Do you think propaganda was a necessary part of WWII? Would the United States have done as well with less propaganda, or without any propaganda?
In more recent wars, the United States hasn't had as much propaganda, with less posters or other things, which has led to wars being less popular, including the Vietnam war and the Iraq war, which were pretty unpopular in the United States. If there had been no propaganda during WWII, would the war have been seen similarly to Vietnam, where many people didn't support the war or want it to continue?
Also, is propaganda ethical, or is it more like brainwashing?
The last question. That really made me think. No, I don't think it is etical at all. I think it is a form of brainwashing. Some people really looked up to the government because they were in a time of fear, and they were the ones controling what was going to happen. Then when journalists started posting propaganda, people started to think of it like they were fighting monsters. Yeah it might seem like they were monsters because they were hurting us, but we were the monsters to them. It reminds me of a short film i saw, where these people gave soldiers this drug that made innocent people look like terrible beasts, and it was 'easier' to kill them. Of course in the end one of the fighters saw the people as people and freaked out, but the whole idea of brainwashing them, and making it easier to kill them, reminded me a lot of propaganda.
ReplyDeletePropaganda pretty much is a form of brainwashing, especially in times of war. In general, propaganda is ethical and exists in our everyday life whether or not we realize it. As for World War II, I think that it was very important in order to sort of "unify the country" against the enemies. As you stated, with the decline of propaganda in recent wars, came with less support for the wars.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dylan, propaganda was truly a form of a sign of brain wash almost like a slight dictatorship. Making people believe only one thing. They never questioned the propaganda they fell in line with it believing it in every way. It impacted there views on war to, and gave them the okay to treat others with disrespect which i understand is okay during a time of war. But these action we see today in our society and has lead to much more than a joke, but a serious topic or racism.
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