Good propaganda works by selectively choosing the facts to broadcast to please a wide number of constituents to make them believe what you want to believe. In this blog I compare the propaganda strategies that Goebbels implemented in the Nazi Regime and the tactics that film maker Michael Moore used in film Fahrenheit 911. Both men had extremely different goals but they both had the intention to convince the masses of that their opinion was the correct way of thinking about the government. Moore’ main strategy was subtle manipulation by skilled editing. Goebbels goal was to make Hitler appear God like and his propagandist strategies were used to show Hitler his devout loyalty. Both Goebbels and Moore were skilled masterminds in attempting to convince their respective masses in believing in their cause. Goebbels favorite tactics were using fear and “sought to engage in wedge driving: he sought to foment suspicion, distrust, and hatred between groups within a particular country. Goebbels at first, used propaganda by referring to intelligence already proven, but as the situation in Germany worsened he allowed fewer associates to have access to all information so that he could manipulate the facts without being fact checked. “Goebbels moreover, tended to trust his own intuition, or experience more than formal knowledge”. Therein lies the basis for ultimate propaganda. Moore implements this strategy, as when he accepts his Oscar for Bowling for Columbine and says that we are in a war for fictitious reasons, he later admits on late night talk show David Letterman that he had no idea at the time whether or not that was true. There were many occasions where Goebbels made “far reaching conclusions” without any key evidence or documentations. This is similar to when Michael attempts to convince the American public that Bush directly lied to the public that their were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, when in fact he was misinformed after Putin, Blair and the C.I.A also thought there were weapons. The article states that Goebbels’s goal was not only to centralize Nazi power but also had power of his own. He convinced Hitler to issue an air warfare against England for the purpose of “psychological warfare, because as ministry of propaganda, it was more important to help stage an event that would help the Nazi cause verses explain why it happened. Goebbels felt strongly that propaganda was the key to drastically change the events that occur between the Nazis and the enemy leaders. The four ways he did that was by preventing desirable information that can give the enemy intelligence, by provoking the enemy to revel information about them, and “by making no reference to a desired enemy activity when any reference would discredit that activity”. Moore implements several of these strategies into his film, he had a goal in mind, which was to convince the American people that Bush lied and was a terrible president and America is heading in the very wrong direction. The focus on the relationship between the Bushes and the Bin Laden’s was a prime example of the tools that Goebbels used in films. Goebbels provided “proof for many of his major propaganda contentions: visual images-no matter how he himself manipulated them before they were released-possessed greater credibility than spoken or written words” (427). Moore, like Goebbels was firm believers that lies are useful when they can not be proved otherwise. When Goebbels wanted the Italians to leave occupied lands by English and American soldiers and convince them to work for Germany’s army, he announced that all English and Americans are forcing all men of age to enlist in the Army. Both Moore and Goebbels propaganda tactics are strikingly similar. Both men, wanted what they believed what was best for their country, and with proper editing and manipulation of the facts, they were able to not only convince thousands of people that their way was better than the others offered, they also managed to become powerful members of society in their own right.
Good propaganda works by selectively choosing the facts to broadcast to please a wide number of constituents to make them believe what you want to believe. In this blog I compare the propaganda strategies that Goebbels implemented in the Nazi Regime and the tactics that film maker Michael Moore used in film Fahrenheit 911. Both men had extremely different goals but they both had the intention to convince the masses of that their opinion was the correct way of thinking about the government. Moore’ main strategy was subtle manipulation by skilled editing. Goebbels goal was to make Hitler appear God like and his propagandist strategies were used to show Hitler his devout loyalty. Both Goebbels and Moore were skilled masterminds in attempting to convince their respective masses in believing in their cause.
ReplyDeleteGoebbels favorite tactics were using fear and “sought to engage in wedge driving: he sought to foment suspicion, distrust, and hatred between groups within a particular country. Goebbels at first, used propaganda by referring to intelligence already proven, but as the situation in Germany worsened he allowed fewer associates to have access to all information so that he could manipulate the facts without being fact checked. “Goebbels moreover, tended to trust his own intuition, or experience more than formal knowledge”. Therein lies the basis for ultimate propaganda. Moore implements this strategy, as when he accepts his Oscar for Bowling for Columbine and says that we are in a war for fictitious reasons, he later admits on late night talk show David Letterman that he had no idea at the time whether or not that was true. There were many occasions where Goebbels made “far reaching conclusions” without any key evidence or documentations. This is similar to when Michael attempts to convince the American public that Bush directly lied to the public that their were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, when in fact he was misinformed after Putin, Blair and the C.I.A also thought there were weapons. The article states that Goebbels’s goal was not only to centralize Nazi power but also had power of his own. He convinced Hitler to issue an air warfare against England for the purpose of “psychological warfare, because as ministry of propaganda, it was more important to help stage an event that would help the Nazi cause verses explain why it happened. Goebbels felt strongly that propaganda was the key to drastically change the events that occur between the Nazis and the enemy leaders. The four ways he did that was by preventing desirable information that can give the enemy intelligence, by provoking the enemy to revel information about them, and “by making no reference to a desired enemy activity when any reference would discredit that activity”. Moore implements several of these strategies into his film, he had a goal in mind, which was to convince the American people that Bush lied and was a terrible president and America is heading in the very wrong direction. The focus on the relationship between the Bushes and the Bin Laden’s was a prime example of the tools that Goebbels used in films. Goebbels provided “proof for many of his major propaganda contentions: visual images-no matter how he himself manipulated them before they were released-possessed greater credibility than spoken or written words” (427). Moore, like Goebbels was firm believers that lies are useful when they can not be proved otherwise. When Goebbels wanted the Italians to leave occupied lands by English and American soldiers and convince them to work for Germany’s army, he announced that all English and Americans are forcing all men of age to enlist in the Army. Both Moore and Goebbels propaganda tactics are strikingly similar. Both men, wanted what they believed what was best for their country, and with proper editing and manipulation of the facts, they were able to not only convince thousands of people that their way was better than the others offered, they also managed to become powerful members of society in their own right.