using objects to portray ideas that people believe they should have, for example; how women smoking symbolizes their freedom and equality and gives women the power a man may have while smoking a cigarette. This is interesting because it demonstrates how certain influences can control the consumer and proceed to take over the mind in a sense. Objects that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual emotion they represent still actually do represent that emotion through how people perceive you, women smoking: independent. Bernays way of selling to consumers is not the buying of a product but rather the consumer will actually feel better if they do buy it. This can be related to emotion marketing because it really portrays the product in a certain way in the eye of the consumer.
The psychology of dress is another example, it was given by celebrities to show that the way you dressed in a way represented your inner self and who you are. This way people would buy clothing from fashion magazines and also from fashion shows because they would be different but it would represent them. This idea of how products are represented can also be used to represent people. The nature of propaganda from this can be seen as the way people perceive certain things. Also how propaganda and advertisement evidently affects society. This was seen very negative after the Nazi regime because of how propaganda was used. It can change the way you look at things because you know see it in a different way with psychological techniques that influence people to buy things or even represent themselves in a way. Ways that changes their influences and drives to make decisions and how people ultimately operate and run their own lives. This propaganda can be negative and positive, negative because many companies use advertisement today to trick people into thinking they actually need a product or that it describes who they are.
I think it can really make a person relate it to their own life because you need to be conscious over the ways the propaganda changes your life and make decisions for you. It could be easy for one to feel like they are not one to be influenced because such a high amount of advertising is so normal and apart of society, but maybe this feeling is just a part of the “influence game”, this is exactly what people need to be conscious about.
This film dives into the history of propaganda, and how it mainly has a negative connotation associated with it due to dark times in history. It explores how psychoanalysis and theories brought forth by Freud and his nephew Bernays have shaped marketing and even political debates. It highlighted many points in history, such as Nazi Germany and stock market crashes, and how they have affected people's view of propaganda and how it has evolved with the times.
I think it was really interesting that it showed how it evolved into a more sexual direction and how the idea "sex sells" was really pushed on society. Marketing used psychology to figure out what people were interested in and how they could use this knowledge to their favour to get people to buy things. This seemed particularly effective in getting women to buy cigarettes through creating a mindset of freedom that goes with smoking.
Overall I find it quite interesting how big companies will use psychology and psychoanalysis to target their marketing to various demographics. This really does create a sense of questioning in regards to how affected one really is by all of the propaganda techniques being used.
I think that in terms of how well we know the world we live in, propaganda does have some sense of sway, but more people are starting to look around for more answers. A lot of people have lost trust in larger corperations and will do more of their research if something peaks their interest. However I do know that sometimes when I see or hear commercials for certain edible items it does create more of a want, or even a desire that I didn't have before that. Dairy Queen is great at this!
Propaganda has been a means of influence throughout society for years, and the film shows that. The film begins by showing the orgins of propaganda and how it is successful. A strong point of how to properly execute propaganda is emphasized early in the film. That point is how to make products seem like essentials. Using tactics like, "You need these shoes to fit it," or, "If your not wearing these clothes your not important." The film shows the basis of propaganda and how it can be used in several ways throughout society.
I enjoyed the parts about Edward Bernays because I've studied him in Public Relations as he is known as the "Father of Public Relations." I think Bernays understood propaganda and marketing as well as anyone in his time which led to his success.
The analysis of human psychology and the human mind explain the ways that propaganda works and how people can use it to manipulate or persuade individuals to feel/think a certain way. The film explains on how to make human wants to seem like human needs.
In this film “The Century of Self” Sigmund Freud's influential theory of the subconscious was very interesting. It’s amazing how it has been successfully deployed over the past century as a tool of consumer manipulation and social control. The primary engineer of this transformation, according to the film, was Edward Bernays, Freud's American nephew, who was responsible for coining the term "public relations". Bernays managed to pull off a number of impressive marketing achievements in his long career.
