Essay Three: Reflective Practice

A reflection on previous Practice and Research into the validity of the History we know and the concept of Propaganda

To rationalise prior discussions, it is reasonable conjecture to say that we as a people will never know the full truth of our history. It may be formed from a foundation of truths, but these can be sourced by misinformed individuals in a kind of global game of Chinese whispers. Relaying of events may not be maliciously twisted but even with a plethora of knowledge a historian, for example, must choose which ‘facts’ they deem to be important. On the other hand, a select group of powerful individuals may be able to intentionally manipulate the truth by controlling the safety and funding of an (media) outlet, in order to gain control by means of propaganda to promote their point of view.

Within my storyboard I am exploring how the common person may be able to regain their freedom of thought and I reflect upon how propaganda interacts with society and how it may define the history we make. I present how there may be ‘positive’ propaganda to oppose the ‘negative’, but of course my portrayal will be laced with historical bias. In Frame 1 I insinuate that there is a fascist group of powers (the ‘negative’ propaganda) whom are creating their means of propaganda, and deciding which series of accepted judgements that they want to project to the world, using a play on the phrase ‘weapons of mass destruction’ it implies that their deceptions are potentially damaging . To oppose this group I use visuals to represent the Allies who are fighting to dismantle the power the fascists had. I play on the concept of covert propaganda which is when “people are not aware that someone is trying to influence them, and do not feel they are being pushed in a certain direction” (Carr, 2008, p.15). The image in Frame 2 reinforces this idea whereby a pot of pills are being handed over, it is “sugar coating bitter pills, of making people accept policies they would not accept spontaneously” (Ellul, 1968, p.21). The idea is that propaganda is so easily consumed because often people would rather absorb already formed opinions than open their minds, gather their own knowledge and decide their own views. Often the most common technique “is to connect the idea or object you are propagandizing with some attitude, symbol, or emotion [...] that appeal to broad, general attitudes or sentiments ”(Cantril, 1938) so the natural ‘fight or flight’ instinct within humans leads them to choose the option that will benefit them best economically and socio-politically. Also people are often manipulated by propaganda through persistent fear tactics, leaving them to feel somewhat paralysed, adhering to the views of the propagandist until an equal power may begin to oppose this. Frame 3 is aimed to show the control that is inherent to mass propaganda, the figure is connected to the bitter sweet pills (the view or opinion that they are supposed to believe) by a pipe through their head- a symbol of how propaganda can be used to mould and change how a person may see and think about the world. Similarly, the figure’s limbs are held by string, making it a defenceless puppet for the fascist powers to dictate. It was important to show that this manipulation does not just change a way of thinking because it inevitably influences the actions that a person then makes- whether this is a political vote or a possibly problematic protest for these chosen opinions. Essentially propaganda plants a seed of thought, and if given the wrong influence, it could bloom into a powerfully destructive and toxic way of life and thinking.

Showing how the Allies may oppose the fascist propaganda, I illustrated how they may employ an influential and recognized company such as Disney or Marvel comics to help publicize their ‘positive’ propaganda (assuming it is positive because it is attempting to oppose the tyrannical rule of the fascist group). Art has been used throughout history as a way to retaliate against rival politics in times of war. As Saunders says, the CIA “used American modern art - including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko - as a weapon in the Cold War”(1995). Likewise, the loveable cartoon characters we see on our screens and in our comic books were used as weapons of war. I show the process of them being created in Frame 4, as well as insinuating that the intention behind them was funding from the military. As we know, the US Army helped keep the Disney studio alive with their war funds. I decided to approach the proposed storyboard in a collaged style because whilst I was working through my visual research in my sketchbook I found myself magnetised to the visuals created by a combination of raw war footage and cartoon war propaganda. I think it is indicative of how the Allie’s propaganda relied on making light of situations, sometimes approaching the subject with humour in order to resonate with a wider audience. This can be compared to Disney’s ‘Der Fuehrer’s Face’ which uses multiple swastika motifs and creates a caricature of life under the Nazi regime with comedy, rather than graphic imagery which may make the public turn off their screens, therefore meaning their moral message is not received.

Finally Frame 5 and 6 are intended to show how these cartoons were meant to be breaking the illusions of the fascists, dismantling the influence of the propaganda and reducing the effectiveness of their way of thinking. They are literally breaking through their strongholds in an attempt to give people a cross road, a chance to choose their own beliefs and embrace the idea that Knowledge is Power. I am not showing these cartoons to break down the laboratory where the fascist propaganda comes from because it doesn’t have that physical strength, but I am portraying that a real gift is to stop believing these manipulations and to rationalise your own thoughts. With this, an increased number of empowered people can help to take apart their authority. Essentially propaganda is immaterial; it is a collection of thoughts and opinions which have no power if people have no faith in it.