The “Unpredictable Past”: How Can We Explain the Efficiency of Old Propaganda?
An interesting fact emphasized by the contemporary propaganda studies concerns the surprising efficiency of old propaganda that is reactivated and used in new social and political contexts. There are many examples of this phenomenon, but in my paper I will focus on illustrating the way in which...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AXIS Academic Foundation Press
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Argumentum: Journal of the Seminar of Discursive Logic, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric |
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| Online Access: | https://www.fssp.uaic.ro/argumentum/Numarul%2017%20issue%202/09_Tutui_tehno.pdf |
| Summary: | An interesting fact emphasized by the contemporary
propaganda studies concerns the surprising efficiency of old
propaganda that is reactivated and used in new social and political
contexts. There are many examples of this phenomenon, but in my
paper I will focus on illustrating the way in which Communist
propaganda themes are used in Central and East European countries.
My main objective is to try to explain why old propaganda still works.
I will argue that the propagandist should not be conceived as an allpowerful manipulator. He is more of an ingenious communicator who
is able to reactivate and use pre-existing propaganda themes and
legitimating narratives in accordance to his interest, exploiting, in the
same time, the basic need for social identity. In trying to answer why
old propaganda still has the potential to be an efficient instrument for
political communication, I will use Jason Stanley’s theory according
to which propaganda “involves repeated association between words
and social meanings” that are presented as a part of the conventional
meaning or the “not-at-issue content” of our language. These
meanings are perceived as not negotiable and have the potential to
reinforce people’s beliefs that are resistant to available evidence. |
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| ISSN: | 1583-2767 2069-573X |