The Power of Propaganda

The old adage that "information is power" is especially poignant in times of war. This is demonstrated in the use of propaganda by the Nazis during World War II. Propaganda was not created during World War II, but new technologies made it possible to spread propaganda on a larger scale and through different media. The rise of film in German society gave the Nazis a medium through which they could not only tell the public of their vision, but actually show them a model Nazi society.

The Triumph of the Will was the first film to try and capture the Nazi vision of utopia. Directed by Leni Riefenstahl, this film was controversial at the time of its release and is still to this day. Leni Riefenstahl was a Jewish director and actress who was commissioned by the Nazi party to film the Nazi Party Rally at Nuremburg in 1934. To Riefenstahl, the making of this film was an artistic endeavor and not a political one. For her, the meaning of the film was based on cinematography, music, and artistry. Unbeknownst to her, the film came to be used as a centerpiece for Nazi film propaganda. For the Nazis, the "media was the message" and what was important was for the German public to see the Nazi utopia presented in the film.

Riefenstahl's The Triumph of the Will, created a different way to present information to a large audience. This is reflected in today's television and movie advertisements. In modern advertisements, the medium is what is important, not the message. For instance, a car commercial may show a man surrounded by beautiful women, but buying the car may not necessarily mean that you will be surrounded by women. What is shown does not usually have anything to do with what is said, but this dichotomy does not affect the persuasiveness of this method.