How Does Media and Propaganda Manipulate Culture?

I did not know how much media and propaganda manipulate culture. In the beginning of the video, the speakers talk about the origin of the word “propaganda”. In 1622, the word “propaganda” originated from religion, when the Pope set up a counsel to spread the teachings of the Church to the rest of the world. They also showed pictures of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, while playing a piece of classical music. After the pictures stopped playing, the speakers talk about how music and art can make “a violent death seem mesmerizing”. This is completely true and I had not realized that until it was mentioned. As I was watching those slides, I really was mesmerized. If they had shown the pictures by themselves and without any music, the effect would not have been the same. This was the beginning of the video where they started talking about propaganda by introducing religion. One of the speakers said that “Art, propaganda, and ideology come in a mix.” Propaganda and media are used as means of persuasion when it comes to ideas, culture, and religion. They act as little shoves that are meant make you think in a certain way and have specific views on various issues. Through propaganda, the idea of “execution became salvation”. Leading from this, the topic of functional myths was brought up. We all look for something to believe in and media helps us find it. Historical traumas, such as that of 9/11, have a great influence on our emotion and actions. On September 11th, 2001, terrorists flew planes through the towers and thousands of people died. We decide to go to war with Afghanistan. This is a time of grieving so we are not able to think in a rational way. When we are in a vulnerable state of mind, it’s easy to believe things people tell us. I remember every single house putting up American flags on their porches following the attack on the Twin Towers. Not only that, but there were posters and commercials, as well as documentaries that promoted a sense of needed unity. If it were not for the media and propaganda, the actions taken after September 11th would not have been the same.
In the video, they showed slides of Russia and Korea during wars and political issues they faced. If you were a part of either country and saw those pictures, you would feel a strong connection to your people in a time of need. There were slides of armies at war and posters that influenced people to take action and be a part of the country. This is what media and propaganda do. They manipulate culture by influencing people to think and act in a certain way. It may seem that it completely controls us, which is not true, but it does have an immense affect on us. If media did not play a huge role in our culture, it wouldn’t be a culture. Through media and propaganda, people come together to protest, celebrate, as well as for support. The way media and propaganda manipulate culture is not necessarily a bad thing, it has been happening since the early ages.