Skip to main content

Propaganda In Hollywood: Case Studies

Estimated Read Time: 4 Minutes 20 Seconds

propaganda in hollywood moviesPropaganda originates from the Latin “Congregatiode Propaganda Fide”, meaning to "spread the faith".  The contemporary definition of the word has roots as far back as World War One when the term became associated with political messages. 

Propaganda has been defined in the modern sense by Jowett and O’Donnell as, “the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist” (2006: 163). 

The seven elements of propaganda contain the ability of propaganda to tap into emotions, source credibility, opinion leaders, using music or other media as a way to trigger an irrational response, group norms, visual symbols and the language used when engaging in propaganda. 

A modern propagandist can gain access to many sources of mass media, including television, movies, and radio, not to mention social media. 


Case Study: Three Kings (1999)

Three Kings (1999) is a film in which 3 U.S soldiers try to steal Kuwaiti gold from Iraq while serving in the U.S armed forces during the 1991 Gulf War.



The United States has a history of placing propaganda within mass media productions including children's cartoons during World War Two. Three Kings is an interesting movie to analyze because it takes place during the first Gulf War and before the post 9/11 ‘war on terrorism’


Propaganda In The Movie 


This movie contained several elements of propaganda, mainly aimed at Saddam Hussein, but there was definitely some anti-American propaganda present. The first piece of propaganda is when Conrad Vig calls every surrendering Iraqi soldier “Abdul” (creating a stereotype for Iraqis), and other derogatory names, many of them are incredibly racist. 

This behaviour can be interpreted in one of two ways. Firstly, these racial slurs could be viewed as anti Arab in the eyes of many in the general public who saw this movie due to ignorance about the conflict and ignorance of other cultures apart from western. This is also using language as a way to demonize the enemy; specifically, Conrad Vig is demonizing Iraqi soldiers. Secondly, this could also be viewed as anti-American because Conrad Vig is viewed as a ‘redneck’ and these views of his could be seen as synonymous with the American army or even American society in general due to the stereotyping that was/is common with Iraq and Iraqi citizens. 

1991 Gulf WarAnother piece of propaganda found during the movie is the anti-Saddam Hussein message. The Shiite Rebels are portrayed as the good guys, helping the American soldiers after the attack on their truck and the way in which they speak of Saddam Hussein and his regime seem to fit in with the American view of the situation. Although they are seen as the good guys in the movie, they complain that George Bush Senior encouraged the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein but did nothing when thousands of Iraqi’s were killed in doing so. This, along with other events of the movie parallel real-life events and this can be viewed as anti-American because it highlights the shortfall of the American campaign.  

Another instance of propaganda in this film is when Barlow is being tortured by an Iraqi soldier. This scene is particularly interesting to analyze because there are both anti-American and anti-Iraqi/ anti-Saddam Hussein messages throughout the scene. Initially, the torturing of Barlow by the Iraqi soldier is seen as anti-Saddam Hussein because his regime has encouraged the torture of prisoners; this scene shows how brutal the torture can become. The scene also contains the Iraqi soldier telling Barlow that the American military bombed his family home killing everyone apart from him, including his daughter. This piece of dialogue can be seen as anti-American because the American military had little or no regard to civilians during the 1991 Gulf War

An interesting observation of the film is that all of the soldiers wear the patch of the United States Psychological Operations (PSYOP), a well-known propaganda manufacturer and distributor.  


Final Thoughts

The elements of propaganda found throughout this movie would have an effect on the audience through the use of demonizing language and images of both the Iraqi and American army throughout the film. These effects would (for some) call into question some of the American techniques during the war such as bombing civilians and calling upon civilians to uprise against Saddam without offering adequate support knowing that the rebels were hugely out armed and trained. 

1991 Gulf War
This movie also creates a hatred for the Iraqi army because of the scene with the Iraqi soldier torturing an American soldier and attacking the American army after they had stolen the gold back from the troops. 

Jowett and O’Donnell claim that “a propagandist does not have to win people over on every issue to get their support” (2006: 200) and this quote is very useful in the analysis of this movie. The propaganda found in this movie is both anti-American and Anti-Iraqi, leading to the conclusion that both sides could be influenced by the movie. 

