COVID-19: Science vs Politics
It has become more obvious to me since taking this class that propaganda is everywhere. It is made to instill different beliefs and ideas into the brain of whoever is reading it. In todays day and age, it can be extremely damaging to see these types of things in the media. I believe that propaganda has made an already divided country even more divided than it once was. This is a concept we have all experienced at some point during this pandemic and can easily relate to.
The propaganda poster of my choice is a Covid-19: science vs politics. Essentially we see a pair of “political hands” handing the coronavirus a baseball bat. The baseball bat is a symbol of politics. We see the science icon in the back, looking almost frightened to be there and speak up. Taking an obvious backseat to politics. This propaganda poster is very relevant to the time we are living in, as everything has become a victim of politics- especially the virus.
In my opinion, the propaganda technique used for this political cartoon is the name-calling technique. This technique is used to show something in an unflattering way. This is done a lot in political cartoons with both words and photos. This one in particular shows politics in a bad light, as the science icon is terrified behind them. The hope is to show people that the virus has become something more political than it actually is in a science sense.
This message was created in August of 2021, in hopes for people experiencing this pandemic to see it. It can be found on the internet and social media platforms. The genre of this message is a political cartoon that uses the name-calling technique. Lots of satire is used in this cartoon, as it is a bit exaggerated with the icons and decorations. However, it is supposed to be informative yet overemphasized.
As someone who has been living through the pandemic the last two years, I feel as if this propaganda can be effective and understandable. I think people from both parties would mutually agree that this virus has become more political than any virus has ever been. We could also agree that science has definitely taken a backseat to mandates, restrictions, and other things. That is the message that comes across, and I think everyone would take it in with a similar thought process. It is an easy political cartoon to sink your teeth into, as it has been an ongoing problem for the last two years. It would definitely be thought about by each person in an effective way.