Bernays's ideas about the manner of consumer desire were adapted by political propagandists, including Hitler's minister of culture Joseph Goebbels, which I also found quite interesting. Bernay in the film was recognized as a master pitchman, pioneer of the product placement and celebratiy endorsement. He famously labeled cigarettes "torches of freedom," linking them to suffragettes, and in so doing, smashed the social taboo of women smoking and doubled the tobacco industry's market share. The business and political world uses psychological techniques to read, create and fulfill our desires, to make their products or speeches as pleasing as possible to us. Over all I thought this was a very interesting documentary that kept me entertained for the full duration of the film.
This film focuses on the psychology of propaganda and shows how this can be used to control the public. Usually propaganda is seen as a weapon, although near the beginning of the video it is explained that it can also be used for good. The film explains the power that propaganda can have on a large group of people and relates it to Freud's theories about the subconscious. After watching this I thought of how important it is for the public to understand that powerful agencies, such as corporations and the government, use propaganda quite often to shape how we think, and that the public shouldn't think everything these agencies are saying is correct and should look at the truth or think more for themselves.
This relates back to what's being learned in class as conspiracy theories are largely going against what the government is telling the public and wants them to know. These theories are sometimes a good example of what the public should be doing, not remaining in a state of ignorance by believing everything we're told, but looking for answers ourselves.
This film explores the history of propaganda and how it can be used to affect the attitudes of a specific group of people towards a particular topic. The film discusses how propaganda is used to alter the opinions of a target audience. Prior to watching this video I had only been exposed to the type of propaganda which Hitler had used during Nazi Germany. I found it interesting that propaganda is used in ways other than portraying political leaders in a positive way. I found the part where the film discussed companies marketing their products as essential when they we're really not quite relevant to my life. I feel that as a consumer I often think I need things because of the way they are being advertised, when in reality I do not need them at all. This idea reflects Freud's theory of the subconscious self because up until this point I had not been aware of how propaganda influenced me in my every day life. I believe that propaganda alters the clarity of peoples views relating to how they think and as a result it is important to consider what exactly you are being told and think for yourself about the forces behind that.
The film explains the psychological aspects and nature of propaganda and illustrates how it can be used to manipulate one's mind and make one believe that they want what they don't really need. It's used a lot in marketing. Although the film portrays the method in a negative light, if used for more ethical purposes, this psychological "control" is not as evil as it's made out to be. A long time ago, society thought of propaganda as means of stripping everyone of their freedom to think, act and feel as they please. But really, it's just making you see the hidden things and pulls you in a certain direction so that you end up leaning that way and making choices accordingly. Personally, after knowing all about the history of propaganda, it just confirms my suspicions that people love power and control, and that they feel better when they feel happier or more in-control when they succeed in manipulating your minds and making you think or believe what they want you to think. We all do that in way or another some times
The film depicts how Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays was able to use sigmund's theories to completely change how the market works today. By utilizing those theories and the hidden desires of people, he was able to bring America into an age of economic prosperity. However by manipulating a persons desires he was also in a way able to influence, or even control, people. This is what lead to the growth of Nazi Germany, as they held the desires of the people very closely until they were powerful enough to force these desires against the people. It is at this stage why people would not deny even barbaric tasks that would be outright denied in a democratic/civilized country today.
This propaganda allowed to spread by the wanting of our desires is what allows the progress of society to lie in the control of businesses and government. If they can manipulate the masses then they can manipulate their growth and power just as easily. Even if we feel we are powerful and in control, if our desires are used against us then we are simply subjects to these higher powers, and I feel this is highly utilized today. From the way news reports are represented, to how democracy and patriotism is constantly shined in a positive light, to even how advertisements today are presented on TV, we are constantly being influenced by these practices and that is what has lead us to the world we live in today.
