Film is truth 24 times a second, and every cut is a lie. -Jean Luc Godard

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1 ID 300 Ethics: Propaganda Nothing is easier than leading people on a leash. I just hold up a dazzling campaign poster and they jump through it We want to work on people until they are addicted to us... -Joseph Goebbels There is in fact no such thing as art for art s sake, art that stands above classes, art that is detached from or independent of politics. Michael Wolf One person s truth is all too often another s propaganda. Thus whether or not that which is being presented is true or false, it is the way in which it is used that determines whether or not it is in fact propaganda. -Nicholas Reeves Film is truth 24 times a second, and every cut is a lie. -Jean Luc Godard Instructor Information: Instructor: Rocky Owens, Director/Humanities Lecturer Office: Lewis-Clark State College (CDA), Harbor Center, Suite 144 Office Hours: Schedule by appointment: (208) rwowens@lcsc.edu

2 Course Materials: Text (Recommended): Nicholas Reeves, The Power of Film Propaganda, Continuum, London, Course Description: As an interdisciplinary, integrative capstone seminar, this course takes an ethical position to examine the relationship between propaganda and political ideologies across the 20 th century by way of the medium of film. A number of media mediums, especially films and graphic art (state sponsored and otherwise) will be assessed and shown to have had a significant impact on social/political change over the course of the 20 th century. The mass manipulation of society and the manufacture of public consent will be examined with relevance to ethical considerations and the rise of socialism, fascism, and cold war positions. Visual themes, musical scores, rhetorical composition, and symbolic elements will be analyzed for implicit and explicit messages. The relevance of information vis-àvis propaganda will be examined from the perspective of truth advocacy. This course takes a socio-critical approach to analyze the intent of propaganda on mass populations. Course Organization This course will be organized around three significant periods of the 20 th century. Each period will be supported with a contextual introduction to the central socio-economic, historical and political events that shaped the prevailing ideology of each epoch. Mass mediums from films, posters, and books will be examined within each period, but film will serve as the principle medium to demonstrate the political agendas of a nation state during a given period of the 20 th century. Course discussions will be followed with additional readings and response papers. Film Reference Guide The Rise of Socialism (Soviet Russia from ) Battleship Potemkin (Russia) October (Russia) America Goes Over (USA) So They Tell Me (USA) The Rise of Fascism (Germany/Italy from ) Evil Mickey Attacks Japan (Imperial Japan) The Eye of the Dictator Wonderful/Horrible Life (Germany) Youth of the World (Germany) Triumph of the Will (Germany) The Eternal Jew (Germany) Theresienstadt (Germany) Jud Suss (Germany)

3 The Rise of The Resistance (Allies from ) London Can Take It (Britain) Why We Fight (Britain) 49 th Parallel (Britain) Our Enemy (USA) Uncle Sam (USA) The Volunteer (Britain) Went the Day Well (Britain) The Battle of San Pietro (USA) Propaganda: Your Job in Germany (USA) Don t Be a Sucker (USA) Unpublished Story (USA) Walt Disney Studies (USA) Warner Brothers Studies (USA) Mission to Moscow (USA) Rome Open City (Italy) Paisan (Italy) The Rise of the Cold War ( ) Animated Soviet Propaganda (U.S.S.R.) Red Nightmare-Educational Reel (U.S.A.) He May Be A Communist (U.S.A.) I Was a Communist for the FBI (USA) Big Jim McClain (USA) The Woman on Pier 13 (USA) Commies Will Brainwash You (USA) Red Detachment of Women (P.R.C.) Red Guards on Honghu Lake (P.R.C.) Visitors on the Icy Mountain (P.R.C.) The Day After (USA) Rocky IV (USA) Red Dawn (USA) Propaganda Documentaries Faces of the Enemy Words and Contexts The Propaganda Battle

4 Course Outcomes The student will be able to more critically discern intent from propaganda and assess this intent within an ethical framework. The student will be familiar with state sponsored propaganda in the 20th century. The student will be able better seave distinctions between information, persuasion and propaganda. The student will recognize propaganda from four distinct periods of the 20 th century. The student will be able to identify Laswell s approaches to war time propaganda. The student will be familiar with common propaganda techniques at work in the mass media. The student will be able to recognize how language is used as symbolic thought to represent ideologies in visual media. The student will understand social-psychological precepts of mass media manipulation. Course Material: The required textbook, The Power of Film Propaganda, is a complementary reader to accompany classroom screenings/lectures. The majority of examination questions on the final exam will focus on screenings, assigned readings from the textbook and supplemental readings. The textbook is designed to provide a deeper, more comprehensive analysis of the historical context and background which fames each of the three examined historical eras. Course Assessment Exams & Projects: Grading Scale Class Participation 300 pts ,000 pts. A pts. C Response Essay (2x) 500 pts pts. A pts. C- Final Exam 200 pts pts. B pts. D+ Maximum achievable points 1000 pts pts. B pts. D pts. B pts. D pts. C+ Class Participation (300 pts.): Discussions and screening of films serve as the primary learning modalities; students are expected to be present to screen films. Exam questions and response review assignments will require you to directly reference these viewings and post screening discussions. Students who miss more than one class will be subject to a 25 point reduction in their overall class participation points, unless other arrangements have been made with the instructor. Students who have a medical emergency or similar relevant emergency should speak with the instructor in advance of missed course, if possible. Students are expected to view any films

