"All you need is a ball and a hoop."
--Ann Stock, the State Department's assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, about using "smart power" in diplomatic efforts; image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Expellus Assadum! - Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: "The administration should ... continue to escalate its rhetorical condemnation of the violence and human
rights violations of the Assad regime, and use its public diplomacy to highlight those depredations for regional and international audiences." Assad image from article
Under Secretary of State Judith A. McHale to Speak at Event for for Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Students - Notice to the Press, US Department of State: "Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale will speak at a reception hosted by program founder Senator Richard Lugar to honor this year’s Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program participants, on Thursday, June 16, 2011. Senator Lugar will also offer remarks, as will selected YES students. The reception will take place in Room 902 of the Hart Senate Office Building, at 4:30 p.m. The 368 YES students participating in the event are from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Gaza, Israel (Arab community), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Tunisia, West Bank, and Yemen. Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the YES Program provides opportunities for high school students from countries with significant Muslim populations to live and study in the United States. This year, the program supported approximately 900 students who traveled to the United States from nearly 40 countries."
Vazquez, State Dept. team up on trip to Venezuela - The Associated Press: "Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez is in Venezuela this week as part of a State Department 'sports diplomacy' effort at a time of icy relations between the two countries. ... Vasquez declined to comment on whether the trip could help relations between the two nations. 'I'm an athlete. I don't have any connection with the politics at all,' Vasquez said. 'It's a good sport to unite people. ... The political side I can't control.' ... Venezuela's foreign minister said last week that relations between the two countries are frozen, and his government sees no possibility of improving them. That came after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company for doing business with Iran. The foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, said Venezuela had been trying to establish a dialogue with U.S. officials since Barack Obama became president, but those attempts were spurned. Still, Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary for public diplomacy in the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, told the AP that U.S. government remains open to a dialogue with Venezuela on a range of issues. She said that 'public diplomacy' efforts like this week's trip are designed to support traditional diplomacy. Ann Stock, the State Department's assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, said in an interview that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has talked about using 'smart power' in diplomatic efforts. 'She means using every tool at our disposal,' said Stock, who oversees the sports diplomacy office known as SportsUnited. 'A lot of that has to do with people-to-people engagement, but this tool we're using at our disposal right now is basketball, and it brings people together in ways that we often can't bring people together. ... All you need is a ball and a hoop.'
Stock added that Clinton has stressed that government-to-government relations can't do it alone. ... The U.S. has used sports diplomacy for decades, most famously in the 'pingpong diplomacy' with China in the early 1970s that thawed relations and helped pave the way for a historic visit by President Richard Nixon." Image, with caption: This Dec. 2, 2010 file photo shows Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez (21), of Venezuela, bringing the ball down court against the Atlanta Hawks in an NBA basketball game, in Atlanta."
Blogging for Political and Social Change U.S. Department of State - Ethiopian Review: "As Secretary Clinton returns from Africa, here in Washington D.C. the State Department has been hosting some of the world’s best known and most influential bloggers, including several headliners from Africa. The bloggers are part of a larger international group of online journalists and activists from Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda,
Bahrain, Burma, China and at least a dozen other countries. They have already met with Secretary Clinton’s Senior Advisor for Innovation, Alec Ross, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Daniel Baer. Also on tap are discussions with government and independent U.S. bloggers and several groups working on promoting freedom of expression on the Internet. ... Alec Ross said to the bloggers in Washington, 'There are more than 190 countries in the world today and we have the exact same internet policy in every single one of them: Keep it free and open.' He went on to discuss efforts to provide new technologies to bloggers around the world that would help them remain anonymous while on-line. He also outlined a Department-wide push to use social media to reach out to the general public in countries where we may have traditionally only been able to interact with a tiny slice of the total population." Image from article
Travels with Lady Emma: Post-revolutionary Tunisia may be a bit shaky, but it still feels pretty moderate - Thomas E. Ricks/Emma Sky, Foreign Policy: "I am invited by U.S. Embassy friends to dinner in a very swish restaurant in Tunis. Keen to show its support for the Tunisian people and the Revolution, a State Department team has been dispatched to Tunisia to help the Embassy increase outreach to Tunisians, build the capacity of the Tunisian media, and identify how best to design a public diplomacy program. For years, the activities of the U.S. Embassy in Tunis were limited by the regime. Embassy officials had limited access to officials, required permission to visit universities, and needed permits to travel. The political section had kept Washington informed of the excesses of Ben Ali and the corruption of his cronies. Suddenly the revolution has turned things upside down. Embassy officials can now meet with who ever they like and travel where they want. And Tunisians appear keen to receive US support. I chat with a 27 year old Tunisian man wearing a Superwoman t-shirt. He tells me he was ready to die for the revolution. He put his money in the bank in his brother's name before going out to protest. He is a total geek. He tells me that he was opened up to U.S. culture by Disney, Marvel, and Hanna Barbera. ... The evening goes long, as we drank through bottles of wine, eat copious amounts of food, while engrossed in deep conversations about making the world a better place. In the background, the Tunisian singer tirelessly plays song after song of golden oldies in a multitude of languages. I am humming along to Dalila's 'Kilma kilmatain hilwa ya baladi' when the bill arrives. Our table goes quiet.