What does this film say about the nature of propaganda, and how does this history of propaganda affect your sense of how well you know the world in which you live? In the video they talk about how propaganda can have a positive or negative impact on the public. When the world goes throw different tragic event the public starts to believe that bad things are always going to happen. The word propaganda sounds very intimidating and always gives the impression that the results will be a negative one. Some of the examples in the video seemed absurd but the way they used marketing tactics to encourage woman to start smoking. The use of propaganda is you empower individuals, with the history of propaganda it make it a lot easier to see what having power can change the out come of events that occur. People love having power and if that means to believe what they hear in the media the they will do that. It is kind a sad because it is almost like they are living a life that is guided by the power and not by them selves.
This video shows how propaganda plays on our hidden, primal desires to make us purchase things we don't need or to support a cause that you perhaps would otherwise oppose. It discusses the psychology behind imagery in advertising and making people feel like they need certain products to be more attractive or to be more successful.
I find that this is used now more than ever and heavily influences our daily decisions. It affects what foods and other products we buy. It is used to create the idea that you're not really successful until you have certain items and have a certain appearance and this causes some people to go out and spend every penny they can afford on things that they don't need just so they can the person they think they should be because of the ads they have seen. It's also still used by a lot of groups to try to get people to be more environmentally friendly or to practice veganism. Propaganda is also used to try to get the younger generation interested in joining the armed forces. It appears everywhere attempting to convince people to buy and participate in certain things and is a huge part of our society.
The film seems to indicate that the nature of propaganda largely originates within the underlying power of the mob and mass thinking, and ultimately how to best harness that thinking by using psychological science in order to harness forces within the mind, which are sometimes unconscious irrational thoughts. I found it quite fascinating that the nephew of such a famous mind (Sigmund Freud), came to America and began testing many of the ideas of his uncle onto the masses.
It’s hard to not imagine a society based on consumerism when you think about modern America, and other developed countries such as Canada. The way that society used to produce ads was based strictly on need and advertising how those needs could be met through purchase of the product. Thanks to the way advertising has changed due to Bernays, we now are a consumer driven society which mainly wants rather than needs. The idea that you want things to express yourself, otherwise you have nothing.
Some of the underlying ideals behind the psychotherapy are sounding familiar too. The idea that people are too irrational on their own and need some type of elite to control the bewildered herd by stimulating human desires, creating “happiness machines” through advertising and consumerism, and through that making the economy work while also keeping people happy, in a sense managing the masses. And then the argument is made that this is truly how democracy functions. This history of propaganda as it was shown throughout the 20th century certainly made me question the world in which I live because for one I question if some of my desires I’ve had have been my own or if they are a fabrication of years of this system which we are all living in.
There are a lot more going on with human’s decisions makings, and someone could actually have influence on your decision making by manipulating your unconscious. If people’s desires are linked with some emotional feeling, this could lead irrational decision makings, particularly when this act is getting socially acceptable by a group of people. In the film, the example is that the idea of making women smoke is completely irrational, but it made them feel more independent, it meant the irrelevant subjects could become powerful emotional symbols. From that I also felt that sometimes, freedom and democracy can also be good excuses and reasons for people to do what they just want to do.
Why Freud’s and his nephew Bernays’ theories fascinate the American corporations, because it told them that how propaganda can be used in any forms on any products until their desires over shadow their needs, and they can create people’s desires of some products, then produce the products and sell them to make money. Ordinary people just fall the traps that the corporations set up over and over. Bernay is also the first people who started embedding advertisements in the films and realized the effect that celebrities could have on masses. Unfortunately or fortunately depends on individual’s judgment, Bernays’ idea does not only works out on products, but also effective on politics.
The film talks about how the average person is actually governed by irrational subconscious desires and the use of propaganda to appeal to them. Corporations used Edward Bernays' propaganda techniques to associate products with one's sense of self. In other words, people began to identify themselves with the products they were purchasing. Whether or not these products were needed was irrelevant, people would purchase goods because it made them feel better. With these techniques, Bernays developed the fundamentals of consumerism, where one's desires overshadow their needs.
