NEWS OR NARRATIVE?
I can still remember the impact I felt from watching Francis Schaeffer's film, 'How Should We Then Live?' (see link below)
In episode 10, after having been carried through a broad sweep of the great vistas of Western Civilization in Schaeffer's series, we had arrived at the rather grim reality of the present day. The unveiling of long-encroaching Leftist ideologies was already well underway in his day, and Schaeffer was miles ahead of the pack in exposing their subversive nature.
In this last episode of the series he covered a number of different issues, but the one that really grabbed my attention was his description of the possibility of media manipulation. He filmed a staged scene from two different angles. It was exactly the same scene, but with different camera angles, editing and narration.
The first scene convincingly showed a peaceful assembly of young people trying to protest in the face of harsh police brutality. The second scene looked to be a very aggressive attack on police who were calmly standing their ground and even being wounded by objects hurled from the mob. But it was all exactly the same people doing exactly the same things.
From that moment on I learned to examine the news rather than watch or listen to the news.
The art of media manipulation, or propaganda, has existed throughout history, One can harken back to the Sophists of Ancient Greece for a classic example. Media was used to advantage in the European revolutions of the mid-nineteenth century and by the Bolsheviks in Russia. But propaganda was developed into a high art form by the Nazi minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, and was a significant factor in bringing the German people and much of the world to Hitler's side leading up to WW2. Sometimes these kinds of efforts were very persuasive and sometimes they backfired. During the cold war, people in both the free world and behind the iron curtain laughed at the ridiculously cheesy ways the Soviets tried to push their narratives through media.
Moderns have wised up a bit to the potential for political media manipulation, but we still considered it fair game for the capitalist world to refine the art of advertising propaganda into ever-more sophisticated levels. Innovators like Helen Lansdowne Resor, William Bernbach and especial David Ogilvy developed different facets of and increasing power in the art (or weapon?) of persuasion.
This unfolding understanding of the potential of media manipulation can be a very good thing if there is a corresponding development in the public's critical thinking and discernment abilities. Ummm, no, I'm not putting a lot of eggs in that basket. Media manipulation is happening today on two fronts. The Leftist-cooperating media automatically taints and slants every news piece in favor of the Leftist agenda. At the same time, censorship, canceling and hit pieces or sabotage is known to be done toward Conservative news people and outlets.
However, with the rapid unfolding of the obviously biased and often non-sensical narratives the media is demanding we believe, just as happened with the Soviet Union, there remains hope for a soon to come great awakening among the masses.
And by the way, if you have never read the book or watched the 'How Should We Then Live?' film series which you can find on YouTube, a rich education awaits you. The film cinematography is dated by modern standards since it is forty-plus years old. Nevertheless, still very powerful.
In episode 10, after having been carried through a broad sweep of the great vistas of Western Civilization in Schaeffer's series, we had arrived at the rather grim reality of the present day. The unveiling of long-encroaching Leftist ideologies was already well underway in his day, and Schaeffer was miles ahead of the pack in exposing their subversive nature.
In this last episode of the series he covered a number of different issues, but the one that really grabbed my attention was his description of the possibility of media manipulation. He filmed a staged scene from two different angles. It was exactly the same scene, but with different camera angles, editing and narration.
The first scene convincingly showed a peaceful assembly of young people trying to protest in the face of harsh police brutality. The second scene looked to be a very aggressive attack on police who were calmly standing their ground and even being wounded by objects hurled from the mob. But it was all exactly the same people doing exactly the same things.
From that moment on I learned to examine the news rather than watch or listen to the news.
The art of media manipulation, or propaganda, has existed throughout history, One can harken back to the Sophists of Ancient Greece for a classic example. Media was used to advantage in the European revolutions of the mid-nineteenth century and by the Bolsheviks in Russia. But propaganda was developed into a high art form by the Nazi minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, and was a significant factor in bringing the German people and much of the world to Hitler's side leading up to WW2. Sometimes these kinds of efforts were very persuasive and sometimes they backfired. During the cold war, people in both the free world and behind the iron curtain laughed at the ridiculously cheesy ways the Soviets tried to push their narratives through media.
Moderns have wised up a bit to the potential for political media manipulation, but we still considered it fair game for the capitalist world to refine the art of advertising propaganda into ever-more sophisticated levels. Innovators like Helen Lansdowne Resor, William Bernbach and especial David Ogilvy developed different facets of and increasing power in the art (or weapon?) of persuasion.
This unfolding understanding of the potential of media manipulation can be a very good thing if there is a corresponding development in the public's critical thinking and discernment abilities. Ummm, no, I'm not putting a lot of eggs in that basket. Media manipulation is happening today on two fronts. The Leftist-cooperating media automatically taints and slants every news piece in favor of the Leftist agenda. At the same time, censorship, canceling and hit pieces or sabotage is known to be done toward Conservative news people and outlets.
However, with the rapid unfolding of the obviously biased and often non-sensical narratives the media is demanding we believe, just as happened with the Soviet Union, there remains hope for a soon to come great awakening among the masses.
And by the way, if you have never read the book or watched the 'How Should We Then Live?' film series which you can find on YouTube, a rich education awaits you. The film cinematography is dated by modern standards since it is forty-plus years old. Nevertheless, still very powerful.
ARTICLES
The Propaganda Multiplier | Swiss Policy Research
Hannah-Jones: “All Journalism Is Activism” | Jonathan Turley
We've Got to Fight Disinformation Says Empire Made Entirely of Disinformation | Caitlin Johnstone
Gaslighting: The Psychology of Shaping Another’s Reality | The Vineyard of the Saker
Report: Biden Administration Officials “Unmasked” Tucker Carlson | Jonathan Turley
NPR's Brilliant Self-Own | Matt Taibbi
The Propaganda Multiplier | Swiss Policy Research
Hannah-Jones: “All Journalism Is Activism” | Jonathan Turley
We've Got to Fight Disinformation Says Empire Made Entirely of Disinformation | Caitlin Johnstone
Gaslighting: The Psychology of Shaping Another’s Reality | The Vineyard of the Saker
Report: Biden Administration Officials “Unmasked” Tucker Carlson | Jonathan Turley
NPR's Brilliant Self-Own | Matt Taibbi