We have been charged $1,000 for the lobster." Image from article
Via VOA, President Obama calls on Sudan and South Sudan leaders to end violence - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Epic Fail: Obama Supporters Try to Defend His Middle East Policy - Barry Rubin, Rubin Reports: "In a sense, Obama’s strategy is like that of French President Charles de Gaulle in 1967, turning from a strong bilateral alliance with Israel to a policy of distancing oneself from Israel in a bid to win support from Arabs and Muslims. Of course, Obama cannot go so far as de Gaulle did, but that’s more due to American public opinion and Congress than to anything in Obama’s own psyche. What fascinates me is that on the rare occasions when Obama supporters defend his policy against real and informed criticism, they cannot come up with anything good ... [Comment by Roy Lofquist:] Public diplomacy and negotiation are just a show. Posturing. The two sides are talking to each other directly. It is a rather serious discussion. Every time the Palestinians do something provocative the IDF or the Mossad drop a rocket in someone’s pocket. I’m fairly certain that the Palestinians have been informed that if they go to the UN that the leadership will find that they have suddenly acquired extra pockets."
US: ‘We’re with you on Spratlys’: Emboldened Aquino cites int’l law violation - Regina Bengco: "The United States yesterday expressed its support for the Philippines’ stance on the west Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute, much to the delight of Philippine officials. 'I wanna assure you that on all subjects, we, the United States, are with the Philippines,' said US Ambassador Harry Thomas. 'The Philippines and the United States are strategic treaty allies. We are partners. We will continue to consult and work with each other on all issues, including the South China Sea and Spratly Islands.' ... Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez
said government should step up its condemnation of China’s bullying by bringing it before the international community, the area where he said China is most vulnerable. 'We can hurt China in an area where they are most vulnerable and where a credible attack can be launched and sustained: their international image. A diplomatic alliance with Vietnam appears to be the most viable starting point in this diplomatic offensive,' Golez said. Speaking at a weekly Church-organized forum, Golez said using the 'public diplomacy' strategy would work well for the country amid its admitted inferiority to China’s military strength." See also. Image from
Is the Voice of Russia News or Propaganda? - topsecretwriters.com: "I have noticed that a great number of 'media sources' coming out of Russia today are little more than propaganda machines meant to belittle American leadership and encourage discontent among the U.S. population by distributing partially or completely fabricated conspiracy theories about events that affect the American people. ... Due to these sort of experiences, I’m very wary of Voice of Russia (VOR) Radio, which will be based out of New York (1430 AM) and Washington, D.C. (1390 AM). The radio program has always been broadcast out of Moscow, but the launch of these radio stations represents the first time that the program will be broadcast from within the United States. As part of the launch, VOR hosted a panel discussion on June 9th at the National Press Club in D.C. with several U.S.-Russian diplomacy experts. Some of the issues that were planned for the discussion included a reference to how the modern approach to public diplomacy is no longer a 'ideological/propaganda effort,' but is instead one of 'explaining their perspectives.' Panelists also discussed similarities and differences between this station and the 'Voice of America,' as well as how they predict the new stations will be received by the public. My own estimation is that the station should be closely monitored for baseless claims and erroneous statements made on air that lack supporting evidence – the sign of propaganda." Image from article
Brad Waring Travels to Washington For Dinner with the Queen of Denmark - mackrell.net: "Nexsen Pruet attorney Brad Waring was among those who dined with her Majesty Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark on Wednesday evening June 8th in Washington, D.C. The Danish Monarchy said it is one in 'a series of events that focus on cultural and business relations between Denmark
