Week 1
Lecture: Analyzing Propaganda
The Origins of the Cultural Cold War in Latin America
The Cultural Cold War becomes important due to the atomic bombs, in
specific the hydrogen-bomb, which entices a large explosion; therefore,
war becomes impossible, which results in other ways of ‘war’. In the Cold
War, you honestly got the idea that you could change or influence peoples
minds; in contemporary fashion, that is no longer the case. This is not
restricted to the United States, but also in other regions – albeit in
different ways.
The Good Neighbor Policy
The United States does not openly want to interfere in the Latin Americas
anymore, but are instead influences through other means; it no longer
focusses on military intervention, but for example through education. The
United States wants to educate the Latin Americas through American,
‘modern’ education. The home front is also mobilized through
propaganda, with other, larger countries seen as ‘brute’, with smaller
countries (i.e. Belgium) seen as ‘helpless’.
Important questions to study this period are: what is the role of the State?
And what is the role set aside for the private individual? Where is the line
between propaganda and providing information? The State often wonders
if it should provide information, or if it should instead focus on
propagandizing. This leads to the change in the United States; it creates a
Division of Cultural Relation, and a Division of International
Communication in 1938.
The goal of public diplomacy is as follows: it needs to educate the
underdeveloped parts of the world, and needs to induce fear of
‘propaganda’ and therefore reach foreign populations below the elites.
There are multiple Divisions of Cultural Relations, as expanded in the
1930s: (1) the Interagency Coordinating Committee, coordinating between
private exchanges; (2) the Cooperation with USOE to exchange students;
(3) the subcommittees for publications, translations and films; and (4)
links with American universities.
People often thought that, through cultural propaganda, they could make
a change; it is not merely cynical. Nelson A. Rockefeller states that the
‘new world situation’ requires ‘new diplomacy’.
Emily S. Rosenberg states that no American propaganda is philanthropic;
it only strengths the economic position of investors and the State. A free
flow of ideas, she states, is the same as free trade: the best ideas win, will
make the most profit, and therefore survives. Private citizens are crucial,
as the State cannot been seen messing in private enterprise; the State,
however, does promote companies promoting American ideology. It allows
to broaden American ideas to other regions. Therefore, an important
question is to ask if the United States is an empire. Are other regions
, American colonies, or are they only American territory? William Jennings
Bryan is an important thinker in this contemporary question, and involved
in the Progressive Movement. He thought the dollar should be based on
silver or gold, is anti-imperial, anti-Darwinist, et cetera. The Wizard of Oz
is an example of how American looked like during the Progressive
Movement.
The Cultural Cold War under Truman and Eisenhower
The Cultural Cold War does not start in the fifties or sixties, but starts in
the First and Second World War. The Cultural Cold War is a war between
capitalism and communism. Europe falls between the two versions of
societal organization; both Cold War-powers claim a heritage of the French
Revolution, liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
Time of the 1950s and 1960s
The general thought process was that if American society could be
reorganized, it would make for a more vigilant society. The American
government pushed for this change, because it would make their own
stance in the Cold War stronger.
Public diplomacy would soften governments, which would make it easier
to negotiate with. It has its effect on the population; public relations and
advertisement came into being, for the most part to push through a
certain thought and ideology, but also to provide some sort of
entertainment. In the 1950s, advertisements are often used to describe
the product, albeit being ‘snaggier’ in the late 1950s. In the 1960s,
however, this changed to barely talking about the product, and more
flashiness; it gives a certain feeling to the product, making people want to
buy it.
Eisenhower creates an agency, the United States Information Agency, to
push propaganda, and is the first ever sustained agency. Propaganda is
equally important as war efforts; for example, war generals, Eisenhower
included, had to convince soldiers why they were fighting this war. Under
Eisenhower, public diplomacy for warfare is not only geared towards
Eastern Europe, but also towards Western Europe (i.e. to strength their
alliance).
The United States Information Agency is dedicated to the production of
‘information’, and has headquarters in the United States, but is also
connected to different areas throughout the world due to diplomatic
headquarters.
Eisenhower wants to provide a peace agreement, ‘Atoms for Peace’, which
somewhat forces the Soviet Union to also agree to wind down on the
production of atom bombs. The Soviet Union was seen as the aggressor,
while the United States was seen as a peace maker and an innovator (i.e.
due to the ‘sharing’ of atomic energy Eisenhower proposed).
