mocratic systems. So prevalent is it, we hardly recognize it as propaganda; rather,
we define it variously as social marketing, information campaigns, issue advertising, etc.
“Nothing names the single phenomenon,” argues Rutherford (p. 7).
What then is propaganda? Jacques Ellul, in his highly influential Propaganda: The
Formation of Men’s Attitudes, defines it as "a manipulation for the purpose of changing ideas
or opinions, of making individuals 'believe' some idea or fact, and finally of making them
adhere to some doctrine--all matters of mind." Rutherford himself defines propaganda as communication that “tries to determine happenings in the public sphere.” (p. 8). He follows
this with a more comprehensive definition (p. 8):
“Whatever its particular shape, propaganda constitutes an intentional and sponsored
message, a deliberate kind of ‘symbolic practice’ that seeks to persuade the body politic,
or some significant constituency within the public sphere. It normally addresses or
‘constructs’ the model person…. In a much more pointed sense than its rivals,
propaganda is both the language and the instrument of power.”
Civic advocacy propaganda is the most prolifically common form in Western democracies
today. Messages from governments, corporate image campaigns, charities, issue-oriented
advocacy organizations (e.g., Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Canadian Taxpayers
Federation), and religious groups are a constant in media culture英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】. This is not at all to say
that all such messages are negative: it’s hard to argue with the idea that one shouldn’t drink
and drive, pollute the environment, or donate money to international development. But such
messages also reflect the “wishes of the powerful,” implying a hierarchy between those who
sponsor such messages, and the great majority of the population who is supposed to benefit
from them. Such propaganda does a special kind of cultural work:
“… it names issues, shapes how we understand these issues, diverts as well as focues
popular attention, makes special agendas, assigns praise or blame, identifies heroes and
villains, destroys reputations, offers solutions, and creates excitement” (p. 14).
Advocacy propaganda has a number of other functions:
(i) Distillation: It distils and purifies our “basic hopes and fears,” giving public
expression to our aspirations (a better world) and anxieties (cancer,
environmental disaster).
(ii) Vehicle: It transmits an ideology and a policy agenda that reflects the interests of
particular groups, e.g., anti-smoking messages from Physicians for a Smoke-
http://www.smoke-free.ca/
Free Canada. Their website is here:
(iii) Catalyst: It does not itself or alone cause people to change thinking and
behavour, but rather works in combination with other more practical efforts, e.g.,
banning of smoking in public places. It resembles advertising in this sense;
messages of any kind ty
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