It is argued that since the average person is contradictory and irrational, propaganda should be used to tell the general public what they want. For example, there are people who want to pay lower taxes while demanding better healthcare services. In these cases, political leaders use propaganda to control those who only think about their own shellfish desires.
This part of the documentary revolves around the theory of “psychoanalysis” proposed by Sigmund Freud. This documentary is saying that governments now use “psychoanalysis”, a theory that wasn’t thought about much in the past, as a form of propaganda.
What government’s take from this theory is the fact that people can easily be persuaded into believing/wanting certain things by having the persuader appeal to those people’s desires. When you appeal to those desires, then you could easily persuade a bunch of people into agreeing with your point of view (or buying your product, etc…)
I believe that in order to get what you want, you’re going to need people to want the same thing. As humans, we are made to have different opinions that would constantly conflict with one another. If someone wanted to govern a whole nation, then they would need to appeal to everyone’s desires. This is used to maintain order. I have to honestly say that it is a good way for people to persuade others into doing certain things. It isn’t always a good thing to attract people through their desires (Nazi Germany & the Holocaust), but then again, with every advantage, there comes a disadvantage.
Because of the propaganda used today, I most likely do not know half the secrets that the government is hiding. Everyone has secrets though, and you can’t share every secret to everyone out there. Even if I’m curious about certain things, like what actually happened during 9/11, I’d rather leave that mystery as it is. The government could have been trying to use psychoanalysis in order to get people to believe certain things revolving around 9/11 or the JFK assassination. I don’t know much about the world I live in today, but sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
This video was very based upon Freud's theories of psychoanalysis, and how this influences how governments and corporations control us. This film questions our superficial attitudes toward ourselves and society. The nature of propaganda is to maintain control over the people and through this control gain power. People just need to be aware of the power and media and not underestimate it. Personally i try not to let media influence my view of the world but being surrounded by it it is difficult to not let it influence you at all.
ReplyDeleteAs a marketing major this film was fascinating and highlights the level of influence in our lives in the consumerist society we live in today. The ground breaking knowledge of psycho analysis used against the masses to invoke irrational desires for things they don't need was a new phenomenon that now is common practice and is what we call marketing. Understanding the mind is the key to selling people anything, and it isn't about the product as much as we would like to think it is. The amount of control they have over our minds is mind boggling.
ReplyDeleteI have taken a few psychology courses and was not aware how big an influence Freud's American cousin Edward Bernays. Making money by manipulating the unconscious, the heart of great marketing. The exploitation of irrational and emotional feelings is common knowledge now, but to be the one to first understand and use this theory is truly revolutionary.
I found it very interesting and true the connotation propaganda has with the Germans and subsequently the Nazis, which makes its use very much outlawed. Freud is most famous for his relation to sexuality and the explanation of why people smoke was more succinct than any I've ever heard. Whether it be a cigarette, unnecessarily giant truck, or name on a building, men use everything as a symbolic penis. The deep understanding and use of this mentality to sell women cigarettes as a pseudo penis and thus independent and a representation to who you are to the world shaped marketing, consumerism, and the world as a whole for future generations.
In this film we see how Freud's and Bernays' theories and ideas have become the basis of not only advertising but also propaganda with the government. It is interesting to think how people's decisions have become so focused on emotional responses. Regardless of whether or not people try to avoid such means of persuasion, we as a human beings naturally look to seek out personal desires. This concept allows the manipulation of society by promising to fulfill those desires if a certain response is made. While this is obviously a theory that strongly coincides with advertising, it can also be directly tied to conspiracy theories as well.
ReplyDeleteWhen evaluating conspiracy theories, the main concept is the idea that government or powerful organizations manipulate the ideas of the public in order to achieve a desired result. While advertising seeks to manipulate beliefs to make profit, conspiracies can have a similar threat. Conspiracists are constantly trying to use means of persuasion to help solidify and validate their claims, while on the other hand government organizations are doing to same to help secure what they have called the truth.
