Kroll vs. Mencken

I found Kroll’s essay to be significantly more persuasive than Mencken’s. Mencken trivialized the opposition’s arguments without substantiating his rebuttals, stating, for example, that “the first of these arguments, it seems to me, is plainly to week to need serious refutation.” Throughout the paper, Mencken reiterates this disregard for his opposition, and furthermore leaves his interesting, albeit disturbing, argument poorly developed. His advocacy of “katharsis” is fraught with logical fallacy as he makes assumptions that the killing of a human is justified by some universal feeling of satisfaction at the death of the convict. In contrast, Kroll’s essay is striking in its subtlety. Kroll powerfully calls on human sentiments with a pathos-based appeal that contrasts starkly with the crude, abrasive Mencken piece. Although Kroll passes over questions of guilt and criminality within his specific anecdote, these omissions fail to hinder the piece, as its intent is to paint a vivid picture of the failure of capital punishment to secure justice or human dignity for all of the parties involved. Having been predisposed to Kroll’s viewpoint over Mencken’s due to more logos- based arguments, Kroll expanded and strengthened my views against capital punishment.

"Sixteen Military Wives"- the Decemberists

-This song is about various American demographics: military wives, babies, soldiers, celebrities, and so on.
-This song is a commentary on how American life follows predictable patterns. "And the anchorperson on TV goes....la de da de da," demonstrates that news isn't really new but rather a sort of repeated, recycled drivel. The song also speaks of disaffection and apathy, doubting that individuals possessing "pristine liberal minds" will ever solve the omnipresent issues in our society. Of the powerful directors of media, a similar statement is made that out of 18, "only seven really care." Finally, the group mourns the harms of such behavior, citing 15 cannibal kings. The recurrent quantification serves to generalize and eliminate nuances. Additionally, the repetitive music, furthered by its constant beat, cements this idea of apathetic patterning.

"Race for the Prize"- the Flaming Lips

This song ponders existence and human nature. While striving to better humankind as a whole, two individuals seek some cure in an adversarial manner. The audience reacts with a question of why they don't cooperate or work in conjunction, to which the artists reply "they're just humans," insinuating a level of competition and perhaps obstinance inherent in human nature. The repetition of this phrase serves to further the message of humanization even with the seemingly negative traits mentioned above. However, the artists don't use a harsh tone: the music is not very fast, loud, or abrasive because the song points to the positive aspects of humanity with the phrase, "with wives and children" showing compassion and familial import, and the phrase "forging fr the future" demonstrating a commitment to furtherance of society.

Fallacy in Thomas Paine

Henry's statement that, "Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery!" commits the logical fallacy of false dichotomy. It does so by ignoring the middle ground: fighting and enslavement are not the sole options (or at least not proven to be so) and so Henry selects only the extremes to be presented.
Despite logical fallacies throughout, Henry's speech has remained a shining example of excellent rhetoric. Thus, this begs the question (get it?) of what appeal Henry maintains. I believe that despite logical fallacy, Henry doesn't make statements that seem to be wrong-- only assertions that are never proven within the confines of his speech. Thus, logical fallacy though it may be, statements like "we have no election" represent a core truth in that America will indeed be forced to make a decision. Additionally, Henry's rhetoric is subtle, skillful, and backed by a powerful argument. Finally, Henry's speech was instrumental in a decision that shaped (and created) American history.

"Duck and Cover"

The (very) overt message of this film was to duck and cover in the event of a nuclear explosion.
The covert message of the film was that America maintains preparedness for foreign attacks while also emphasizing the citizen's role in promoting defense.
The video was propaganda because its overt message advocated a fruitless mechanism to avoid radiation and explosions, exaggerated comically to feature kids diving off bikes and schoolchildren simultaneously collapsing at the sight of a light flash. The covert message, however, was far from foolish: the makers of the film managed to reassure a nervous populace while still maintaining a level of preparedness (or paranoia) in case of foreign aggression. The effect was impressive: a subtle message that pushed audiences to a position not of extremity, but of moderation-- preparedness not preoccupation.  Whereas a lesser film may have pushed audiences to a pole of sentiment, this piece instead maneuvered the audience to a middle ground advantageous to its producers.

"Destination Earth"

The overt message in this film was that oil and competition are powerful forces that heighten quality of life.
The covert message in the film was that patriotism implies support of competitive, private industry, especially petroleum.
This video was propaganda because it promotes both a specific industry and a wider theme of competition through a message not explicit in the film. One technique used was plain folks, whereby the narrator and explorer exclaims that every American has a car and countless other benefits borne of petroleum. Glittering generalities were also used to paint a picture of the oil extraction and refinement process as one free of any environmental or social harms. Transfer was also heavily used to confer legitimacy from the American flag and way of life to oil and competitive industry.

Propaganda- World War 2 1941-45

-The over message is that by eating less bread, Americans will help the troops be victorious.
-The covert message is that Americans must make large sacrifices to help ensure an Allied victory.
-The overt message suggests a specific means by which Americans can help the war effort, while the covert message asserts that sacrifice, broad in scope, is a necessary part of the world effort. The propaganda element lies therein: this poster advocates not only saving bread, but also the more nebulous and expansive concept of sacrificing for the country. Most American World War 2 propaganda seems to fulfill this function of explicitly arguing a specific step while implicitly urging a lifestyle.

The Clash- "Clampdown"

-This song is bout the excessive amount of work created by social and economic pressures in our society. The line, "The judge said five to ten but I say double that again" is a reference not only to sentencing but also to a work day, and its doubling is representative of the punitive nature of work.
-The song's quick tempo produced images of hard, unpleasant, and somewhat frenetic work in a negative and dehumanizing light. The intensity of the subject matter portrayed is compounded by this quick tempo.
-The song suggests that society encourages- and manipulates- its citizens to work hard. The line "They put up a poster saying we earn more than you!" demonstrates propagandizing is this society; individuals are encouraged to continue submitting to the clampdown in order to further themselves to become in the coveted position of the wealthy elite. The individuals who direct this are described as "old and cunning," with ulterior motives and poor morals.

Propaganda/persuasion Quotes

I selected quotes 744, 745, 746, and 785.
Further analysis of quote 785:
O’Shaugnessy argues here that propaganda cannot succeed by arguing directly against existing moral frameworks, but rather that it is necessary for successful propaganda that it fit within a value structure by means of perversion of values. Essentially, this means that propaganda will not succeed if it is clearly and diametrically opposed to preexisting individual ideology but rather that it must appear to fit within that ideology. For example, the ride-share poster, if done differently, could've appeared to counter values of individual liberty. Instead, the poster cleverly insinuated that individual liberty is best preserved by defeating the Germans, which in turn necessitates ride-sharing. Thus, O'Shaugnessy postulates that for propaganda to be effective, it must tap in to existing values of its subject audience.