and the United States.' The dinner preceded a Meeting of Danish Honorary Consuls. Waring is Honorary Danish Consul for North and South Carolina and will meet with consuls from across the country. The discussed topics such as how business is conducted between American and Danish companies, public diplomacy and consular services that Danish tourists may need while visiting the States." Queen's image from
Baku hosts round table “NATO: a Political & Military Alliance of 21st Century” - news.az: "A round table entitled “NATO: a Political & Military Alliance of 21st Century” was organized by the Embassy of Romania – NATO Contact Point Embassy in Azerbaijan and Center for National and International Studies in Baku on Wednesday.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador of Romania to Azerbaijan Nicolae Ureche said the round table had significant importance for public diplomacy. He said the public community should be informed about the missions and commitments of the North Atlantic alliance in details." Image from article
Chinese ambassador talks to compatriot netizens - europolitics.info: "The Chinese Ambassador to the EU, Song Ke, talked to Chinese netizens about EU-China relations on an online forum, on 16 June. He confirmed that Beijing supports European integration because it will provide more opportunities to deepen bilateral relations politically, economically and culturally. 2011 was proclaimed the EU-China Year of Youth, which aims to 'promote' and 'deepen' strategic partnership between the EU and China through exchanges and communication between young people. Song said that the relationship between young people is a decisive factor shaping the future of the China-EU relationship. Public diplomacy has become an important mechanism for Beijing to promote bilateral relations. China has already established 130 Confucius Institutes in 20 European countries and signed educational partnership agreements with all 27 member states of the EU. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has launched a scholarship programme (EU Window), which provides the opportunity for a hundred European students to study in China each year. The EU-China Year of Youth webiste is at www.2011y.net. Further information on EU investments in China is available at www.europeanchamber.com.cn/view/home"
Summary of editorials from the Israeli press 15-Jun-2011 - press release, isria.com: "Yediot Aharonot discusses the recent incident in which the British band Coldplay
featured a pro-Palestinian song and an accompanying 'tendentious and one-sided,' video on its website. The author believes that 'A film, protest song, book with social messages, computer game or comic book created by a pro-Palestinian web surfer are much more influential than an Israeli spokesman – as polished as he may be – being interviewed on CNN,' and asserts that 'Israeli public diplomacy must continue to quickly adapt itself to the new situation that has been created, while developing and creating additional 'soft public diplomacy' tools.' The paper also calls on the Government to triple its 'approximately NIS 50 million' public diplomacy budget and to furnish ordinary Israelis and Diaspora Jews alike with 'innovative tools, based on the Internet and the social media, that will encourage a range of responses, creative means and public diplomacy to present Israel in a balanced way.'" Image from
The Turkish model - ahram.org: "It is impossible to have a political conversation these days – and politics is all Egyptians ever talk about – without the word Turkey cropping up within minutes. Turkey is the topic of interest: meetings are being held to discuss it, and writers, journalists, bloggers and even tweeters write incessantly about the lessons the Turkish model holds for Egypt at this crucial juncture while the country readies for a democratic transformation following the great uprising of 25 January. Many of these speakers and writers, including the present one, have had the opportunity to visit Turkey over the last couple of months at the invitation of one or other Turkish institution, many of which are currently conducting a highly successful public diplomacy campaign. Naturally, such visits increased on the eve of the Turkish elections, as many interested groups, including a group of 'Young Revolutionaries,' were invited to follow the Turkish democratic experiment at close range."