These concepts and ideas have created a constant struggle in democratic societies. With the people holding the ultimate power, it has become a battle to try and persuade the publics beliefs and ideas in order to take back some of that power. If the people truly hold all of the power in a democratic society, then the person/group who can do the best job at controlling their beliefs and emotions can ultimately seize control and power over society.
This video emphasizes the impact propaganda and advertisement can have on society. This impact can be both positive and negative, but when the word propaganda is mentioned, people usually think negative thoughts due to events such as the Holocaust. What I found interesting in the video was the part about tricking women into smoking in order to make them feel powerful. This made me question the world we live in because it showed how easily we as a society can be pressured into doing certain things in order to create a certain image for ourselves. Regarding the smoking it is said "It made him realize that it was possible to persuade people to behave irrationally if you linked products to their emotional desires and feelings." This shows how weak people are and the effect propaganda can have on them without them even realizing it.
ReplyDeleteLooking back to the origin of Propaganda, Bernays was the man who was famous for knowing the mind of the crowd. This is a huge disadvantage because you can trick people into doing and basically anything you wanted. This in a way relates to companies today, because with the power of advertisement and the media, it is not a challenge for them to fool people into buying products they don't really need but only because they will boost their ego. This video made me more conscious about advertisements and propaganda and to be careful on what to believe.
Propaganda is portrayed as being the key contributor to differentiating between wants and needs. This clip shows how America has undergone transformation in order to become a society that is trained to give into desires. It reflects the promoting of a new mentality where people are expected to acknowledge and prioritize their wants. Products that were taboo such as marketing cigarettes to women is differently viewed now and has now become more “socially acceptable”. The nature in which propaganda gets into ones mind and depicts how one should lead their lifestyle, is absurd. Using marketing techniques to attract consumers has played a major role in how our world has become so materialistic. For instance, there is the symbolism of having a sought-after cell phone such as an iPhone. By this, if one has this particular device, there is a stigma attached which reflects ones status in society. The clip referred to this as “expressing one’s character”.
ReplyDeleteAlthough one may argue that they are not influenced by propaganda, it is likely that in some way they have been but have just failed to recognize this since propaganda is a normal part of society. If makes one question the world we live in and wonder if there is a way to escape propaganda. We are all subject to the exposure of propaganda and it is ultimately up to the individual to choose whether they are consumed by the marketing of products.
This video symbolizes using objects to portray ideas that people believe they should have, for example; how women smoking symbolizes their freedom and equality and gives women the power a man may have while smoking a cigarette. This is interesting because it demonstrates how certain influences can control the consumer and proceed to take over the mind in a sense. Objects that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual emotion they represent still actually do represent that emotion through how people perceive you, women smoking: independent. Bernays way of selling to consumers is not the buying of a product but rather the consumer will actually feel better if they do buy it. This can be related to emotion marketing because it really portrays the product in a certain way in the eye of the consumer.
ReplyDeleteThe psychology of dress is another example, it was given by celebrities to show that the way you dressed in a way represented your inner self and who you are. This way people would buy clothing from fashion magazines and also from fashion shows because they would be different but it would represent them. This idea of how products are represented can also be used to represent people.
The nature of propaganda from this can be seen as the way people perceive certain things. Also how propaganda and advertisement evidently affects society. This was seen very negative after the Nazi regime because of how propaganda was used. It can change the way you look at things because you know see it in a different way with psychological techniques that influence people to buy things or even represent themselves in a way. Ways that changes their influences and drives to make decisions and how people ultimately operate and run their own lives. This propaganda can be negative and positive, negative because many companies use advertisement today to trick people into thinking they actually need a product or that it describes who they are.
I think it can really make a person relate it to their own life because you need to be conscious over the ways the propaganda changes your life and make decisions for you. It could be easy for one to feel like they are not one to be influenced because such a high amount of advertising is so normal and apart of society, but maybe this feeling is just a part of the “influence game”, this is exactly what people need to be conscious about.
