Orwellian propaganda

  This notion of the mistruth that propaganda is one of great interest to the novelist and journalist, George Orwell. It 
was 'when fighting in The Spanish Civil War for the Republican side against the Franco led fascists, that he first became aware of the persuasive use of propaganda to support modern totalitarianism regimes'. According to Orwell,

'history stopped in 1936' (Townsend 2017). Having always noticed that no event is ever reported in its complete truth, it was not until being in Spain that he realised the true extent of this deceit. He 'saw newspaper reports which did not bear any relation to the facts... great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundred of men had been killed' (Townsend 2017).






    From this realisation, came the inspiration for Orwell to write the notorious marxist,

dystopian  novel; 1984. Whereby, he gives account of an entirely totalitarian rule over society, that he predicts will become societies future state. The novel is set in Oceana,
where civilians live under rules of complete suppression, where humans have been entirely stripped of their individuality and any sense of freedom. Whats more is his characterisation of the leader Big Brother, who is appropriately named for his societal position. The term 'big brother', implicates a figure within which people can place their trust, who will guide and protect them. Strongly resembling figures such as Hitler and Stalin. Disguising their true motives of achieving a rule of complete control and submission of civilians, under the pretence of someone who cares for and only wants to benefit their people. Brainwashing society into adhering them through the calculate use of propaganda. Propaganda is consistently being broadcast on tele screens that are inescapable, continually penetrating the minds of civilians  Furthermore, these screens work in a two way basis. Thus, citizens must always put forth a positive persona to the screen, since they know that Big Brother is always watching them on the other side.



Anon, 2012. (11) Nineteen Eighty-Four - Offical Trailer [HD] YouTube [Online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urrqW4_3IBg.

BBC, BBC History - Historical Figures: George Orwell(1903 - 1950) [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/orwell_george.shtml.

Britain’s wartime Propaganda Ministry, Orwell | The Ministry of Information [Online]. Available from: http://www.ministry-of-information.com/orwell/.

Townsend, A., 2017. Orwell and Orwellian. Propaganda today becomes the truth tomorrow [Online]. Available from: https://www.adamtownsend.me/orwell-orwellian-propaganda-today-becomes-truth-tomorrow/.

For a visual representation, to bring to life the world that Orwell forebodes I have placed a trailer for one of its modern film adaptations above.

Nazi propaganda and its miscommunication of truth

  Leading on from my previous post: in spite of the Allied countries turning a blind eye to the discrimination against Jews taking place in Nazi Germany, they were uninformed and thus completely unaware of the treacherous horrors of Hitler's concentration camps. Despite their being numbers pieces of propaganda demonising and condemning the Jew, there was no artistic documentation of the traumas they faced as a result of this.

 The Nazi leadership aimed to deceive the German population, the victims,  and the outside world regarding their genocidal policy towards Jews' (The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 2018). Despite general statements being broadcast about the end means of eradicating the Jews, the details of their captivity and mass murder was not of public knowledge. Instead what emerged was Nazi propaganda which preached 'half-truths'(Lipstadt 1993) about the action being taken. The most popular artistic medium through which this was communicated was a variety of staged films, offering an overtly positive portrayal of both life for Jews in the ghettos and in concentration camps. 

 The Terezin propaganda film is a prime example of this. The Nazi production of 1944 shows images of women appearing to be cheerfully enjoying their spacious living quarters, it fails to show the ridiculously overfilled barracks within which they were forced to sleep. Whats more, the top bunks of the beds had been removed and where usually over 20 women would be sat around one table, there were only 6, appearing to enjoy a life of leisure in the style of a feature film. It simply does not convey the experience of living in these huts. 

Lipstadt, D.E., 1993. Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. London: The Free Press.

Myers, J., 2012. (11) Terezin Propaganda Film - YouTube [Online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmIPNktUeoI [Accessed 8 April 2018].

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018. Decieving the Public [Online]. Available from: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007822 [Accessed 8 May 2018].