BRAVE NEW WORLDBY ALDOUS HUXLEY

INTRODUCTION TO PROPAGANDAFor the following six slides, respond to what you see on the screen by discussing these questions in your table groups:

1. What is your immediate reaction to the slide?

2. Who do you think designed this item?

3. To whom do you think this item is directed? Who is the intended audience?

4. What is the point of this item?

5. Is it successful? Do you think it is/was successful with the intended audience? Explain.

6. What truths about the subject matter at hand do the creators of this piece not want the audience to think about? How do they distract the audience from these truths?

The “We Can Do IT!” poster, often referred to as “Rosie the Riveter” is an American wartime propaganda poster produced in 1943 for WWII to boost and inspire worker morale in a factory. The poster was seen very little during World War II and was rediscovered and widely produced in the 1980s for promoting feminism and other political issues.

The famous “Uncle Sam” poster was created in 1917 and was used to create soldiers for both World War I and World War II. This is widely considered the “most famous poster in the world”. More than four million copies were printed between 1917-1918 for WWI.

This is a poster from 1918 by Lloyd Harrison and was created for the US Food Administration during World War I

“When you ride Alone, you Ride with Hitler” is an anti-Nazi propaganda poster created and widely distributed poster by the US government during WWII to encourage carpooling among American citizens to conserve gasoline for the war. Originally created in 1943.

This poster was produced by the American Nurses Association in 1942 and used by the US Public Health Service to increase enrollment in nursing school during the wartime.

The slogan on the poster is an idiom meaning “beware of unguarded talk”. The phrase was originated on propaganda posters and created by the War Advertising Council. This poster was created to advise servicemen and other citizens to avoid careless talk concerning secure information that could be useful to the enemy.

PROPAGANDA AND THE VARIOUS TYPES“Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position.”

“Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.”

WORD GAMES INCLUDE: NAME CALLING AND SLOGANNAME CALLING

• The name calling technique links a person, or an idea, to a negative symbol.

• The most obvious types of name calling include bad names. Ex: Commie, Fascist, Pig, Yuppie, Bum, Terrorist

SLOGAN

• A brief striking phrase, that may include labeling and stereotyping.

• Although slogans may be enlisted to support reasoned ideas, in practice they tend to act as emotional appeals.

WORD GAMES: AD NAUSEAM AND GLITTERING GENERALITIES

AD NAUSEAM

• The use of tireless repetition of an idea. An idea, especially a simple slogan, that is repeated enough times, may begin to be taken as the truth. This approach works best when media sources are limited and controlled by the propagator.

GLITTERING GENERALITIES

• Labels with positive connotations such as patriotic, beautiful, exciting that are unsupported by facts.

• Ex. “Ford has a better idea” which was a Presidential race slogan

WORD GAMES: EUPHEMISM

• Words or phrases used to pacify an audience in order to make an unpleasant reality more palatable.

• Ex:

• In the 1940s, American changed the name of the War department to the Department of Defense.

• Under the Reagan Administration, the MX-Missile was renamed “The Peacekeeper.”

• During war-time, civilian casualties are referred to as “collateral damage.”

FALSE CONNECTIONS: TRANSFERENCE AND BLACK-AND-WHITETRANSFERENCE

• The propagandist links the authority or prestige of something well-respected and revered, such as church or nation, to something he would have us accept.

• Ex: political activist closes her speech with a prayer.

BLACK-AND-WHITE

• Presenting only two choices, with the product or idea being propagated as the better choice.

• Ex: “you are either with us, or you are with the enemy”

FALSE CONNECTION: DEMONIZING THE ENEMY AND EUPHORIADEMONIZING THE ENEMY

• Making individuals from the opposing nation, from a different ethnic group, or those who support the opposing viewpoint appear to be subhuman.

• Ex: “Please, take day off.”

EUPHORIA

• The use of an event that generates euphoria or happiness, or using an appealing event to boost morale.

• Euphoria can be created by declaring a holiday, making luxury items available, or mounting a military parade with marching bands and patriotic messages.

FALSE CONNECTION: TESTIMONIAL AND DISINFORMATIONTESTIMONIAL

• An endorsement by a famous person, an authority, or an “expert” with no valid qualifications for endorsing the promoted ideas or products.

• Ex: Jessica Simpson promoting ProActive

DISINFORMATION

• The creation or deletion of information from public records.

• Making a false record of an event or the actions of a person or organization, including outright forgery of photographs, motion pictures, broadcasts, and sound recordings as well as printed documents.

SPECIAL APPEALS: COMMON MAN/PLAIN FOLKS AND BANDWAGONCOMMON MAN/PLAIN FOLKS

• Implies that “users of this product are just like you” or the use of the language of the intended audience.

• Ex: Bill Clinton & McDonalds

BANDWAGON

• Implies that “everyone else is doing it.”

• Ex: “Four out of five people use this toothpaste!”

SPECIAL APPEALS: APPEAL TO FEAR AND SNOB APPEALAPPEAL TO FEAR

• Seeks to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population.

• Ex: A public service announcement shows a crash dummy flying through a car window. A voice over instructs “Buckle up.”

SNOB APPEAL

• The implication that only the richest, smartest, most beautiful, or most important people are doing it.

• Ex: Diamond Ads

ACTIVITY #2 – CREATING A SOMA AD• By now, you understand that soma is an integral part of the

society in this new world order. The relationship of this drug to the members of this society is not only accepted, but also encouraged to promote happiness. Even the words to the song the couples hear as they dance indicate its importance: “Bottle of mine, it’s you I’ve always wanted!”

• Design a magazine advertisement promoting soma in your groups. Your advertisement should include a catchy slogan and a unique logo for the product, as well as AT LEAST ONE propaganda technique discussed today. Your finished ad should tout the benefits of soma and be written in the style of the World State. Your group will present the add and explain how you used the propaganda technique.

SOCRATIC SEMINAR QUESTIONS

Tomorrow we will be having a Socratic Seminar on the first 11 chapters of Brave New World.

Create 2 questions for the seminar discussion using your reference sheet on how to create different types of seminar questions. Aim to create “open-ended” questions that will allow for deeper discussion of the novel.

DUE NOW/HOMEWORK:

• Due Now: Activity #1 – Propaganda lecture notes, Activity #2 – Group Soma ad

• Homework: Seminar Questions, Read Chapters 9-11, and continue to fill out your character chart when applicable.