This film dives into the history of propaganda, and how it mainly has a negative connotation associated with it due to dark times in history. It explores how psychoanalysis and theories brought forth by Freud and his nephew Bernays have shaped marketing and even political debates. It highlighted many points in history, such as Nazi Germany and stock market crashes, and how they have affected people's view of propaganda and how it has evolved with the times.
ReplyDeleteI think it was really interesting that it showed how it evolved into a more sexual direction and how the idea "sex sells" was really pushed on society. Marketing used psychology to figure out what people were interested in and how they could use this knowledge to their favour to get people to buy things. This seemed particularly effective in getting women to buy cigarettes through creating a mindset of freedom that goes with smoking.
Overall I find it quite interesting how big companies will use psychology and psychoanalysis to target their marketing to various demographics. This really does create a sense of questioning in regards to how affected one really is by all of the propaganda techniques being used.
I think that in terms of how well we know the world we live in, propaganda does have some sense of sway, but more people are starting to look around for more answers. A lot of people have lost trust in larger corperations and will do more of their research if something peaks their interest. However I do know that sometimes when I see or hear commercials for certain edible items it does create more of a want, or even a desire that I didn't have before that. Dairy Queen is great at this!
Propaganda has been a means of influence throughout society for years, and the film shows that. The film begins by showing the orgins of propaganda and how it is successful. A strong point of how to properly execute propaganda is emphasized early in the film. That point is how to make products seem like essentials. Using tactics like, "You need these shoes to fit it," or, "If your not wearing these clothes your not important." The film shows the basis of propaganda and how it can be used in several ways throughout society.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the parts about Edward Bernays because I've studied him in Public Relations as he is known as the "Father of Public Relations." I think Bernays understood propaganda and marketing as well as anyone in his time which led to his success.
The analysis of human psychology and the human mind explain the ways that propaganda works and how people can use it to manipulate or persuade individuals to feel/think a certain way. The film explains on how to make human wants to seem like human needs.
In this film “The Century of Self” Sigmund Freud's influential theory of the subconscious was very interesting. It’s amazing how it has been successfully deployed over the past century as a tool of consumer manipulation and social control. The primary engineer of this transformation, according to the film, was Edward Bernays, Freud's American nephew, who was responsible for coining the term "public relations". Bernays managed to pull off a number of impressive marketing achievements in his long career.
ReplyDeleteBernays's ideas about the manner of consumer desire were adapted by political propagandists, including Hitler's minister of culture Joseph Goebbels, which I also found quite interesting. Bernay in the film was recognized as a master pitchman, pioneer of the product placement and celebratiy endorsement. He famously labeled cigarettes "torches of freedom," linking them to suffragettes, and in so doing, smashed the social taboo of women smoking and doubled the tobacco industry's market share. The business and political world uses psychological techniques to read, create and fulfill our desires, to make their products or speeches as pleasing as possible to us. Over all I thought this was a very interesting documentary that kept me entertained for the full duration of the film.
This film focuses on the psychology of propaganda and shows how this can be used to control the public. Usually propaganda is seen as a weapon, although near the beginning of the video it is explained that it can also be used for good. The film explains the power that propaganda can have on a large group of people and relates it to Freud's theories about the subconscious. After watching this I thought of how important it is for the public to understand that powerful agencies, such as corporations and the government, use propaganda quite often to shape how we think, and that the public shouldn't think everything these agencies are saying is correct and should look at the truth or think more for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis relates back to what's being learned in class as conspiracy theories are largely going against what the government is telling the public and wants them to know. These theories are sometimes a good example of what the public should be doing, not remaining in a state of ignorance by believing everything we're told, but looking for answers ourselves.
