Mid Term

Mary McNamee

March 5, 2008

WHR 315

Midterm

1. What are the two routes to persuasion? Explain and discuss.

The first route to persuasion is the peripheral route. In the peripheral route to persuasion the person that is receiving the message puts in little effort to process what they are being given. Some examples of the peripheral route to persuasion are, trying to watch a television show you are very interested in, while at the same time trying to carry on a conversation with a friend that you are not as interested in. This is an example of the peripheral route to persuasion because if you are in this situation, and you are clearly not as interested in the conversation as the television program you were watching, you would be putting in little effort to process the information being given to you by your friend. Another example of the peripheral route to persuasion is if you were sitting in between two co-workers while they argued about a situation that you didn’t care about, and they expected you to be the deciding factor in the argument. If you didn’t care about the situation they were arguing about, that would make you a terrible deciding factor because you wouldn’t have been wholeheartedly listening to the argument because it really didn’t affect you in any way.

The peripheral route according to our text is “determined by simple cues” When you are involved in a conversation that you aren’t very interested in, there are many different factors that may pull you in, like the person who is talking, different outlandish points they bring up, and so forth.

The central route to persuasion takes an opposite approach than the peripheral route. In the central route to persuasion the person receiving the information thinks about it very carefully and engages greatly in the topic being approached. In the central route the person receiving the information thinks about it very carefully, asks questions about the topic, and just simply want to get as much information about the topic as he or she can.

An example of the central route to persuasion would be, if someone were giving information on a topic and you weren’t sure which way you wanted to go with it, you could ask more questions and find out more information on the topic in order to choose the right side.

2. What is a subliminal message? Give examples and explain.

Subliminal messaging is used all over the media. It is probably used a lot more than we think. Subliminal messaging is a way of a company trying to increase sales by flashing images or words so fast so that our brain registers them, but we do not notice they’re there. In our text it is stated, “By subliminal we mean, a message so faint or fast that it is presented below the threshold of awareness.

There are many different ways that subliminal messaging can be used. The example in our text is of a couple in a movie theater, the woman randomly states she wants a coke and a tub of buttered popcorn. The man replies by telling her she is always hungry in the movies, but shortly after he says that, he wants a tub of buttered popcorn and a coke as well. Later it was stated that an advertiser had made it so “drink coke” and “eat popcorn” had flashed across the screen at an obscene speed. This is just one of many ways that subliminal messaging can be used.

When I was younger I was watching a television show, which was the first time I had ever heard about subliminal messaging. The show: Saved by the Bell, the message: bring your teacher flowers and candy. Throughout the episode the teacher in saved by the bell was letting her students listen to a tape of a brand new song. The song had subliminal messaging to get the students to bring the teacher gifts. After receiving the gifts she let everyone in on her secret.

I’m sure we would all like to think we are strong enough not to succumb to subliminal messaging but I do not think that is the truth. Subliminal messaging is a great idea for advertisers to use, and it is also rather scary to think that our brains can comprehend something that quickly that we don’t even know is going on.

3. Define the four stratagems of influence and apply them to a situation.

The four stratagems of influence are pre-persuasion, source credibility, message, and emotions. According to our text pre-persuasion refers to how the issue is structured and how the decision is framed. Pre-persuasion works around what people already know. The communicator of the issue can work with this because he or she can work with what the receiver already knows, they communicator can be persuading with out looking like they are.

The next stratagem of influence is source credibility. When you are listening to someone that is trying to persuade you to do something, or feel a certain way about an issue, you want to be able to look at him or her as credible. If you are looking at the person and they are well put together, and seem generally interested in what they are talking to you about, then you will be more inclined to trust the person as they are giving you information. If you were listening to someone preach about a topic that was dressed like a bum, and seemed completely un-interested in what they were speaking about, you wouldn’t be persuaded at all.

The third stratagem is to construct and deliver a message. The message being delivered should be given to the person receiving the proposal in a manner that reflects what the communicator wants them to be thinking about. For example, the communicator could try and add in information to the message that he or she knows would stand out to the person receiving it, this would help the communicator to know where the receiver is in terms of their thoughts.

The final stratagem is emotions. In the text it states that the communicator should arouse an emotion in the target and then follow up by offering them a way of responding to the emotion that coincides exactly with what the communicator wants to be the outcome. If the communicator knows exactly which chord to strike then it will enhance the chances of the receiver responding exactly how the communicator wants them to.

4. What are “magic bullets”? Give some examples and explain how they are magic bullets.

Magic bullets are fired by the media as a form or propaganda and persuasion. Magic bullets are different forms of propaganda that are fired in order to sway opinions of a certain point of view made evident by the communicator. There are many different types of magic bullets that can be used in propaganda and persuasion. On page 27 of our text it is stated that the CIA experimented with ““magic bullets” such as hypnosis, drugs, and subliminal implants, in an attempt to control human behavior.”

