Propaganda: American Flag Image With The Words Thank You. (Propaganda - COMS 361)

PROPAGANDA: AMERICAN FLAG IMAGE WITH THE WORDS THANK YOU
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(13 May 2011)
Propaganda: American Flag Image With The Words Thank You
Introduction
There are certain things people want. Propaganda, when it is not simply appealing to reflex or herd instinct, presents its goals in a form or guise that appears to satisfy one or more of those preexisting wants. At the most abstract level, people want happiness, so the art of persuasion will show them, sometimes only implicitly, that a proposed program, ideology, way of life, commercial object, or whatever will contribute to their happiness (Marlin, 2002). Propaganda is mostly propagated through the media. Like all tools used by man, media can either serve the good of society or for evil purposes. Free and independent media makes the society to think and reflect on issues affecting it. The media empowers each person to reflect on issues openly. In this perspective, the media is promoting peace and understanding within the society. However, in many cases the media has been used for negative purposes. The media at times manipulates the truth hence it ends up propagating propaganda (Bytwerk, 1999). The media achieves this by exaggerating or diminishing facts. The media can be manipulated by the politicians of or military officials and be used as a weapon in the propagation of propaganda (Hamden & ArchonEllul, 1973). In such cases, money is used to corrupt all stakeholders in an attempt to promote propaganda. Propaganda techniques are used to influence opinions and to avoid the truth. Often these techniques rely on some element of censorship or manipulation, either omitting significant information or distorting it.
The characteristics of propaganda include Total, Time, Trust, Truth and Trigger which are all portrayed in the postcard-sized image of the American flag with the words THANK YOU written beneath it. The flag is meant to congratulate the Veterans, in honor of how they fought for their country. The image of the flag exhibits the five characteristics of propaganda, Total, Time, Trust, Truth and Trigger. Such images are used to deliver the messages, which are intended to influence the emotions, opinions behavior and attitudes of the public (Vance, 1957).
Trigger
The main purpose of the image is to persuade people to commemorate the veterans who fought for the country. It triggers their thinking by reminding them of the heroic did of the veterans. It also triggers questions such as, what if the veterans were not there (Doob, 1966). How would it be? What would have happened? How could the country be if they had not played such heroic roles in the history of the country? This in turn makes the veteran to be viewed in a heroic manner. ...