Do you think TV and movies are propaganda devices?

[Chimpy McCokespoon]

I mean beyond the obvious use as advertising vehicles. Do you think they transmit societal messages which are meant to direct the populace in a certain direction or toward a certain commonality?

[valerief]

1. Censorship is meant to advance political agendas. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Oh, yes!

It's hard to tell what's going on now, but in the 1950s and 1960s, as the Church Commission revealed, prominent journalists and media figures were on the payroll of the CIA.

Here are some of the messages that the mass media reinforce:

1. The U.S. is always the "good guy."

2. The Arabs are out to get us.

3. Patriotism is best expressed as militarism.

4. Sports are really earthshakingly important.

5. Crime is everywhere and threatens everybody, so you'd better give the police a lot of power.

6. Being cool, aggressive, fashionable, and tough is more important than being intelligent.

7. America is the greatest country in the world.

[shraby]

3. Movies have always reflected societies ills and

mores, for good or bad. Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan to name a few. I'm sure with a little thought I could come up with a very long list. Some is obviously propaganda, but for the vast majority of movies, they are a reflection of society.

[Chimpy McCokespoon]

6. Saving Private Ryan was a "feel good" movie about WWII.

To further mythicize "the greatest generation" and America's only so called noble war.

[baldguy]

4. When Jack Bauer is the good guy even while torturing someone?

Please...

[Chimpy McCokespoon]

10. There was a torture sequence in "Transformers"

They tortured "Bumblebee" for goodness sakes! Bumblebee! The most loveable of Autobots. The movie portrayed it as a nessasary evil. "Transformers" also prtrayed the Secretary of Defense as a hero and showcased all the current U.S. military hardware. The Decepiticons were portrayed as speaking some strange language a kin to Arabic no doubt, while the good Autobots spoke English. The opening sequence has a U.S. military base in Qatar under fire by the Decepticons. I'm sure the Pentagon gave the movie project a double thumbs up.

[onenote]

5. and the same could be said about a great deal of art, music and literature

what exactly is your point?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Sure, in the same way books, pamphlets, and magazines are.

It's all media.

[Virginia Dare]

8. Yes, "E.T." was alien desensitization propaganda..

:shrug:

[harlinchi]

9. Of course! Let one incident occur with a slant against a particular country, say,...

...Israel, and the History Channel will be showing WWII-era, Nazi Germany atrocities for the next month! I cannot argue that the atrocities did not occur; it is obvious they did. I'm not disputing numbers of those adversely affected (i.e., killed!), because whether 6 million humans were killed or some number less than that, what does it matter? Would 5.9 million deaths have been okay? 4.9 million? There is no 'okay'.

I just dislike the cause/effect appearance of the programming.

[Whisp]

11. all those 9 year old boys

always smarter than their older sisters and mom in a dangerous situation. sis and mom cower, little boy gets to be the hero. stamped, approved, repeated ad nauseum.

[Javaman]

15. ah but then that 9 year old boy grows up to be the witless goofy dope of

a dad on a sitcom.

it all evens out.

[damntexdem]

12. Do you think that political ads are propaganda devices?

Is the Pope Catholic?

[lovuian]

13. Hello Definitely WWII used it very effectively and John Wayne

was their greatest propoganda dude
Mr. Green Beret himself

[edhopper]

14. Do you mean propaganda

in a bad way. Or as a general term of advocacy or portraying a point of view? Without that most fiction would be boring.

[Initech]

16. Absolutely! A perfect example...

Just look at all the pro-American bullshit they paddle to us during sporting events. Flying military jets over stadiums. Playing patriotic anthems. According to both my dad and my brother, America is the only, the ONLY country in the world who plays the national anthem before every sporting event.

[L. Coyote]

17. only since about 1940

[cynatnite]

18. Some of it can be interpreted any way a viewer wants...

A lot of movies and TV shows do put a spotlight on those issues that people should pay more attention to and will send a message about them. There are also movies and TV shows that sends messages counter to the truth as well. It's a yes and no answer to your question.

Given the wide variety of media we have here people have the choice to either see the truth or the twisting of truth to fit a certain message.

And then you have movies and shows that are strictly entertainment and should seen as such.

[Forkboy]

19. Most things are propaganda for one position or another, not just tv.

Hell, half the music I've played today would qualify in one form or another. :)

[SoCalDem]

20. Everything you read or see is supposed to make you feel something

so technically, yes.. they are "propaganda".. Movies have been especially effective over the years..

The hyper patriotism/ self-reliant cowboy mentality actually came to us from a group of eastern European emigres who founded our movie industry and ran it for most of its lifetime..

They were so happy to be here and loved this country so much, they created their version of it for us, and we ate it up with big spoons :)

[Odin2005]

21. I think it's the other way around. TV and movies express the values and prejudices of society.