Reflecting on Paul Bookbinder's Writing on the Weimar Module

 http://www2.facinghistory.org/campus/weimar.nsf/

1. Can the "Legacy of WWI" be compared to the legacy we are creating of the "war on terror?"


2. Related to his question about the need for transitional periods for democracy (when the majority of the people are uneducated in democratic ideals), I wonder about the transitional period that is/will be needed in America if they elect an African American president. How can the integrity of this democracy be maintained in the face of the demons of racist history?


3. Do we deal with terrorists in the same way as the leaders of the Weimar Republic? How has America's policy on terrorism changed since 9/11/01?


4. What is nationalism? What is patriotism? Are they the same? How do we define these in post-9/11 America? How are we expected to manifest these ideals? What are the consequences for not manifesting them? Are they both necessary for a democracy to work? What are the consequences to society when they are taken too far? Is it feasible to expect disenfranchised citizens or residents to be nationalistic and/or patriotic?


5. Why is it necessary for "individuals and groups to compromise their immediate self-interests to the larger interests of society"? Whose intersts are more important (more valued)? Does majority interest rule? What is that majority interest represents the lower class of people in a society?


6. Bookbinder raises another interesting point when he talks about the roles of intellectuals in politics. By "intellectuals" does he mean people like, professors, political pundits and lobbyists or is he referring to intellectual politicians? I'm interested in the ways that intellectualism is used to exclude the masses (at the ways in which "think-tanks" have created social policies and programs based on scientific inquiry).


7. How is America viewed by other governments? Certainly the Weimar view could be contrasted with the way current Islamic governments/countries view America OR with the way America was viewed by the Chinese or Japanese (from late 1800's up through 1940's). 


8. The concept of "self-deception" can be applied to any nation. This question related to Bookbinder's question about how people define their own identity. Teachers could consider the deceptive stories that Blacks, Native Americans or Japanese Americans have created for themselves to justify their own marginalization in America. This could also connect to Jewish self-deception which Primo Levi alluded to in The Drowned & The Saved. 


9. The last four questions in Bookbinder's overview could all be connected to a study of the 2008 Presidential Campaignrole of grass roots organizingrole of propagandarole of technology/mediarole of hatredrole of religious leaders/religionrole of the citizens and their expectations for political leadership


10. In thinking of the "choices and consequences" of a democracy, it seemed to me in order to "kill a democracy" one has to first work systematically to "kill the culture and the individuals that represent that democracy." Hitler accomplished this buy working at a grassroots level to build support from the masses, then the media. He learned about the frustrations and needs of the masses and used their emotions about those things to promise change. Once he became Chancellor, he used the legal system to normalize the attitudes brewing among the masses of German peoples - in essence, he worked to crush the artists, political dissidents, Jews and other "undesirables" and there were no repercussions because German law supported his deeds.






(originally written in August 2008)

Identifying Techniques of Persuasion in Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will"

Identifying Techniques of Persuasion in "Triumph of the Will" 

I was totally unprepared for what I was about to view...I expected another documentary on the Nazi regime, but was surprised to find a marketing/PR-type film...propaganda footage, no doubt used to persuade people to join and/or support the efforts of the Nazi regime. I found myself jotting what could only be described as streams of consciousness (notes and questions)...

The images of Hitler as a rock star type leader...a demi god...pharaoh...savior...reminiscent in some ways of footage used to show the impact of entertainers (Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jackson), but more recently, the negative slant thrown towards Obama as a "rock star" typeWhat makes people so enthralled by politicians, military leaders and organizers? What makes a follower become a zealot?A side issue - Were Mercedes Benz sales affected by German occupation/Nazi regime following WWII? Did Nazis get revenue from car sales that were used during the war?Are there any similarities between Nazi training and gang intitiations?


The recruitment and initiation of child soldiers in Africa? The mafia?What is the correlation between the symbolism of the eagle for Nazis vs. its meaning in America? Which US leaders or citizens were members of the Nazi Party?What is being said in the speeches - Goebbels and Hitler in particular are of interest to me?What is the pledge being recited in the scene where some soldiers are holding shovels? Why are they holding shovels as if they were weapons of war?Why was it okay for their flags to touch the ground?What is happening in the night time scenes?It's interesting that one of the only times Hitler is shown smiling is at the youth rally. What does he say in his address to the youth?How did the Nazi salute originate? 


Connections to Media Literacy
http://www.medialit.org/pdf/mlk/02_5KQ_ClassroomGuide.pdf 


My streams of consciousness led me to make some connections to Center for Media Literacy materials I'd used in my Critical Media course at Young Women's Leadership Charter School. In viewing the film, I began to look for Techniques of Persuasion, subliminal advertising and other tricks of the media industry that often go unnoticed by the average person. There was definitely an intentional selection of the songs for the soundtrack and an obvious focus on images that highlighted family, machismo, nature, celebrity and friendship - 5 of the 10 strategies in the "techniques of persuasion." Also at the forefront of my mind were the 5 core concepts that CML operates with:

1. All media messages are ‘constructed.’
2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
3. Different people experience the same media message differently.
4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

(originally written in August 2008)