WHAT IS A PROPAGANDA?

This is what dictionary.com says...


Propaganda
n : information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause.

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Propaganda>


In other words, propagandas are information or rumours that are spread in one point of view. They were spread to the public mostly by newspapers, radios, films, and posters. But what can you learn from them? By studying propaganda posters, you can learn beliefs, methods, opinions and messages the government was trying to spead.


....Let's look at some posters of propaganda at the time of the Russian Revolution...!!



POSTER #1



This poster shows a portrait of Lenin in deep thought. The captions below translate: “The whole world follows the path of Lenin’s thoughts, words and actions!” This poster is trying to get people to think that everything Lenin thinks, says and does is always right. The use of contrasting colors, red and blue, catches the public’s attention, and the use of shadows on Lenin’s portrait(face) implies the “deep thinking” mood. The captions and the use of colors (especially on Lenin’s expressions) are effective in this poster.

<http://www.internationalposter.com/>

POSTER #2

The captions of the poster reads: "From small partisan group to mighty Red Divisions." The 3 people on the left shows the partisan soldiers, and the huge number of people at the right shows the Red Army. This poster is trying to say and make people think that the Red Army is the most superior. The way it convey its message is very effective; the poster shows the Red Army wearing uniforms to show unity. You can see that the 3 soldiers on the left is not as hygenic and ready for battle compared to the Red Army.


<http://www.internationalposter.com/>




POSTER #3


The illustrator of this poster drew a giant Red soldier on a horse slaying all the White soldiers in his way. The caption says: "The line for Wrangel!" The illustrator used effective methods to show a message by coloring the whole poster in red, except the small white soldiers. This poster is also saying that the Red soldiers are more strong and superior than the White.

<http://www.internationalposter.com/>


POSTER #4

"The Struggle of the Red Knight with the Dark Force," says the poster! The poster shows a strong looking Red Soldier bravely fighting against his enemies. The enemies are mentioned as the "Dark Force" and the red soldier as the "Red Knight." Therefore, the poster made the red soldier a hero where as his enemies as the evil minions, just using a few words. The illustrator drew the red soldier winning against the other soldier to show the red soilder to look more stronger than others. The message of the poster to the public is clear: The Red Army is the most superior of all.

<http://www.internationalposter.com/>

POSTER #5

The poster shows Lenin holding a large broom and sweeping his opposers. The caption reads: "Lenin, The New Brush That Sweeps Clean" The poster shows its message by drawing Lenin more bigger than others. It is trying to get people to think that Lenin is the one that gets rid of all the bad leaders and get a new start for Russia.

<http://www.earthstation1.com/Russian_Propaganda_Posters.html>

POSTER #6

The caption translates into: "Forwards, let's crushingly defeat the German aggressors and expel them from the borders of our Motherland!" The poster is trying to get people to think that Stalin is the greatest leader who always leads the Red Army to victory. It conveys its message by using effective methods of layouts. The illustrator drew a large army with a god-like pose of Stalin above them. A huge red flag behind Stalin implies more strenght to the Red army.

http://www.earthstation1.com

CONCLUSION

All the posters I've studied teached me some information about Russia, the Russian people, and the use of propaganda. I've learnt about the Russian Revolution and the Red Army. The posters tell me that the Russia in that era was mostly in wars and changes. I've also gained more information about important people such as Stalin and Lenin. Both had used propaganda posters to spread their ideas and views, or to promote themselves. What I learnt most is the use of propaganda and the effective ways the illustrators used to promote the message and its ideas. Many posters have huge font sizes and dramatic or cartoon-like pictures to draw attention. However the most important of all is that people used propaganda to tell the public what to believe, not to think...