Neil Postman's Propaganda Analysis

The migrant crisis which is making headlines all over the world has left Europeans divided on the issue. Some are eager to welcome the growing number of migrants into their countries while others are shying away, afraid of what dangers can be hidden among the migrants. With eight hundred thousand migrants ready to enter Germany, and many more on their way not everyone is ready to accept them with open arms. The fear that ISIS may be infiltrating the migrants by various ways, such as paying for their travel, giving false hope, and plain brainwashing is one reason for the scare. Many Europeans deny or ignore this possibility which can unfortunately lead to a growing number of terrorist attacks through ISIS. After reading the article by Neil

Which is why I chose to base my propaganda off the growing issue of the migrant crisis in Europe. This way I would be able to reach out to the whole world rather than an individual. I chose to format my propaganda to reach groups because according to Neil Postman’s “Propaganda”, “propaganda has the tendency to work best on groups rather than individuals”. The issue of migrants coming from the Middle East and parts of Africa directly affected both Europe and the countries where the migrants were migrating from. By bringing the problem of ISIS and terrorism into the picture, the issue reached the whole world. For my poster I decided to draw a map of Europe, Asia and Africa, drawing in readers from that part of the world. I also included orange arrows which signified the possibility of ISIS infiltrated migrants spreading both themselves and their radical ideas into other continents and countries such as the United States of America and other parts of both North and South

Propaganda that includes a type of surface intellectualizing or just straightforward sentimentality demands a passionate, uncritical acceptance of my point of view (Postman 133). I was able to keep my propaganda pure and simple, to not confuse the audience, but instead just give some background information of what is happening and what could happen in the near future. Keeping simplicity in my propaganda by sticking to the simple idea of how ISIS can be infiltrating migrants, then repeating them until they sink in. This helps the audience to repeat and internalize the message. I was able to demand a response of “Believe this. You are being given all the information you need to know” (Postman 133). An example of this is in the slogan of the British government created during World War II, “Keep Calm and Carry On”. The repetition of this slogan had the goal to convince the British people that their nation would not be completely destroyed, a fear shared by many at that time. The simplicity of this five word slogan helped the people internalize this message and to believe