You can't even hear the so-called yawp on that tape. I still strongly disagree with Mark that propaganda is a value-neutral word like "weather" and that the left must use it because the Bushies do. The (mis)use by the right-leaning media of the Dean footage is propaganda. What counters it is contrasting views of the same event like Dave just posted. You fight propaganda with truth--in this case showing how one tape or recording can't be entirely trusted.
I agree that one should fight lies with truth, but I see no reason not to use mass communication techniques in that effort.
By propaganda, I don't mean "a systematic method of indoctrinating people to believe evil, vicious lies." I mean "a method of cutting though the infotainment clutter to deliver a message."
Here's an alternate response Dean could have taken. Do a relatively small media buy to place an advertisement based on handicam footage of the "in-context-yelp". That media buy could have become another aspect of the story, and news-flavored media outlets may have replayed that version along with the "out-of-context-yelp" for the purpose of comparision.
That would qualify as a method for cutting through the infotainment clutter to deliver a message.
Nice suggestion Mark. I'm too much a product of my po-mo 80s education to put as much stock in the term "truth" as Tom does. But I'd kind of like to be convinced.
By truth I mean facts. Some events are genuine Rashomon-like puzzles but most ("I went to the store at 2:30 pm today") aren't. Those 80s educations mystify everything too much. ("Wouldn't a 'store' to you be a 'situs of postcolonial exploitation' to others? And how do you know you went there?" Groovy but exhausting.)
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- tom moody 1-25-2004 6:11 pm
I agree that one should fight lies with truth, but I see no reason not to use mass communication techniques in that effort.
By propaganda, I don't mean "a systematic method of indoctrinating people to believe evil, vicious lies." I mean "a method of cutting though the infotainment clutter to deliver a message."
Here's an alternate response Dean could have taken. Do a relatively small media buy to place an advertisement based on handicam footage of the "in-context-yelp". That media buy could have become another aspect of the story, and news-flavored media outlets may have replayed that version along with the "out-of-context-yelp" for the purpose of comparision.
That would qualify as a method for cutting through the infotainment clutter to deliver a message.
- mark 1-27-2004 3:04 am [add a comment]
Nice suggestion Mark. I'm too much a product of my po-mo 80s education to put as much stock in the term "truth" as Tom does. But I'd kind of like to be convinced.
- sally mckay 1-27-2004 5:22 am [add a comment]
By truth I mean facts. Some events are genuine Rashomon-like puzzles but most ("I went to the store at 2:30 pm today") aren't. Those 80s educations mystify everything too much. ("Wouldn't a 'store' to you be a 'situs of postcolonial exploitation' to others? And how do you know you went there?" Groovy but exhausting.)
- tom moody 1-27-2004 5:44 am [add a comment]