This may lead to differing views between different audiences as this movie could be interpreted either way.


Further Reading 





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How Does A Story Make The News? Who Defines The News We See?

Estimated Read Time:  6 Minutes 24 Seconds The news is defined by Mitchell (2007) as any “new information or information on current events that can be presented by print media (Newspapers, magazines), broadcast media (Television, radio), Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience”. The news that consumers receive has gone through a process of news selection, essentially deeming what constitutes news and what does not. How Does A Story Become Newsworthy? Galtung and Ruge (1973) have provided ten key qualities that a story should have to become newsworthy .  These ten criteria are:  Timeliness ( frequency) of the story, for example, a story must be within the news cycle and the information is new or recently released Clarity or unambiguousness Proximity , or familiarity, of a story with regards to geographic and cultural proximity Significance or amplitude of the story,  Consonance (meets expectations or predictions) Novel...

Are Memories Of Old Wars Used As The Fodder For New Ones?

Estimated Read Time: 3 Minutes 36 Seconds Collective memory , before, during, and after wartime plays a large part in forming a narrative that plays an important role in society.  The collective memory of an event is often expressed through the media, especially within the past 100 years. Habitually, this happens through the voices of bureaucratic institutions or figures. Fishman argues that these bureaucratic institutions are a “fountain of information” (1999 [1980]: 108) and journalists know that there will be vast information within these institutions. An example of bureaucratic institutions forming a narrative of war and collective memory was when journalists truthfully reported on the statements of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld regarding weapons that Iraq ‘had in their possession'. These statements made by the dominant social ideology (The United States Government) formed a pre-war (and post 1991 Gulf War) narrative that society could understand; Iraq has weapons and...

Jihad vs McWorld

Barber, B. R. (1995). ‘Jihad vs. McWorld’ Estimated Read Time: 6 Minutes 14 Seconds This piece of work from Barber is perhaps one of the most interesting to study from the pre-9/11 period.  Barber accurately provides reasoning and theoretical logic as to why these two theories of civilization will eventually clash (which they did).   Jihad vs McWorld An Introduction Barber writes about two viable political figures which can exist in the modern world, at odds with each other in most points of view. These two political figures are known as ‘Jihad’ and ‘McWorld’. According to Barber, however, these two political characters have one thing in common; Jihad and McWorld are both hindering practical ways for citizens to govern themselves democratically.   Jihad and McWorld can exist in the same countries at the same time and can cause many complications, as they can operate in equal strength but contrary objectives.  Jihad is motivated by b...

Why Has YouTube Become So Popular?

Estimated Read Time: 3 Minutes 44 Seconds YouTube has become a cultural phenomenon with millions of hours of videos watched and uploaded on a weekly basis. Many YouTube creators have made a career out of producing content for this massive website. This article will use sociological theories to explain the popularity of this video-sharing website. Encoding A YouTube Video For Different Audience Types Hall, claims that “using recognized codes and conventions and by drawing on audience expectations, the producer can position the audience and create a certain amount of agreement on what the code (YouTube video in this case) means” (Hall: 1980: 128). This entails that a producer of a YouTube video can “position” the YouTube videos are open to different interpretations depending on cultural background, preferred reading of the medium and the reader’s individual circumstances. An example of interpreting videos on YouTube would be if a YouTube user were to post a video of hims...

How Do Sources Influence Media Content?

Estimated Read Time: 3 Minutes 36 Seconds “The relationship between journalists and sources has been linked to a tug-of-war where each is trying to manage the other to his or her own advantage” (Tully, 2008: 23).  In order to produce a news story, journalists must rely on a source for information and clarity of the story. Otherwise, the news story would become non-objective, unclear and opinionated, which is what journalists try to avoid.  Journalists should select sources that will give the most appropriate information to them and therefore provide relevant information to frame a story around. Manning (2001), claims that “news media are usually regarded as a playing an important part in maintaining the flow of ideas and information upon which choices are made” (2001: 133). Manning also claims that “the less powerful are significantly disadvantaged to secure access to the media” (2001: 134). This causes problems due to the elite within society having the majority ...