Hypnosis can be used as a magic bullet because when one is hypnotized by a communicator, while under the hypnosis the communicator could tell the receiver anything he or she wants and when awoken, for the most part that idea will be temporarily, or in some cases, permanently implanted in the receivers thoughts.

Drugs can be used as a “magic bullet” because when one is on drugs their thoughts and actions can be impaired, although this would be a horrible magic bullet for a communicator to use, it is still a possibility of one.

Probably the most influential magic bullet that a communicator could use is subliminal implants. I believe this would be the best choice for a magic bullet because there is no way that the receiver could be affected by the magic bullet long term. When the masses receive subliminal messaging, yes it puts ideas into their heads that may not have been there to begin with, but the technique is fair and un harmful.

Magic bullets are an interesting way to get a point across but in most cases would probably help the communicator achieve what he or she wanted to achieve.

Mary McNamee

Eng 315

Propaganda Project

I chose to do the “Save Alaska Campaign” for my propaganda project. As it is stated in the piece Alaska includes 83% of national wildlife refuge lands, 68% of all national park lands, and 50% of our nation’s coastline, and our two largest national forests. I wanted to get it our there as much as I can because Alaska is in danger. Oil needs to stop being drilled so much in Alaska because it is threatening the wildlife and the forest life in Alaska.

I hope that one day we wont have to worry about the wildlife in Alaska, or the rainforests, I hope that people begin to care more and more about what is going on over there and one day oil drilling will stop.

Critical Analysis 2

Mary McNamee

WRH 315

Critical Analysis #2

When it comes to the 2008 election, there are many different arguments to be made. There are many people who are taken back by the fact that our Democratic party is choosing between an African American male and a white female candidate. There has been much talk about Hilary Clinton running for president; a lot of negative comments have been made about the situation, especially from Republicans. The piece of propaganda to be analyzed is a cartoon drawing of a man, on his knees in front of a television set screaming “AHHHHHH!!” We cannot see the television but there is a bubble coming from it that says, “I’m Hilary Clinton, and I approve this message.”

The man in the propaganda cartoon is clearly is in opposition to Hilary Clinton running for president. The cartoon shows anger and frustration coming from a voter’s point of view, he is screaming in response to the add because clearly the thought of Hilary Clinton approving a message makes him feel uneasy about the message that he just heard, he is not a fan of Hilary Clinton and does not agree with what she has to say. It also shows a sense of fear, the man in this picture is afraid of what will happen if Hilary Clinton becomes president. This shows that the artist of the propaganda cartoon is very against Hilary Clinton running in the Democratic election for president of the United States.

There are a few things with this piece of propaganda that in my opinion could have been done a bit differently. It is a very clever way to depict the point that the artist is trying to get across, that he or she is not a supporter of Hilary Clinton. If there was one thing that could be changed about the article, it could have more text or dialogue. The text coming from the television set could have given more insight to what the message the artist was referring to was about.

This piece of propaganda leans toward one side of our presidential election, the side that does not want Hilary Clinton to run our country, and in a lot of cases it isn’t just because of the fact that she is Hilary Clinton, but just a woman in general, there are many people out there who would not be comfortable with a woman running our country, this piece could also be seen in that light.

UN Propaganda aimed at U.S. Schoolchildren

By Ann Shibler
Published: 2008-02-18 00:49

ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:

Marvel Entertainment, owner of Marvel Comics, is teaming up with the UN to produce a comic book for schoolchildren with the purpose of improving the UN’s bad image.

Follow this link to the original source: "Kapow! A hero for our troubled times"

COMMENTARY:

Marvel Comics will be working with the UN Office for Partnerships to produce a new comic book that will include UN characters and agencies working alongside Spider-Man and other superheroes to "settle bloody conflicts and right the world of disease." According to the UN press release: "By making the complex UN system accessible to youth, the partners hope to teach children the value of international cooperation, and sensitise them to the problems faced in other parts of the world."

Exact details have not yet been released, but American schoolchildren will be the first target for the UN’s propaganda blitz with the distribution of one million copies sometime in 2009. Eventually the plan is to translate the comic book into other languages, for further indoctrination of the world’s children. The UN wants children to get used to the idea of visits from UNICEF officials and visions of blue helmeted "peacekeeping" forces.

This project is something of an admission by the UN that the world body's reputation has sunk to new lows. The fact that they’ve had to resort to clever marketing techniques aimed at children in order to try and rescue their image speaks volumes.

What could these new UN comic books use as plot lines? A superhero needs a villain, of course. Marvel, in this case, need look no further than the UN itself for these. UN officials have been involved in exploitation of women and in sex rings in third world nations. Perhaps Marvel could have Spider-Man apprehend villains of this sort. Or maybe the X-men could bring to justice the criminals who profited from the oil-for-food program/scandal.

These would be more appropriate than using the beloved hero characters to convince children of the UN's suppose d beneficence.