There are no nations! There are no peoples! There are no Russians. There are no Arabs! There are no third worlds! There is no West! There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars!
-Network
In October's issue of Harper's Magazine, Naomi Klein's "Disaster Capitalism" states that General Electric recently purchased the major producer of bomb-detection and security devices as used in airports: InVision has received over $15 billion from US Homeland Security. Yes, GE also owns NBC. Klein states, "The creeping expansion of the disaster-capitalism complex into the media may prove to be a new kind of corporate synergy... It certainly makes sense. The more panicked our societies become, convinced that there are terrorists lurking in every mosque, the higher the news ratings soar, the more biometric IDs and liquid-explosive-detection devices the complex sells, and the more high-tech fences its builds."
Klein's article just reinforces what we already know. On September 15, 2001, President Bush offered one major piece of advice to the terror-stricken American people in his Readiness and Patience Address: "I urge people to go to their businesses on Monday...allow[ing] the American economy to continue on." While our lives must go on, the chosen words pose a dubious motive. Bush sells resilience not through the spirit, but the bank.
The cautionary film Network (1976, Director Sidney Lumet) warned of the news media's power and ability to entertain, mesmerize, disorient, and dupe. In hindsight of mass propaganda campaigns in Hitler's Germany and Communist Russia, the majority is educated in the media; we know better then to believe everything we read or watch on TV. We expect ulterior motives and corruption, and so effective propaganda must go greater lengths to clandestinely plant elicit strategies and psychological manipulations.
Fine, but perhaps a new form of propaganda would target the same media-aware majority in an honest campaign: forthright not fraudulent. Postmodern propaganda would not only utilize the media, but also utilize the public's awareness and experience with the media. Honest and candid, the Green Movement is a perfect example.
Recently, major achievements in environmentalism were attained by way of the mass media, economic incentives, political legislation, and cultural influence. Previously limited in circulation by radio and books, it was not until the theatrical release of An Inconvenient Truth that the Green Movement gained momentum. Al Gore capitalized on the power of media and marketing, creating a massive promotional campaign for his movie. Melissa Etheridge was conscripted to write a song and other famous public figures jumped on board in a deliberate effort to use their celebrity influence. Whole Foods Supermarkets opened up all over America, boasting environmentally safe products and coinciding with the organic food movement. Involvement popularized by convincing television and print PSAs, cultural trends, and commercial incentives. Then government leaders got involved and passed the Clean Air Act, the Pollution Prevention Act, and even legislation on energy-saving lightbulbs. Political support of the movement promulgated America's ethical stance on the environment.
These pro-environment messages emanate from every mass media avenue, surrounding and corralling the public under one mission and one perspective. Environmentalism is cool because Leonardo DiCaprio thinks so. Environmentalism is financially sound because you can cut down on buying excessive disposable products. Environmentalism is healthy because organic foods are better for you. Environmentalism could save lives because Gore's documentary stated that the earth is in imminent danger. The environmental movement is a positive employment of propaganda as it openly and deliberately uses media and psychological methods to influence public participation in a mass movement.
As in Network, perhaps the world is governed by the laws of business. However, these capitalistic ideals do not have to be redefined by the corrupt politicians who employ them; multivariate institutions - namely economy, politics, culture, and environment - can utilize the same tools for honest betterment.
Network proposed:
It has been so since man crawled out of the slime, and our children will live to see that perfect world in which there is no war and famine, oppression and brutality -- one vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will hold a share of stock, all necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom amused.