Consider your role as a consumer of media, including propaganda. What propaganda techniques have you seen or heard recently? Recall TV ads, political ads, movies, and news reports in both print and television. Consider a recent global event and how it was

Consider a recent global event and how it was portrayed in media. (i.e. Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the BP oil spill, etc.)Explain why it was not simply information, but a technique of propaganda. Be certain to use all three major sociological theories - functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism - in your analysis.

Which do you think provides the best explanation of propaganda? Why?

Keland Sharp

Principle of Sociology -21

Well, from the looks of things such as Hurricane Katrina, Columbine shoot and the Sandy shooting the media and even newspapers have given some of these events that happen a few days to show and tell what happen but it’s like their only showing and telling us what we need to hear about these events instead of filling us in all the way. If you take a look aback and the D.C. sniper, now on that they media gave us a day by day play of what they were doing, location and if anyone was injured or not.

In my opinion I think that when it comes to any global events the media tends to edit and revise more important details and leave things in, because they think we as views and consumers don’t pay attention to what the new and newspapers talk about. About a year or two ago when we the U.S. had that BP oil spill, they kept us informed but the effect it took on us cost people jobs and even the prices on gas to raise.

For example the media and even I believe social networks tend to lead us in a direction they want us to believe is real when all it is about is ratings and to have the world thinking one thing when it is not. Each day the social network tells us or informs us about someone dying when about 99 percent of the time it’s not even the real truth. Why can’t they just be honest with us and tell us what is really going on instead of changing things around.

The matter of what’s at hand now is the missing plane that they still haven’t really found. My question is how does the media and even newspapers tell of such an event that is still going on and the stories they are filling who knows if they are true or not. In my opinion I believe all of the event from maybe 2 years ago up until now have been inaccurate, and just simply information rather than real facts.

What is it that we lack of or the media lacks of when filling us in with current events going on in around the world or even locally. I believe that what we see and hear from the news is all just simply information that states the untrue facts instead of stating what is real. How do we know if what the media is telling us is true and how do we know if the stories they show and tell us is actually correct.

Take a look at when it comes time to vote and all the ads are out wanting us to vote for this person and that person and then when we vote for whom we think is right, we tend to forget to look at the major facts of the fine print. I think that everything is just simply facts because nobody knows the truth except those who have seen it happen or hear it happen.

For example when dealing with functionalism you have to look at it from the advertising standpoint, like you’re learning about new things such as products, may vehicles, appliances and even the latest fashion, which the media wants us to be able to feel comfortable about when dealing with society.

When looking in magazines, reading the paper or even watching television, the media makes their false advertisements by making distorting all reality and giving false promises and advertisement, to the viewers. For conflict theory and interactionist theory the media shows all these different types of commercials during voting season or even the commercials about saving children over in other countries and those different animals who are hurt. My question is how can a dollar change or even help a sick child or injured animal when we really don’t know what they are doing with the money?

S ociologists Alfred and Elizabeth Lee ( 1939) found that propaganda relies on seven basic techniques, which they termed “ tricks of the trade.” To be effective, the techniques should be subtle, with the audience unaware that their minds and emotions are being manipulated. If propaganda is effective, people will not know why they support something, but they’ll fervently defend it. Becoming familiar with these techniques can help you keep your mind and emotions from being manipulated. Reference: