Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/09/08
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Eric has a good point in that small publications can distance themselves from national commercial agenda. Their almost an extinct species these days. With that in mind, How can we feel good about our freedom when the average citizen receives all their "news" from "official sources." Kinda gives a person a false sense of security? The imagery has always been the force behind propaganda. More specifically, the manipulation and dissemination of symbols common and powerful. The most powerful is the American belief in God (good) and the Devil (evil). According to an international gallop poll, more Americans believe in God and in Heaven then in any other country polled, similar for the devil and hell. The psychological power of most propaganda is derived from the calculated exacerbation of National sentiments such as "The American way of life", "The meaning of America", which become the symbols with irrational power of the Sacred. In contrast, the exacerbation of what we may call "The un-American" such as communism, socialism, terrorism, becomes the symbols of the Satanic. So long as these symbol-identifications can be maintained in popular sentiment it is an easy matter to curb popular demand and support for institutional reform, or to create support for unpopular agendas. By the simple means of associating selected government interventions with socialism, communism, terrorism etc, and conversely the American system with freedom, patriotism, loyalty, the American Dream, etc., propaganda is doing no more then manipulating appropriate Sacred and Satanic symbols.
Digital technology is new on this scene, and to my mind improves the skills needed to maintain proper public sentiment, not necessarily from manipulation of the images containing the symbolism, but from the ability to disseminate those images to the masses for consumption. No wonder that the distribution channels involved like TV, newspapers, internet, are becoming massively consolidated following the "digital" revolution, and independents are forced in or out one way or the other.
The public mind has been closed for business for along time.
Chris Saganich
- -----Original Message-----
From: eric@jphotog.com [mailto:eric@jphotog.com]
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 10:32 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOGRAPHERS; Leicas
On the whole, in every-day medium sized newspapers, some serious
photojournalism gets done that has nothing to do with commercial gain.
I know about it because I used to do it, and I knew a lot of
photojournalists who were doing it. Fortunately, at the smaller papers,
there wasn't the commercial agenda. A lot of garbage got done at the
same time. It's the price we paid to do the good work we loved. For me
the ratio wasn't enough to keep doing it. But for many, who had more
enlightened editors, it's worth the lousy pay, no benefits and lack of
respect from people who can barely read.
On Friday, September 5, 2003, at 03:40 PM, bdcolen wrote:
> Come on, Jerry - Life, Colliers, etc., presented in their photo
> journalism a picture of the ideal America, that fat cats such as Henry
> Luce wanted Americans to see and buy into. Yes, there were exceptions.
> But on the whole...
Eric Welch
Carlsbad, CA
http://www.jphotog.com
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.
- - Will Rogers
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