Pick novel: Mark Twin, Pudd’nhead Wilson
One of the most important events in the book happens when Winston decides to write the diary. This event is prominent because it helps to set Winston’s awakening in motion. The event also gives Winston the idea of resistance which sets him remarkably different from others in Oceania. Contrary to this, Winston’s works at the Ministry of truth that is responsible for disseminating truthful information to the public. The importance of writing the diary is that it highlights language as something that is both personal and subjective. Reading the diary also shows the extent to which control is centralized in Oceania. The Ministry of truth is one of the most prominent agencies of the government in the novel. However, going through the novel shows that the ministry has nothing to do with the truth, and instead, involves itself in propaganda. Focusing on propaganda and spreading it as the truth is one way that the government machinery in the novel helps to keep the public misinformed or uninformed, deceived, confused about who was at war with who, and easily directed by the powerful elite in the government to hide scrutiny into its activities. The novel was published in 1984, perhaps due to the Cold War propaganda that was being spread between the Soviet Union and the United States, leading to a nuclear war scare.
Most articles written around this period were focused on analyzing the possibilities of going into a Third World war. They also focused on the strength of the US and the Soviet Union. Depending on their origin, political articles emphasized on exaggerating the strength of one nation. Most political articles appealed on the emotions of the audience using messages that inspire fear, courage, hatred, and love, in what is popularly called political propaganda. Other articles focused on nuclear war anxieties that emanated from propaganda within the political sphere and shaped both domestic and foreign policy between Western nations in the Soviet Union. Most of the propaganda activities focused on the anti-Soviet stereotypes that were viewed as detrimental to the achievement of global peace. Some of them claimed that Americans must believe in America, democracy, freedom, and dedicate the efforts to pursue these concepts. The other side had the perspective that Western nations were excessively unrealistic as well as ethnocentrically biased.
Articles Choice
Article 1: Nuclear War and the Climatic Catastrophe: Some Policy Implications
The nuclear war scare, popularly known as The Day the World Almost Died, is the height of the propaganda war between the United States and the Soviet Union and inspired numerous articles both in the political and the academic world. The article discusses the climatic catastrophe over nuclear war as well as policy implications. The author of the article begins by noting that a nuclear war would result in long-term consequences amounting to a global climatic catastrophe. The author reminds the audience about the previous detonation of a thermonuclear atomic bomb in Hiroshima that killed more than 200,000 people out of a 12 kt device (Sagan 260). The article also discusses the impact of any clearly one detonated in large cities such as those in the US. The author cautions that in such an instance, the effect in the US would be significant given that three-quarter of the population in the country at that time the near cities with an average food supply of one week. Another prominent point forwarded by the author is that the impact of a nuclear weapon would be felt beyond the war zone by affecting agricultural production within the US and possibly internationally. The article does not directly contribute to propaganda. However, its findings feed into the fear of an already anxious audience.
Article 2: On this day: Russia in a click
This article discusses how Stanislav Petrov prevented the world from descending into a nuclear war after the September 23, 1983, nuclear scare. On the 26th, in the same month, the intercontinental ballistic missile detection system reported that the tunnel five intercontinental missiles had been launched from the US. He only had 10 minutes to react by responding to the decision on whether to retaliate. However, it later ended as a case of false alarm arising from a malfunctioning satellite. The warning system had been triggered at the Russian military base that Petrov was leading. He recalls that almost everyone jumped off from their seats looking at him and expecting him to make a decision. He had to decide to abide by the nuclear response rules, some of which he wrote (RT News).
The article also highlights how he decided to ignore the alarm and assumed that it was a fault line with the communications system at the base. He argued that if it were indeed an act of aggression from the US, there would be no reason for the US to fire multiple nuclear weapons simultaneously from different military bases and that only one would suffice. The article also talks about the pressure that Petrov had on how to deal with the international pressure.
Article 3: The Deterrence of Deadlock Is There a Way out
In this article, the writer posits that the current state of affairs in the international political scene should emphasize on deterrence instead of whether or not the world should enter into a nuclear war. The author additional argues that the most significant threat that the world would face in case of a nuclear war is the situation where the balance of power significantly shifts on one side (Lebow 333). He further notes that the political weaknesses of most leaders internationally is a risk factor that can trigger a nuclear standoff. The article questions whether deterrence is enough in preventing the possibility of a nuclear war especially because acts of aggression are likely to come from countries with weak leadership.
I would like to investigate more about the stereotypes as well as propaganda that surrounded the Cold War period. Propaganda has been an essential aspect of politics especially in connecting the issues of rebellion, war, morality, family, and obedience in compelling and innovative ways. In recent history, propaganda has been explicitly used to incite people into strong emotions, trigger political unrests, and elicit controversy and heated reactions through the use of semi-information materials that spread biased messages. Investigating this concept would be interesting as it would shed more light on how to counter biased propaganda. When investigating the impact of propaganda, I noticed that most messages are sent using a specific pattern that utilizes highly graphic images with short messages that would easily provoke one to form stereotypes.
Aside from using carefully created art and short sized messages, I found that the fear-mongering and scapegoating were also extensively used in most propaganda based articles. Psychologist understands fear mongering techniques as those that communicate information by deliberately using extreme ideas and symbols to cause one-sidedness, hatred, irrationality, and fear.
Works Cited
Lebow, R. N. "The Deterrence Deadlock: Is There a Way out?" Political Psychology, vol. 4, no. 2, 1983, p. 333, doi:10.2307/3790944.
RT News. "September, 26 in history – Russiapedia." 26 Sept. 1983, russiapedia.rt.com/on-this-day/september-26/.
Sagan, C. "Nuclear War and Climatic Catastrophe: Some Policy Implications." Foreign Affairs, vol. 62, no. 2, 1983, p. 257, doi:10.2307/20041818.