‘Constitution-making, Kurdish issue, Syria to top gov’t agenda’ - Yonca Poyraz Doğan, Today's Zaman: "A former adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that the new government, expected to be formed by July, will focus on efforts to replace Turkey’s military-era constitution with a more democratic one, solving the country’s consuming 'Kurdish issue' and keeping in close contact with the Syrian government 'to stop inhumane acts' from being committed. 'To write the constitution and solve the Kurdish
issue will take a lot of skill,' said Nabi Avcı, a newly elected Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy from the province of Eskişehir and former senior media advisor to Erdoğan, at a meeting with members of the foreign press organized by the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Public Diplomacy Office." Image from
Policy wonk Rudd's grand vision for regional diplomacy: The Australia Network - Malcolm Colless, On Line opinion: "Kevin Rudd may no longer be Australia’s Prime Minister (perhaps, in his mind, just a temporary aberration) but he has clearly not surrendered his role as the country’s leading political control freak. His strategy to dramatically upgrade Australia’s standing in middle power diplomacy through a rebirth of the Government owned international television service, Australia Network, puts this beyond doubt. Rudd has overseen a highly complex revision of the operational base for this service which, should we be surprised, involves positioning himself as Foreign Minister, at the centre of day to day programming. ... Rudd, ever the policy wonk, clearly believes that sport is a distraction from the real public diplomacy objectives behind the service. As such he wants weekend sports broadcasts heavily cut back and replaced by documentaries and education programs with education guaranteed a two-hour block each day."
Canada-India Innovation Summit next week - Gurmukh Singh: "India and Canada will break yet another milestone in their burgeoning ties as they hold the first Canada-India Innovation Summit June 20-21. Kapil Sibal, minister of communications and information technology, and John Baird, Canadian minister of foreign affairs, will set the tone for the two-day summit at Ottawa's Carleton University. ... Carleton is also home to the Canada-India Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy aimed at raising awareness about bilateral studies and public diplomacy, and develop initiatives to build a better understanding of the two countries."
Introd[uc]tion to weekly theme of “Cultural Diplomacy News Blog”: Cultural Diplomacy and Latin America [video] - The ICD Interns Voice
Racism: Court hears suit against British Council July 20 - Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Vanguard: "An Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama, yesterday, fixed July 20 to commence hearing on a suit that was instituted before it by a Nigerian lady, Mrs. Ramatu Umar Bako, who is demanding N300 million damages from the British Council,
following her alleged illegal dismissal from office. The plaintiff is praying the court to invoke its jurisdiction against the defendant, saying she was arbitrarily sacked from her job as Public Diplomacy Portfolio Manager, on April 1, 2010, as an aftermath of an altercation she had with her white colleague during an ‘Active Citizen’s Participant Programme’ that was held by the council in Kano, last year. Image from
Experts question Agus for ‘personal’ backing of Lagarde - thejakartapost.com: "International relations observers agree are questioning Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo 'personal' support of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to lead the International Monetary Fund(IMF). University of Indonesia international relations expert Mahmud Syaltout said on Wednesday that Agus’ ministerial appointment was political, so everything he said was a political statement from a public diplomacy point of view."
Science Diplomacy: New Day or False Dawn? - guerrilladiplomacy.com: "Guerrilla Diplomacy’s central argument, in its most highly distilled form, is that if development has in large part become the new security in the age of globalization, then diplomacy must displace defence at the centre of international policy. In this formulation, diplomacy, which is all about privileging talking over fighting and using non-violent political communication rather than armed force to resolve international disputes, would be placed front and centre in international relations. Traditional diplomacy involves the representatives of states transacting the business of government among and between themselves. By way of contrast, public diplomacy (PD) involves the use of dialogue, advocacy and public relations by envoys to engage directly with foreign publics in order to influence their governments. PD has become a critical component of statecraft – not just in industrialized countries – and it looms large in the current literature on diplomatic studies.
Science diplomacy (SD) is a crucial, if under-utilized, component within the PD constellation, and in itself represents a significant source of soft power, that potent form of influence which is based on attraction and harnesses national influence, reputation, and brand. Science diplomacy is significant not only in its capacity to address many of the earth’s most urgent challenges, but also because it is an effective emissary of important values such as evidence-based learning, openness and sharing."
Meeting Of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy - Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State: "For further information about the meeting, please contact Deputy Outreach Coordinator Tiffany Enoch, Office of Economic Policy Analysis and Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, at (202) 647-2231 or EnochT@state.gov."
