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The plain folks approach says, in effect, “Buy me or vote for me, I’m just like you.” And how do these folksy warmhearted (usually saccharine) scenes affect us? They’re supposed to make us feel that AT&T—the multinational corporate giant—has the same values as we do. Similarly, we are introduced to the little people at Ford, the ordinary folks who work on the assembly line, not to bigwigs in their executive offices. What’s the purpose of such an approach? To encourage us buy a car built by honest, hardworking “everyday Joes” who care about quality as much as we do.
0 `# k" x& K4 tPolitics: candidates wear hard hats, farmer caps, and assembly-line coveralls. They jog around the block and carry their own luggage through the airport. The idea is to convince people that the candidates are average people, not the elite—not wealthy lawyers or executives but the common citizen.
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: z# I8 f9 e* s1 f+ s* P/ V9 Huse many people have deep desire not to de different.
( Z' c L% b6 G1 y2 w) |# M! K$ CPolitics: Political ads tell us to vote for the “winning candidate.” The advertisers know we tend to feel comfortable doing what others do; we cant to be on the winning team. Or ads show a series of people proclaiming, “I’m voting for the Senator. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t.” Again, the audience feels under pressure to conform.( \# C V2 y3 h9 U; i2 q
' ?/ u9 t1 r. R! K$ qWhy do these propaganda techniques work? Why do so many of us buy the products, viewpoints, and candidates urged on us by propaganda messages? They work because they appeal to our emotions, not to our minds. Often, in fact, they capitalize on our prejudices and biases. For example, if we are convinced that environmentalists are radicals who want to destroy America’s record of industrial growth and progress, then we will applaud the candidate who refers to them as “treehuggers.” Clear thinking requires hard work: analyzing a claim, researching the facts, examining both sides of an issue, using logic to see the flaws in an argument. Many of us would rather let the propagandists do our thinking for us.
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9 j5 S4 s$ L% mBecause propaganda is so effective, it is important to detect it and understand how it is used. We may conclude, after close examination, that some propaganda sents a truthful worthwhile message. Some advertising, for instance, urges us not to drive drunk, to become volunteers, to contribute to charity. Even so, we must be aware that propaganda is being used. Otherwise, we will have consented to handing over to others our independence of thought and action. |
发表于 2012-8-15 12:52:21