Nevertheless, atomic energy was not only seen as a way to wage war, but
Lecture: Analyzing Propaganda
The Origins of the Cultural Cold War in Latin America
The Cultural Cold War becomes important due to the atomic bombs, in
specific the hydrogen-bomb, which entices a large explosion; therefore,
war becomes impossible, which results in other ways of ‘war’. In the Cold
War, you honestly got the idea that you could change or influence peoples
minds; in contemporary fashion, that is no longer the case. This is not
restricted to the United States, but also in other regions – albeit in
different ways.
The Good Neighbor Policy
The United States does not openly want to interfere in the Latin Americas
anymore, but are instead influences through other means; it no longer
focusses on military intervention, but for example through education. The
United States wants to educate the Latin Americas through American,
‘modern’ education. The home front is also mobilized through
propaganda, with other, larger countries seen as ‘brute’, with smaller
countries (i.e. Belgium) seen as ‘helpless’.
Important questions to study this period are: what is the role of the State?
And what is the role set aside for the private individual? Where is the line
between propaganda and providing information? The State often wonders
if it should provide information, or if it should instead focus on
propagandizing. This leads to the change in the United States; it creates a
Division of Cultural Relation, and a Division of International
Communication in 1938.
The goal of public diplomacy is as follows: it needs to educate the
underdeveloped parts of the world, and needs to induce fear of
‘propaganda’ and therefore reach foreign populations below the elites.
There are multiple Divisions of Cultural Relations, as expanded in the
1930s: (1) the Interagency Coordinating Committee, coordinating between
private exchanges; (2) the Cooperation with USOE to exchange students;
(3) the subcommittees for publications, translations and films; and (4)
links with American universities.
People often thought that, through cultural propaganda, they could make
a change; it is not merely cynical. Nelson A. Rockefeller states that the
‘new world situation’ requires ‘new diplomacy’.
Emily S. Rosenberg states that no American propaganda is philanthropic;
it only strengths the economic position of investors and the State. A free
flow of ideas, she states, is the same as free trade: the best ideas win, will
make the most profit, and therefore survives. Private citizens are crucial,
as the State cannot been seen messing in private enterprise; the State,
however, does promote companies promoting American ideology. It allows
to broaden American ideas to other regions. Therefore, an important
question is to ask if the United States is an empire. Are other regions
, American colonies, or are they only American territory? William Jennings
Bryan is an important thinker in this contemporary question, and involved
in the Progressive Movement. He thought the dollar should be based on
silver or gold, is anti-imperial, anti-Darwinist, et cetera. The Wizard of Oz
is an example of how American looked like during the Progressive
Movement.
The Cultural Cold War under Truman and Eisenhower
The Cultural Cold War does not start in the fifties or sixties, but starts in
the First and Second World War. The Cultural Cold War is a war between
capitalism and communism. Europe falls between the two versions of
societal organization; both Cold War-powers claim a heritage of the French
Revolution, liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
Time of the 1950s and 1960s
The general thought process was that if American society could be
reorganized, it would make for a more vigilant society. The American
government pushed for this change, because it would make their own
stance in the Cold War stronger.
Public diplomacy would soften governments, which would make it easier
to negotiate with. It has its effect on the population; public relations and
advertisement came into being, for the most part to push through a
certain thought and ideology, but also to provide some sort of
entertainment. In the 1950s, advertisements are often used to describe
the product, albeit being ‘snaggier’ in the late 1950s. In the 1960s,
however, this changed to barely talking about the product, and more
flashiness; it gives a certain feeling to the product, making people want to
buy it.
Eisenhower creates an agency, the United States Information Agency, to
push propaganda, and is the first ever sustained agency. Propaganda is
equally important as war efforts; for example, war generals, Eisenhower
included, had to convince soldiers why they were fighting this war. Under
Eisenhower, public diplomacy for warfare is not only geared towards
Eastern Europe, but also towards Western Europe (i.e. to strength their
alliance).
The United States Information Agency is dedicated to the production of
‘information’, and has headquarters in the United States, but is also
connected to different areas throughout the world due to diplomatic
headquarters.
Eisenhower wants to provide a peace agreement, ‘Atoms for Peace’, which
somewhat forces the Soviet Union to also agree to wind down on the
production of atom bombs. The Soviet Union was seen as the aggressor,
while the United States was seen as a peace maker and an innovator (i.e.
due to the ‘sharing’ of atomic energy Eisenhower proposed).
Nevertheless, atomic energy was not only seen as a way to wage war, but
