Reign Of Louis XIV Propaganda example essay topic

Propaganda is one of the most overlooked causes of war. It is the very element that sways peoples' thoughts and beliefs to match those of the creators of the propaganda in question. It is used to persuade people to do certain acts in order to gain or maintain power. This was the case starting as early as the reign of Louis XIV and going as far as today as advertising. Propaganda is one of the most useful methods in times of war. It is still used in different ways today for elections, marketing products, and more, but it has come a long way from being just a symbolic painting with a hidden message.

Propaganda can be dated back all the way to the reign of Louis XIV. When Louis wanted to be more than just a king, when he wanted to be the ultimate figure in the lives of the people he ruled, he used propaganda. In the historical painting Louis can be seen being compared to old Greek gods implying the fact that he is just that, a god. He made full use of these paintings making the people believe everything he wanted them to.

The fact that he even thought to use these paintings shows his intelligence. This was the first time in history these types of influential methods were used to such a high impact. Hence, the beginning of the modern propaganda we see today and later in history. Louis had people doing his every will for him.

He had servants for every aspect of his life, and to maintain this power he had put propaganda to work. The irony of this is that this is the very method that brought about the end of monarchy in France. In the major event that followed the reign of Louis XIV propaganda was put to an extensive use. The propaganda in the French Revolution was used to the exact opposite effect of that which Louis XIV would have wanted.

The propaganda in the French Revolution was used to make the people believe that the monarchy was a great evil that was going against the will of the French people. This created a spark in the people to get together and stand up. The propaganda helped the people know that they were not alone in their ideals and goals and at the same time persuaded those to join the cause. The propaganda was one major contributor of bringing down the monarchy. The people at that time were easily persuaded by such artwork and immediately responded. "The public can be enormously gullible at times".

(The Public Relations Journal). Obviously the propaganda used in this event was quite successful because there is no longer a monarchy controlling the country of France. Good propaganda focuses on peoples' insecurities and uses that to its advantage. What better way to exploit peoples' insecurities than Revolutions? Revolutions made full use of every little bit of propaganda. They are the ideal event to use propaganda to its full potential (that and war).

Propaganda is the ideal way to persuade people to join a cause, to make it look as though the enemy is also the enemy of free will and against the will of the people. The American Revolution wasn't hesitant about using that very thought to defeat its enemies. To win the war the Americans first had to get the people to stand with them and fight for the cause. Propaganda was a perfect solution to that problem.

The American Revolution constantly showed Britain as being the evil coming to take away the freedoms of the American people. Americans did not hesitate to take up arms now that it was known other citizens would be fighting along side them. The Americans firmly believed that Britain was a great evil due to constant barrages of posters showing Britain as the bad guys. Though propaganda has never been a substitute for military strength, extensive resources, or skilful negotiation, it has often played an important role in wartime strategy. War is an excellent opportunity to scare people into thinking that if they don't join the cause they might perish and their security would be in jeopardy. In war times it must be explained to the people that the situation is very simple.

It must be explained that it is just a matter of good versus evil; everything is in black and white, right and wrong. Only after making the population truly believe this, can the people be convinced into joining the cause without first knowing what the people are actually getting into. In World War II, propaganda was used on a massive scale to make the population enlist and fight the evil. Both sides were producing these types of advertisements and trying their absolute best to do so. The populations were constantly bombarded by new terms and how the evil was closing in. The fear was growing and the propaganda was causing it.

By now, new forms of technology were invented to communicate to the masses. Radio was a constant source of valuable information. Both sides noticed this and both sides immediately took opportunities to use these radio waves for their own advantage. There was now a new method of creating a widespread belief into the heart of the common man. Propaganda however did not stop there. In Germany, propaganda was in press, radio, theatre, cinema, the creative arts, music, writings and art exhibitions.

When every book people read, every newspaper, every film they saw, every broadcast, showed the same message over and over again, the people just began to lose their judgement. The population enlisted by the masses. After they had enlisted, the propaganda did not stop there, the recruits were then forced to watch even more movies on the "enemy", how wrong they were and what the enemy stood for. Hitler himself was a very persuasive form of propaganda in Germany. He was a simple man who shared the thoughts and feelings of that of the common man. Hitler was seen as a symbol of something that the rest of the population could relate to.

Hitler was one of them and because of this, he had enormous impacts. Hitler's' very words were a form of propaganda. Hitler spoke the language of the people and understood them. Hitler's's peaches had an enormous impact on the ideals of the people.

Hitler and his Nazis were the saviour's of the people. We see clearly that this war could only end with the extermination of the Germanic peoples, or that Jewry must disappear from Europe. I already said it on September 1, 1939 [sic] in the German Reichstag... that this war will not end the way the Jews have foreseen it, namely that the European Aryan peoples will be exterminated; rather the result of this war will be the annihilation of Jewry. For once all the others will not bleed to death alone; for once the ancient Jewish law will come into play: an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth. (Adolf Hitler's Words in German With English Translation) Here, Hitler clearly states his intentions and because he is seen as such a respected figure, his words are taken to heart. Germany was not the only nation to use propaganda during World War II.

America was making constant attempts to make Hitler and his Nazis look as evil as possible. Propaganda was all over, everywhere to be seen. America was trying to build up its forces as fast as possible and propaganda was the means to do it. World War II was literally won by propaganda. The beliefs of so many people were toyed with during this war.

If it was not for propaganda during that time the armies would have been considerably smaller. Also, Nazism would not have been as effective as it was.