Maria Cavallaro

9.28.2018
ENGW 1111 H
P1D3
Citation Style: Chicago
Word Count: 1011

** Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Ana Salichs, Gina Le, and Dr. Musselman for
assisting me in writing this essay. Without their help, my essay would not be anywhere
close to where it is today.

Deep Awakening

World Peace- isn't that what everyone wants nowadays? The idea of having an ideal

utopian world is impossible, but have our chances gotten worse and worse over time?

Flashback a few decades ago to World War I. To many, this seemed like the end of the

world and that everything would hit rock bottom. ​World War I exploded as a result of a

combination of militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The early twentieth

century began with a competitive mindset, leaving countries fighting for whom has the

most power, resources, and influence throughout the globe. Countries teamed up and

planned mass attacks against one another. Violence, injustice, cruelty, and discrimination

plagued the world and almost diminished, until World War II came around but then, life got

rotten.​ This is exactly what I witnessed when I visited the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA).

Museums, such as the MFA, encourage experiential learning. They are cultural

awakenings in the sense that so many perspectives on one specific topic are present.

“​Contact zones”, explained by Pratt, are areas where cultures overlap each other. They are a

place where no matter your culture, you feel a connection. (6) A place where people of

different color, race, political preferences, ethics, and overall backgrounds stumble upon
each other and find common ground. While in the MFA, I spent most of my time in a strong,

influential exhibit expressing the power of propaganda. More specifically, propaganda

from World War I until the beginning of World War II, a time of absolute turmoil and

conflict. This exhibit was certainly not intended to display the history of propaganda.

Rather, its intention was to reveal the technique behind propaganda and how it could be

incorporated into everyday life.

The first World War, beginning in 1914, signaled a major turning point ​in the tie

between art and politics.​ This was the first time art was used as a mass influence. This

propaganda changed the way people viewed the war. The war escalated in parallel to the

loud influential art and media. The easiest form of propaganda during this time was

postcards. Why? Because they were cheap and easy to post up anywhere. However, they

were so effective that they became nearly invisible by being everywhere (5). Since

propaganda was nearly unavoidable, every social class encountered it throughout their

daily life activities, thus, no one was excluded from such information.

The exhibit was quite open with a strict triangular structure sticking out into the

middle, creating a slice in the room. This wall welcomed you to the exhibit and explained

the general idea of what's to come. As I made my way around the room,​ I sensed the

intensity of propaganda rise​. This form of influential art and media intensified the war,

making this conflict very hard for other countries to avoid. As seen in the image below,

countries were not shy in expressing their emotions. Russia and France were very quick to

portray Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany as a monster butcher, destroying anything in his

path. (5)
 BUSSEL & KNORING,​ THE NERO OF OUR TIMES​ (1914–1917), PIERRE CHATILLON,
GOD’S MESSENGER (​ 1915), and ESTON PER ​FINALLY, ALONE (​1918)

This propaganda was used as an active force, stressing strong and nationalistic emotions​.

The goal was meant to make you absolutely love something and hate another, and it was

certainly successful at doing so.​ Its true purpose was to agitate you so much, that you

would be willing to risk your life, and for many, that’s exactly what they did.

THE REGENT PUBLISHING CO, ​YOU ARE THE MAN I WANT(​ 1915), UNION PRINTING
HOUSE, ​WHO’S ABSENT? IS IT YOU?​(1916), SAVILE LUMLEY, ​DADDY, WHAT DID YOU DO IN
 ​ 916), and EDGAR JAMES KEALEY, ​WOMEN OF BRITAIN
THE GREAT WAR?(1
​ 916)
SAY--”GO!’(1

It’s intended audience? Anyone that would give their time, life, and resources to support

the war. This included anyone from any social class. (5) The image above shows just a few

of millions of postcards that urged the everyday citizen, from men to women and even

children, to prioritize this war as a way of living. It recruited men to fight, asked for

women’s support, and flaunted the country’s own strengths.

Think about today. If you’re like most, you wake up and check your phone.

Propaganda. You then might watch the news or check an app on your phone to see what’s

going on in the world. ​Propaganda.​ By listening to that one news station, you are absorbing

their story, tone, and opinion on a specific matter, ultimately making that your opinion as

well. You go to the store to buy some laundry detergent. You now buy a specific type of

laundry detergent after reading about harsh chemicals that were in your previous brand of

detergent. Propaganda. You go out and buy the newest laptop because it claims it has the

best programs and quickest processors and intels on the market. Propaganda. (3) Sound

like something you’ve done or would do? Well this is exactly what happened to the millions

and millions of people that were affected by propaganda during the world wars. They were

unintentionally falling under the influence of propaganda just as consumers buy specific

brands based off negative opinions they hear about other brands. And it’s not just laundry

detergent and laptops that use propaganda. It’s everything from billboards along the

highway to TV commercials to gossip you hear from your friends. ​And that’s the scary

power behind propaganda- its audience and accessibility is everyone and everywhere.

Anything that influences your opinion is propaganda.

 This exhibit was definitely a melting pot of not only opposing propaganda, but

cultures and perspectives alike. “Contact Zones”, described by Pratt, are meant to make one

think about the interactions and conflicts cultures face in such settings. (6) Museums

showcase a specific event or time period that includes the combination of cultures affected

by such. This specific exhibit jumbled all varying cultures, people, perspectives, and stories.

The combination of such converge with each other, creating an interesting atmosphere that

many enjoy, while others may feel quite uncomfortable.

Works Cited

1. “The Importance of Contact Zones in Studying History · Three Gold Bees.” ​Three Gold

Bees​, threegoldbees.com/other-articles/contact-zones/

2. Power, Samantha. "What makes propaganda more dangerous today?" ​New York

Times,​ 21 Sept. 2017, p. NA(L). ​Academic OneFile,​

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A505583238/AONE?u=mlin_b_northest&sid=

AONE&xid=1c34453c. Accessed 15 Sept. 2018. MLA Format

3. "Examples of Propaganda - Everyone Should Know This." MarketingWit. December

10, 2017. Accessed September 15, 2018.

https://marketingwit.com/examples-of-propaganda

4. "Propaganda for Patriotism and Nationalism." The British Library. December 09,

2013. Accessed September 15, 2018.

https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/patriotism-and-nationalism​.

5. "Power of Propaganda Explored in Exhibition of Postcards from the Leonard A.

Lauder Postcard Archive at MFA Boston." Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. August 16,

2018. Accessed September 15, 2018.

https://www.mfa.org/news/the-art-of-influence

6. Pratt citation (incomplete)