ISDIP Appoints Ellene A. Felder NYC Regional Diversity & Inclusion Director - hop-stop.info: "The International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals (ISDIP),
the first global comprehensive association for the diversity and inclusion field, spanning all industries and sectors, today named Ellene A. Felder Regional Diversity and Inclusion Director in the New York City. ... Ellene has held business development and leadership roles at Deloitte Touche, Right Management, and Greater Philadelphia First. While at McClure Management, she developed supplier diversity strategies for the first W/MBE firm to offer outplacement and career development consulting. She began her career in Washington, DC in a public diplomacy role with the US Department of State. Ellene received her certification in Inclusion, Diversity and Cross Cultural Management from the University of Houston." Image from
RELATED ITEMS
Misdelivered NATO leaflets tell Libyan rebels to "stop fighting" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South) – 152350utc Jun 11 - milnewsca.wordpress.com
UN Report Debunks Israel’s Naksa Propaganda – Mondoweiss, eurasiareview.com: "Immediately after the Israeli military reportedly killed a number of unarmed demonstrators in the occupied-Golan Heights on June 5, Israel’s propaganda machine went into high gear.
Newly-released details from a United Nations report authored by the Secretary General clearly show that the Israeli spin on the Naksa protests was just that: spin." Image from
Three senior generals testify over black propaganda websites - todayszaman.com: Three senior generals arrived at an İstanbul courthouse early Wednesday to testify to a specially authorized prosecutor as part of an investigation into a number of websites set up by the General Staff to support alleged Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) propaganda campaigns against civilian groups. Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bakıcı was the first to arrive at the Beşiktaş Courthouse, followed by Maj. Gen. Hıfzı Çubuklu and Lt. Gen. Mehmet Eröz. The three generals were questioned by prosecutor Cihan Kansız as “suspects” in the investigation. All three generals were released after interrogation. The existence of the TSK websites, which are at the center of this investigation, was revealed by an email sent by an officer to a number of newspapers, journalists in 2009. The officer, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that the armed forces had established 42 separate websites to back its psychological warfare campaign against civilian groups it deemed “reactionary,” “separatist,” “pro-Justice and Development Party [AK Party]” and “anti-TSK.” Image from article, with caption: Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bakıcı takes a coffee break at the Beşiktaş Courthouse after being questioned for hours by a civilian prosecutor.
Social Media Help Keep the Door Open to Sustained Dissent Inside Saudi Arabia - Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times: Social media, which helped drive protests across the Arab world, seems tailor-made for Saudi Arabia, where public gatherings are illegal, women are strictly forbidden to mix with unrelated men and people seldom mingle outside their family. Virtually any issue that contradicts official Saudi policy now pops up online, including the status of prisoners being held without trial or a call to boycott municipal elections this September. Louai A. Koufiah, a Twitter enthusiast, quipped: “Saudis cannot go out to demonstrate, so they retweet!”
Do I have to spell it out for you? - Mark H. Teeter, extreme English, The Moscow News: If you’re an expatriate American with functional Russian, try this little cross-cultural experiment with a couple Muscovite friends who don’t know English: start telling them about our great National Spelling Bee, the 84th edition of which just concluded in Washington…
As you explain the basics on this hugely popular, media-saturated, gladiator-like event which sets junior-high students battling each other for big money, you will soon note your Russian friends raising their eyebrows and perhaps exchanging quizzical glances… until one of them finally asks: “Wait – this is a contest to see whether people can spell words in their own language?” Image from article
Facebook's face problem: The social networking company, which is repurposing personal information as its builds a database of facial images, should obtain its users' permission for its automatic-identification feature - Editorial, latimes.com: Nothing gives people the creeps more than the sense that some hidden force is watching them. In George Orwell's telling of this story, that force was a totalitarian government surveilling the public to suppress dissent. In the contemporary version, it's a seemingly ubiquitous Internet company vacuuming up personal information to build profits. Like, say, Facebook. In its latest privacy intrusion, the Silicon Valley powerhouse has built a gargantuan photo collection of the faces of Facebook users — and non-users. For now, the company is using the database and facial recognition software only to help users identify the people in the snapshots they upload to the social network. Nevertheless, it's just the kind of repurposing of personal information that companies should obtain users' permission for — a step that companies don't like to take because it results in fewer people participating.