This film explores the history of propaganda and how it can be used to affect the attitudes of a specific group of people towards a particular topic. The film discusses how propaganda is used to alter the opinions of a target audience. Prior to watching this video I had only been exposed to the type of propaganda which Hitler had used during Nazi Germany. I found it interesting that propaganda is used in ways other than portraying political leaders in a positive way. I found the part where the film discussed companies marketing their products as essential when they we're really not quite relevant to my life. I feel that as a consumer I often think I need things because of the way they are being advertised, when in reality I do not need them at all. This idea reflects Freud's theory of the subconscious self because up until this point I had not been aware of how propaganda influenced me in my every day life. I believe that propaganda alters the clarity of peoples views relating to how they think and as a result it is important to consider what exactly you are being told and think for yourself about the forces behind that.
ReplyDeleteThe film explains the psychological aspects and nature of propaganda and illustrates how it can be used to manipulate one's mind and make one believe that they want what they don't really need. It's used a lot in marketing.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the film portrays the method in a negative light, if used for more ethical purposes, this psychological "control" is not as evil as it's made out to be. A long time ago, society thought of propaganda as means of stripping everyone of their freedom to think, act and feel as they please. But really, it's just making you see the hidden things and pulls you in a certain direction so that you end up leaning that way and making choices accordingly.
Personally, after knowing all about the history of propaganda, it just confirms my suspicions that people love power and control, and that they feel better when they feel happier or more in-control when they succeed in manipulating your minds and making you think or believe what they want you to think. We all do that in way or another some times
The film depicts how Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays was able to use sigmund's theories to completely change how the market works today. By utilizing those theories and the hidden desires of people, he was able to bring America into an age of economic prosperity. However by manipulating a persons desires he was also in a way able to influence, or even control, people. This is what lead to the growth of Nazi Germany, as they held the desires of the people very closely until they were powerful enough to force these desires against the people. It is at this stage why people would not deny even barbaric tasks that would be outright denied in a democratic/civilized country today.
ReplyDeleteThis propaganda allowed to spread by the wanting of our desires is what allows the progress of society to lie in the control of businesses and government. If they can manipulate the masses then they can manipulate their growth and power just as easily. Even if we feel we are powerful and in control, if our desires are used against us then we are simply subjects to these higher powers, and I feel this is highly utilized today. From the way news reports are represented, to how democracy and patriotism is constantly shined in a positive light, to even how advertisements today are presented on TV, we are constantly being influenced by these practices and that is what has lead us to the world we live in today.
What does this film say about the nature of propaganda, and how does this history of propaganda affect your sense of how well you know the world in which you live?
ReplyDeleteIn the video they talk about how propaganda can have a positive or negative impact on the public. When the world goes throw different tragic event the public starts to believe that bad things are always going to happen. The word propaganda sounds very intimidating and always gives the impression that the results will be a negative one. Some of the examples in the video seemed absurd but the way they used marketing tactics to encourage woman to start smoking. The use of propaganda is you empower individuals, with the history of propaganda it make it a lot easier to see what having power can change the out come of events that occur. People love having power and if that means to believe what they hear in the media the they will do that. It is kind a sad because it is almost like they are living a life that is guided by the power and not by them selves.
This video shows how propaganda plays on our hidden, primal desires to make us purchase things we don't need or to support a cause that you perhaps would otherwise oppose. It discusses the psychology behind imagery in advertising and making people feel like they need certain products to be more attractive or to be more successful.
ReplyDeleteI find that this is used now more than ever and heavily influences our daily decisions. It affects what foods and other products we buy. It is used to create the idea that you're not really successful until you have certain items and have a certain appearance and this causes some people to go out and spend every penny they can afford on things that they don't need just so they can the person they think they should be because of the ads they have seen. It's also still used by a lot of groups to try to get people to be more environmentally friendly or to practice veganism. Propaganda is also used to try to get the younger generation interested in joining the armed forces. It appears everywhere attempting to convince people to buy and participate in certain things and is a huge part of our society.
The film seems to indicate that the nature of propaganda largely originates within the underlying power of the mob and mass thinking, and ultimately how to best harness that thinking by using psychological science in order to harness forces within the mind, which are sometimes unconscious irrational thoughts. I found it quite fascinating that the nephew of such a famous mind (Sigmund Freud), came to America and began testing many of the ideas of his uncle onto the masses.