5 which they may have missed during an absence from class. Films are available in review in variety of formats. Final Exam (200 pts.): The final exam will serve as an overall measurement of understanding course lectures and supplemental readings provided by the instructor. Students should expect to take notes from the class lectures/film screenings and catalogue all course handouts with an idea that they will be need to reference these notes/handouts during the final exam. A number of questions will also call for direct analysis of films which were viewed throughout the course. Students will have a dedicated class period to sit this short answer/essay exam. Response Essay 250 pts.): Students are required to submit two critical response essays ( words per essay) focused on specific topic areas. Students are encouraged to take notes from the screenings with reference to three aspects: Who is the source? What is the message? How is the message delivered? Response reviews should be typed, double spaced, and include direct references from film(s). Students are welcome to compose their responses in a first person narrative and include outside references where appropriate. If the student wishes to review the films again outside of scheduled class times, most of the films screened in class should be available through the NIC Molstead library check out desk and/or other online video resources. Disability Statement: If a student requires course adaptations and/or accommodations because of a documented disability, please confirm that the instructor has fully received information on these accommodations from Disability Services. Graded Assignments: Unclaimed course assignments will usually be discarded within 30 days after the course s completion unless previous arrangements have been made with the instructor.

6 Tentative Class Schedule, Fall 2018 Thursday, August 23, 2018 Course Introduction Origins of Propaganda Historical Overview Film and Propaganda Information vs. Propaganda The Social Psychological Perspective The Psychology of Group Behavior: The Bandwagon Effect Criteria for Assessing Propaganda: Response Questionnaire Screening: Faces of the Enemy Readings: Assigned articles Thursday, August 30, 2018 The Rise of Socialism Screening: Animated Soviet Propaganda We ll Keep Our Eyes Peeled Soviet Toys Battleship Potemkin (Soviet Russia) Thursday, September 6, 2018 The Rise of Fascism Screening: Triumph of the Will (Nazi Germany) Wonderful/Horrible Life (Nazi Germany) Thursday, September 13, 2018 The Rise of Fascism (Cont.) Screening: The Eternal Jew (Nazi Germany) Theresienstadt (Nazi Germany) A Film Unfinished (Nazi Germany) Evil Mickey Attacks Japan (Imperial Japan) Readings: Article: Propaganda & Dictatorships Prop. & Third Reich, A Case for Uncertainty

7 Thursday, September 20, 2018 The Rise of the Resistance Screening: Our Enemy (U.S.A.) Why We Fight (U.S.A.) Disney on the Front Lines (U.S.A.) A Conversation with Roy Disney/ Joe Grant Thrifty Pig Food Will Win the War Out of the Frying Pan Der Fuehrer s Face Education for Death Reason and Emotion Warner Brothers (USA) Bugs Bunny-Herr Meets Hare Bugs Bunny-Nips the Nip Thursday, September 27, 2018 The Rise of the Resistance (Cont.) Screening: 49 th Parallel (Britain) Thursday, October 4, 2018 The Rise of the Resistance (Cont.) Screening: London Can Take It (Britain) Went the Day Well (Britain) Thursday, October 11, 2018 No Class-Academic Meeting Due: Critical Response Essay #1 Thursday, October 18, 2018 The Rise of the Resistance (Cont.) Screening: Mission to Moscow (USA) Animated Soviet Propaganda (Soviet Russia) Kino-Circus Fascist Boot on our Homeland The Vultures What Hitler Wants

8 Thursday, October 25, 2018 The Rise of the Cold War Screening: Red Nightmare (USA) Atomic Café (USA) Thursday, November 1, 2018 The Rise of the Cold War (Cont.) Screening: I Was A Communist for the FBI (USA) He May Be a Communist (USA) Thursday, November 8, 2018 TBD Thursday, November 15, 2018 The Rise of Cold War (Cont.) Screening: Animated Soviet Propaganda (U.S.S.R.) Mister Twister, The Millionaire, Someone Else s Voice Big Jim McClain (USA) Thursday, November 22, 2018 No Class-Thanksgiving Thursday, November 29, 2018 Propaganda in the 21 st Century Screening: The Wave (Germany) Due: Critical Response Essay #2 Thursday, December 6, 2018 No Class-Final Exam Week Thursday, December 13, 2018 Final Exam