Patrick Rose
J201 Section 310
Research Report
10/23/13
Word Count: 503
As the
nephew of one of this world’s most influential neurologist, Edward Bernays,
implemented the very values that Sigmund Freud discovered and applied them to
the intricate network of media communication that was evolving at the beginning
of the twenty-first century. In Bernays’s book, Propaganda, he brings
forth the idea of organized chaos that exists in the media and public relations
atmosphere. Manipulation, whether good or bad, is abundant in advertising,
propaganda and public relations. Bernays, considered to be the father of public
relations, fostered the idea of engineering public consent through his multiple
experiences within American mainstream media and propaganda campaigns.
To say
that Edward Bernays is an amateur in the field of media could not be further
from the truth. Bernays followed in his Uncle’s footsteps and decided to
explore the psychoanalytic approach to mass communication. His research in the
psychoanalysis study of public opinion and reaction to media products lead him
to become a pioneer in the beginnings of American propaganda. Along with Walter
Lippmann, the two men were a crucial part of the Committee on Public
Information which helped sell the efforts of World War I to millions of
citizens. In Propaganda, Bernays explains the idea of an ‘invisible
government” that dictates the influence of media and public opinion. Based on
the presentation, theme and goal of certain advertising and propaganda, the public
can be manipulated into agreeing to specific beliefs. He delicately exploits a
major flaw and asset of our media society which is the lack of enforcement
within the “invisible government” that exists in our media. Although Bernays
himself was the pioneer behind these ideas, he provides his insight to the
public so that citizens can be educated in defense of the barrage of media
outlets that consumes of world today. He stresses that understanding this
concept of media is essential to a democratic society. Overall, Bernays
justifies his academic claims regarding media relations by the long line of
extensive involvement within the media society.
In
addition to the broad range of experiences that Bernays has gone through, his
selection of presenting the material in a book rather than in a magazine,
justifies his respect for media and the importance it has in a democratic
society. Although electronic media was not available in the early twenty-first
century, the information that Bernays provides is organized in a scholarly and
unified fashion throughout the book. Reviews of the book online speak only of
the importance of the book in American society and the usefulness it brings to
our daily lives. Mass communication continues to grow at a rate that citizens
can’t keep up with and as a result, we can only do our best to learn from one
of the forefathers of manipulation and propaganda. Bernays, through his
literature, has provided citizens with the ability to be informed amidst the
confusion of current media attacks and the evolving age of mass communication:
an essential tool to a democratic society.
References:
Bernays, E. (1928)
Organizing chaos and The new propagandists. In Propaganda (pp. 37-46 &
59-70), New York: H. Liveright
The Museum of Public
Relations (2013). Edward Bernays. 21 October 2013. Retrieved from http://www.prmuseum.com/bernays/bernays_1915.html
No comments:
Post a Comment