Thus, Card Stacking is commonly used in the film. In addition to seven tactics of propaganda, it is possible to see a deflective model in this film. There is a propagandist (Hitler, Goebbels), also a deflective source (the film, Triumph of the Will) and the target audience (German community).
The first model of propaganda is seven tactics of propaganda. ‘The aim is to deeply connect the audience to the message by associating it with values and concepts which they care about’ (Maki, 2008). Generally, name-calling tactic is used in the film.
It is widely known that visual media is acknowledged as an important potential weapon of propaganda. In addition, the role of visual media in propaganda has been mentioned by some well-known people in order to demonstrate this significance of visual media. ‘Lenin remarked that ‘of all the arts, for us cinema is the most important.’
Politicians and governments often use propaganda to obtain support/compliance for their policies.’ (Maki, 2008) In addition, if propaganda is compared with education, it is possible to say that ‘education’ teaches people how to think, while ‘propaganda’ teaches them what to think.
Films have often served as a tool of propaganda given their unique ability to reproduce images, movement and sound in an extremely lifelike matter. Unlike other art forms, films possess a sense of immediacy and are capable of creating the illusion of reality.
In presenting a background, an environment, and characters who behave in a certain way, every motion picture may be said to be propaganda. The term is usually restricted, however, to pictures made deliberately to influence opinion or to argue a point.
Propaganda Films of World War II, Ralph Donald explores how the studios supported the war effort and helped shape the attitudes of an entire generation. Through films the studios appealed to the public's sense of nationalism, demonized the enemy, and stressed that wartime sacrifices would result in triumph.
1898The earliest known propaganda film was a series of short silent films made during the Spanish–American War in 1898 created by Vitagraph Studios. At an epic 120 minute running time, the 1912 Romanian Independența României is the first fictional film in the world with a deliberate propagandistic message.
Film is uniquely suited to act as a vehicle of propaganda; its combination of visual and audio storytelling makes it effective for audiences of different ages and literacy levels. Propaganda is about creating an illusion and manipulating the truth, and in this regard film is fundamentally the same.
Examples of Propaganda:Advertisements of any kind are propaganda used to promote a product or service. For example, an ad that promotes one brand of toothpaste over another is an example of propaganda.Political signs and commercials are an example of propaganda. ... The government produces many kinds of propaganda.
During World War II, Hollywood produced films that acted as propaganda, increased military recruitment rates, assisted in military training, and boosted the morale of American soldiers and civilians alike, easily making cinema the most important form of popular media in the war effort.
Josef Goebbels, who controlled the arts during the Nazi Era. Goebbels watched films every day and socialized with filmmakers” (Bordwell, 307). Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, March 1938. Two of the most influential men in the Nazi Party both loved movies and understood their true propaganda power.
Released in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor – which propelled a reluctant United States to enter World War II – the film was actually a classic piece of propaganda cinema masquerading as popular entertainment.
Propaganda is used to try to make people think a certain way. Stories about bad things the Germans had done were told to make people angry and frightened so everyone would want Britain to beat them in the war. But many tales were untrue and Germany told the same stories about Britain.
Where is propaganda used? Propaganda can be used in several areas, such as commercial advertising, public relations, political campaigns, diplomatic negotiations, legal arguments, and collective bargaining.
Identifying Propaganda Propaganda is a mode of communication used to manipulate or influence the opinion of groups to support a particular cause or belief. Over the centuries, propaganda has taken the form of artwork, films, speeches, and music, though it's not limited to these forms of communication.
Politicians and governments often use propaganda to obtain support/compliance for their policies.’ (Maki, 2008) In addition, if propaganda is compared with education, it is possible to say that ‘education’ teaches people how to think, while ‘propaganda’ teaches them what to think. (Taylor, 1998) In other words, propaganda has a special purpose that requests attention from target audience. Moreover, there are so many ways to facilitate or promote the propaganda, such as mass media (television, cinema) or print media (newspaper, books). The importance of visual media in propaganda can be defined as a main way to influence the target audience which consists of every age of people, because, visual media is the best way to infuse the idea to target audience. This research will aim to give information about the place of visual media in propaganda as well as demonstrate the propagandistic messages in the one of the main propaganda films ‘Triumph of the Will’. However, some evidence problems can occur at the explanation of film, because this is a film and some scenes which contain tactics of propaganda should be watched as well as analyzed; but, they will be explained throughout the research. The film ‘Triumph of the Will’ is a propaganda film made by Leni Riefenstahl in 1935. This can be seen as one of the main propaganda films, because it is considered as a documentary about the 1934 Nuremburg Party Congress. The film consists of many speeches of Nazi leaders at congress, also speeches of Adolf Hitler and his closest associate Joseph Goebbels. The film represents Germany as a great power also represents Hitler as a ‘True German Leader’ and ‘Hero of the Glory’ (Hoffman, 1997). Additionally, this film will be explained as an instance of visual media propaganda and it will be used to show the films’ direct roles on propaganda.
It is widely known that visual media is acknowledged as an important potential weapon of propaganda. In addition, the role of visual media in propaganda has been mentioned by some well-known people in order to demonstrate this significance of visual media. ‘Lenin remarked that ‘of all the arts, for us cinema is the most important.’ Stalin described it as ‘the greatest means of mass agitation’ and Trotsky called it ‘the best instrument for propaganda.” (Taylor, 1998) At the early times of using visual media (cinema, television), using propaganda in visual media was an advantage due to admiration of technology. People had strange feelings about the visual media, and surely, meeting with a new technological miracle was a significant event for them at that time. ‘Now of course we can all watch television and see man walking on the moon, but in the 1920s this ‘universality’ was seen as an amazing breakthrough.’ (Taylor, 1998) Due to this signification, visual media played a big role on the implementing of propaganda. On the other hand, films generally serve genocides and crimes, however, when they serve these genocides and crimes in a political way, they eternize racial hatreds or symbolize people to influence the audience. The Nazis are seen as trailblazers of this case, because they were snatching the German film industry, and facilitating new film directors to enhance Adolf Hitler’s power or make concerns to their enemies (Rentschler, 1996). Furthermore, if the job is concrete, it is worthier than an abstract job, because it can be more memorable when it is concrete. Film is the most powerful one in the propagandistic ways (Hippler, 1937). Essentially, there are so many films that include propaganda, and there is one aim: influence the audience.