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to not imagine a society based on consumerism when you think about modern America, and other developed countries such as Canada. The way that society used to produce ads was based strictly on need and advertising how those needs could be met through purchase of the product. Thanks to the way advertising has changed due to Bernays, we now are a consumer driven society which mainly wants rather than needs. The idea that you want things to express yourself, otherwise you have nothing.
Some of the underlying ideals behind the psychotherapy are sounding familiar too. The idea that people are too irrational on their own and need some type of elite to control the bewildered herd by stimulating human desires, creating “happiness machines” through advertising and consumerism, and through that making the economy work while also keeping people happy, in a sense managing the masses. And then the argument is made that this is truly how democracy functions. This history of propaganda as it was shown throughout the 20th century certainly made me question the world in which I live because for one I question if some of my desires I’ve had have been my own or if they are a fabrication of years of this system which we are all living in.
There are a lot more going on with human’s decisions makings, and someone could actually have influence on your decision making by manipulating your unconscious. If people’s desires are linked with some emotional feeling, this could lead irrational decision makings, particularly when this act is getting socially acceptable by a group of people. In the film, the example is that the idea of making women smoke is completely irrational, but it made them feel more independent, it meant the irrelevant subjects could become powerful emotional symbols. From that I also felt that sometimes, freedom and democracy can also be good excuses and reasons for people to do what they just want to do.
ReplyDeleteWhy Freud’s and his nephew Bernays’ theories fascinate the American corporations, because it told them that how propaganda can be used in any forms on any products until their desires over shadow their needs, and they can create people’s desires of some products, then produce the products and sell them to make money. Ordinary people just fall the traps that the corporations set up over and over. Bernay is also the first people who started embedding advertisements in the films and realized the effect that celebrities could have on masses. Unfortunately or fortunately depends on individual’s judgment, Bernays’ idea does not only works out on products, but also effective on politics.
The film talks about how the average person is actually governed by irrational subconscious desires and the use of propaganda to appeal to them. Corporations used Edward Bernays' propaganda techniques to associate products with one's sense of self. In other words, people began to identify themselves with the products they were purchasing. Whether or not these products were needed was irrelevant, people would purchase goods because it made them feel better. With these techniques, Bernays developed the fundamentals of consumerism, where one's desires overshadow their needs.
ReplyDeleteIt is argued that since the average person is contradictory and irrational, propaganda should be used to tell the general public what they want. For example, there are people who want to pay lower taxes while demanding better healthcare services. In these cases, political leaders use propaganda to control those who only think about their own shellfish desires.
This part of the documentary revolves around the theory of “psychoanalysis” proposed by Sigmund Freud. This documentary is saying that governments now use “psychoanalysis”, a theory that wasn’t thought about much in the past, as a form of propaganda.
ReplyDeleteWhat government’s take from this theory is the fact that people can easily be persuaded into believing/wanting certain things by having the persuader appeal to those people’s desires. When you appeal to those desires, then you could easily persuade a bunch of people into agreeing with your point of view (or buying your product, etc…)
I believe that in order to get what you want, you’re going to need people to want the same thing. As humans, we are made to have different opinions that would constantly conflict with one another. If someone wanted to govern a whole nation, then they would need to appeal to everyone’s desires. This is used to maintain order. I have to honestly say that it is a good way for people to persuade others into doing certain things. It isn’t always a good thing to attract people through their desires (Nazi Germany & the Holocaust), but then again, with every advantage, there comes a disadvantage.
Because of the propaganda used today, I most likely do not know half the secrets that the government is hiding. Everyone has secrets though, and you can’t share every secret to everyone out there. Even if I’m curious about certain things, like what actually happened during 9/11, I’d rather leave that mystery as it is. The government could have been trying to use psychoanalysis in order to get people to believe certain things revolving around 9/11 or the JFK assassination. I don’t know much about the world I live in today, but sometimes, ignorance is bliss.