Paper Blog

As outlined on the syllabus, the following paragraphs are my main arguments and some supporting ideas:

According to the film The Persuaders, the big bad advertising industry is bombarding the public with propaganda aimed at selling products. However, before The Persuaders was even a gleam in PBS’s eye, Edward Bernays said, “The manipulation of the public mind…serves a social function.” Bernays, in his essay “Manipulating Public Opinion,” cites the example of the NAICP conference in Atlanta.

Soon, it became clear to the NAICP that they needed to do something to attract attention to their cause. They carefully planned the location of their conference and hand-picked speakers from various backgrounds and ethnicities.

Another point of interest, presented by Walter Lippman in “The Disenchanted Man,” is politics, focusing mainly on elections. According to Lippman, political matters confuse common people, and no one individual can possibly understand everything that happens in the government.

The confusion discourages people to the point of apathy, and they just don’t vote when Election Day rolls around. Because of this, the media and campaign managers work very hard to draw people to the polls. They set up campaigns and televised debates, painting the two candidates to be political crusaders both out to save the world using their platform.

Now, why do persuaders try to influence opinions of the general public? In a lot of cases, it’s their job, so they persuade to keep from getting fired. Yes, the evil persuaders do try to make a profit. Profit serves as the main purpose for commercial advertising. Even Bernays stepped down off his platform of wholesome virtue to discuss the rescue of the hat industry and the salad dressing art expo.