The Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991, was a period in which the USA and the USSR resorted to every imaginable method to gain superiority over each other. Contrary to popular belief, this period, in which the world was treated as a chessboard and the states on it, was not just about wars and coup attempts.
In addition to the struggles with rifles on the battlefields, there was another struggle in which various manipulation methods were used in people’s minds. This competition, which is usually media-based, saw the parties lower their level from time to time in order to gain a psychological advantage over the opponent.
First of all, let’s briefly summarize what we call “propaganda”.
The political term “propaganda” is the name given to states and organizations to direct the flow of information according to their own interests. Propaganda is different from a lie in that it is carried out on facts and truths and can be convincing, but sometimes it can also consist of lies.
When a state or organization aiming to make propaganda gains access to information, it cuts out only the parts of the information it deems appropriate for its own agenda and serves it to the media. They find an ideological justification or excuse for these sections served to the media. In this way, they not only divert attention from the truth itself, but also strengthen the sphere of influence of their own ideology.
What is American propaganda, how does it work? What are its features?
American propaganda argues that the capitalist “Western” civilization under the leadership of the USA is the only right and right side, and that other parties that are not included in the West are enemies of civilization.
American propaganda, which has the concept and ultimate goal of the “American Dream” at its core, is based on the claim that the USA has the right to bring “freedom” and “civilization” to the rest of the world.
The most well-known feature of American propaganda is that it can dehumanize rival states and ideologies in a very convincing way, and it has not only posters but also movie industry giants like Hollywood.
Our image above is an example of an old American propaganda poster. Such propaganda, which was prepared for the sinking of the USS Maine, which was allegedly organized by the USA, had indirectly succeeded in making the US people accept the idea that the USA should declare war on Spain and seize its colonies such as Cuba in order to protect the US people. Eventually, a war broke out, and many Spanish colonies such as Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam fell under the auspices of the United States.
Especially Hollywood movies, in which the USA is portrayed as the best in every respect and the worst of its enemies, continue to carry the American propaganda to the top today.
What was Soviet propaganda, how did it work? What were its features?
The Soviet propaganda model argued that the communist “Eastern” civilization under the leadership of the USSR was the only right and just side, and that the parties not included in the East were hostile to the world societies and working peoples.
As an end goal similar to the “American Dream”, a “Communist Utopia” or “True Communism” goal, in which Capitalism has completely disappeared, is at the center of this propaganda front. As you can imagine, the US had the excuse of invasion to bring civilization, while the Soviets similarly had the excuse of invasion to protect the working class and poor societies.
Finally, we should not mention the cosmonauts and the Space Race, the pinnacle of Soviet propaganda.
These propagandas have a great place in the ideological struggle between the USA and the USSR.
Both sides accused the other side of being inhuman and expansionist and tried to show and spread their own living standards more humane. Naturally, the other party’s ideology and living standards were also despised and portrayed badly in the media. More than half of the 20th century asked, “Why is capitalism bad?” and “Why is communism bad?” It was the scene of the conflict of questions and mutual smear efforts.
Worried about the possibility of communism spreading in Latin America, the USA decided to raise the bar in propaganda by publishing pictures of poor children.
In time, the ideological propaganda competition began to push the boundaries of morality and ethics. The USA started to shape its propaganda activities in this direction by making interesting conclusions that poverty had a significant share in the spread of Communism and that Latin America was also a poor geography, so it was more inclined towards Communism.
The USA, which has decided to turn Latin Americans and the poor into propaganda material, reveals the propaganda photography industry at this point.
The photo above is of Flavio, who became the star of Life Magazine, USA. His poor life in Brazil was served as an example to the US people, and when the communist prejudices got involved, pressure was started on the US to save this “poor” child from “Communist hands” (Latin America). These calls had such a repercussion that, under pressure from the readers, Flavio was flown to the United States so that his ailments could be treated and he could be “better” taken care of.
U.S. residents who saw Flavio in the magazine began to give thanks for their own lives and to misconceive that poverty in all of Latin America, including Brazil, is the work of Communism, even though it has nothing to do with Communism. In this way, the USA began to see its right to interfere in the internal affairs of Latin America and the daily lives of people in Latin America. In this way, the area of influence in the region became stronger in a short time. There has been internal turmoil, coups and sometimes occupations in favor of the USA more than ever before in the region.
The other photos above are of Flavio, which we just mentioned. Flavio, who was brought to the USA and “recovered”, is depicted as suffering in his old life in the first photo and as a “liberated” child in the second photo.
As you can imagine, all of this did not please Brazil and the propaganda photography had to be largely shelved soon after.
What are your thoughts on propaganda and propaganda photography? Have you come across any really effective American or Soviet propaganda?
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