Why We Fight: Frank Capra’s WWII Propaganda Films - Charles Silver, moma.org: These notes accompany the screenings of Frank Capra’s Why We Fight WWII propaganda films on June 8, 9, and 10 in Theater 3. Because everyone went to the movies during World War II, the American government found the film industry to be more helpful in propagandizing the populace than at any time before or since. Americans were movie-mad and generally believed whatever they saw at the local theater. As part of the war effort, the Roosevelt administration enlisted the services of numerous major film directors who had volunteered for military service, and it’s interesting to look at these (mostly) documentaries from an auteurist standpoint. For example, John Ford’s The Battle of Midway (1942) strongly reflected Ford’s personality in its sentiments, its visuals, and its use of actors like Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell, who were closely identified with Ford’s great The Grapes of Wrath. Ford was injured in the Japanese attack on Midway, but continued his filming with a 16mm camera. Directing doesn’t get much more personal than that. Similarly, John Huston’s Report From the Aleutians (1943) and San Pietro (1945)
reflected the virile simplicity of style Huston had displayed in The Maltese Falcon and would display in many of his postwar films, perhaps most notably in his butchered Civil War epic, The Red Badge of Courage. Hollywood’s most ambitious project was the series of seven films designated Why We Fight, the first two of which are included in this program. The U.S. War Department under General George Marshall chose Major (eventually Colonel) Frank Capra (1897–1991) to produce these films. Capra, a naturalized American from Sicily, had already been a successful Hollywood director for 20 years, with credits that included It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He had never made a documentary, but none questioned his patriotism. From the content of his fiction films, one could interpret his political views as ranging from proto-fascism to collectivism, but war and talent transcend consistency. He had held many important positions in the Motion Picture Academy and the Screen Directors Guild, and Why We Fight won him the Distinguished Service Medal. Prelude to War received an Oscar. The films themselves (“emotionalized history lessons” as film historian Erik Barnouw called them) remain extremely watchable. Capra had access to plenty of Hollywood’s best talents, including the narrator for the series, Walter Huston, who was fast becoming Hollywood’s favorite wise old man and who conveyed the kind of reliability and credibility that Walter Cronkite lent to the Vietnam television generation. Capra also borrowed techniques and footage liberally from Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will. Like so many films of the period, Why We Fight presents a dogmatic portrait of Axis fanaticism and, with respect to Japan, is tinged with racism. Although these views may have seemed extreme at the time, subsequent revelations (the Holocaust, death marches, comfort women, etc.) suggested these portrayals didn’t go far enough. In any case, Capra, like the Axis powers, was not known for his subtleties. It may be hard for today’s cynical generation to fully grasp, but Americans were never before or since so united behind a cause. Given the isolationist spirit of the 1930s, Capra and his colleagues deserve a lot of credit for making America the main cog in the machine that saved civilization. Of course, corners were cut, and much was glossed over. Stalin inevitably emerges as some kind of hero, as does Chiang Kai-shek. The Allied alliance would soon unravel when the war ended, but the movies had never been used so effectively to bring diverse people together for what was essentially a noble purpose. Capra had promised Marshall, “I’ll make the best darn documentary films ever made.” He came pretty darn close.
When propaganda was not a bad thing: Linked in with neat York County history stuff - Jim McClure, yorkblog.com: Posters, specifically called propaganda posters, designed to raise morale and reinforce defense themes, cropped up in public places in World Wars I and II. Many were colorful and attractive, undertaken by name-brand artists. They reminded Americans why they were fighting and what the fight was for. From left, the heroism of Dorie Miller, a Navy messman who
The Virgin/Whore Binary in World War II Propaganda - Lisa Wade, Sociological Images: "We’ve posted previously about the ways in which World War II posters aimed at U.S. soldiers warned against 'venereal disease' (what we now know as sexually transmitted infections) by personifying them as dangerous, diseased women. Molly W. and Jessica H. have shown us to a new source of propaganda posters, so now seems as good a time to revisit the phenomenon. In our previous post, I articulated the problem as follows: ['] Remember, venereal disease is NOT a woman. It’s bacteria or virus that passes between women and men. Women do not give it to men. Women and men pass it to each other. When venereal disease is personified as a woman, it makes women the diseased, guilty party and men the vulnerable, innocent party.['] This first poster is an excellent example. In it, the woman is synonymous with death:
ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY
“You know each other?”
--Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney, addressing an old married couple
FATHER'S DAY GREETING
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