How Donating Clothes Will Change The World
How Donating Clothes Will Change The World
I thought it was interesting to see the behind-the-scenes thought work that goes into creating propaganda. This was my first time consciously creating propaganda but now have a clearer understanding as to why it is so effective in persuading an audience. Every picture, color, font, and word choice that I used was meticulously placed in my propaganda piece for Comeback Clothes. Propagandists not only have to include persuasive techniques in their work but they also must be able to predict the audience’s behavior to ensure they are using the most effective techniques for their particular target audience. Comeback Clothes is an organization that spreads awareness about the benefits of extending the lifespan of fabric products through donations. Donating items is not only good for the environment but it really helps to support our low SES community. However, I still felt a sense of sneakiness when I was creating my propaganda. I felt as if I was using my knowledge of psychology to manipulate my audience into donating items and complying with my objective. Although this was beneficial propaganda, I still felt this overwhelming sense of deceit because I knew my intentions were to manipulate the audience but they were unaware of this. I now see that good propagandists incorporate a variety of persuasive techniques while also studying their target audience to decide which techniques would be the most effective at meeting their objective.
In class, we learned about how Hitler used the color red in a lot of his propaganda in order to grab the German people’s attention and convey power. I chose to use the color red to highlight important phrases because red is associated with attention-grabbing and signals the brain to take action. However, if I had used a brown or green font to grab my audience’s attention and elicit action, it would probably be ineffective since green and brown colors make you feel safe and can sometimes look invisible (Jurkonytė, 2022). I capitalized and used a red font on the phrase, “DON’T LET UNUSED ITEMS GO TO WASTE… DO YOUR PART AND DONATE”, in order to prescribe the audience that they must take action in a loud commanding tone. I incorporated the use of personal language to directly address the audience so they feel that the propaganda is talking to them directly. I used phrases such as, “Do your part and donate” so the audience felt like they were being personally addressed to this call for action and that they had to answer.
I incorporated environmental concerns into my propaganda because I know the well-being of the earth is a concern and fear of the American people. By incorporating this information it is allowing my audience to trust that I have their best interest because I too share their goal. I am displaying that if they donate clothes, linens, and shoes, Americans can reach their goal of having a united, cared-for planet while simultaneously closing the uncertainty gap revolving around their fears of global warming. In propaganda, we call this association. Association helps to intensify propaganda because it links an idea, product, or person with something people naturally desire or fear. In this case, I associated environmental concerns with my objective because people want to prevent global warming. I incorporated a picture at the end of my poster of people from all different racial groups and ages holding up the earth and doing little things to make a difference. I think this picture was effective in rallying the nation because it shows creating a healthy earth is a group effort and that this common goal can help unify our country. Each individual in the picture was completing a minor task that overall is making a big difference for the future of our civilization. I think this helps to display that doing a small act such as donating clothes, can go a long way. By coming together to achieve our goals, we create unity and cohesion in our communities. This reminded me of Aristotle’s phrase, “The whole is greater than the sum of its part”. When we work in synergy we allow ourselves to accomplish goals that would never have been achievable with just one individual.
My poster and all propaganda aim to gain power over my audience by attracting and holding their attention. This is why I asked direct questions to my audience. Although my questions were rhetorical, they still encouraged the reader to respond subconsciously and promote their engagement. We learned in the modules that there are four key features of propaganda that unlock people’s attention, emotions, and values that bypass critical thinking (How Propaganda Spreads Module). These key features include: activating strong emotions, being responsive to the audience’s needs, simplifying information, and attacking the opponent. I made an active effort to incorporate as many of these features as possible in my poster. I activated strong emotions by incorporating pictures of people who will benefit from the audience’s donations and how the earth will benefit from lengthening the lifespan of fabric. I always hear people complaining about how messy their closets are and how they can’t buy anything new because they don’t have the space. I know I personally have clothes sitting in the back of my closet that don’t fit me anymore or clothes that I haven’t worn in years. I tried to be responsive to my audience’s needs by appealing to this struggle by showing my audience they can kill two birds with one stone. They can spring clean their closets while also helping other people and the environment.
Additionally, I incorporated the environmental benefits of donating clothes to appeal to people’s fear of global warming and personal safety. I tried to use as few words in my poster as possible so that the poster was concise and easy to read. If an advertisement is too long I usually skim it over or don’t even bother reading it. In turn, information overload reduces the effectiveness of propaganda because it is being overlooked. I tried to use the audience’s previous beliefs surrounding global warming and the importance of helping others to substitute critical thinking. According to the “Four Keys of Propaganda’’ module, “when propaganda simplifies information, it makes the world more comprehensible and decision making becomes easy”. I had a hard time incorporating key propaganda features that attack the opponent because there is no specific opponent in this issue. I incorporated the picture at the end of the poster of individuals doing their part to help the world be a better place. Although there is no specific opponent, this picture elicits emotions for these individuals to want to do their part. You don’t want to be “that guy” who doesn’t do their part to make this world a better place because a lack of responsibility takes away from an individual’s sense of belonging. I also wanted to incorporate a scare tactic in my poster so I included some key statistics about the environmental benefits of donating so the audience would be aware of the damage they would contribute to if they chose not to comply
Overall, I really enjoyed creating my own piece of propaganda because it gave me insight into how powerful propaganda is. This process has shown me that there are specific tools and techniques to get a specific target audience to react in a certain way. Our knowledge of psychology is extremely lucrative and persuasive because it predicts human behaviors, especially the ways we think and react to stimuli. I personally believe there are both pros and cons to these tactics. Businesses can make more money, beneficial propaganda can inspire the call to action, and we can efficiently spread information to the masses. However, propaganda holds a lot of power because it manipulates individuals or groups into thinking a certain way. Propaganda can do a lot of harm ranging from overspending on unnecessary products, all the way to mass destruction or genocide. Ever since I started taking this class I’ve become a lot more aware of propaganda techniques that are used everywhere. Although I still am affected by propaganda because it manipulates the psyche, I think this awareness has allowed me to take back my consumer control by thinking for myself and making more educated choices.
References
BBBSU, A. the A. (2022, July 28). Environmental benefits of donating used clothing. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://bbbsu.org/environmental-benefits-of-donating-used-clothing/#:~:text=It%20Helps%20Conserve%20Energy&text=It%20means%20that%20if%201%2C000,require%20to%20manufacture%20new%20clothing.
Jurkonytė, Daiva is a media lawyer and coacher with a lifelong passion for researching. (2022, October 7). How eye-catching colors attract users’ attention. Attention Insight. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://attentioninsight.com/eye-catching-colors/#:~:text=Black%20and%20yellow%20stripes%20would,nature%20 friendly%2C%20and%20 sometimes%20 invisible.
