Propaganda Poster

This propaganda poster is arguably one of the most appealing learner profile poster in the history of the IB, I will explain the reasons why that is the case throughout this rationale with an explanation of each individual feature that were hand-picked based on their relevance in contributing to the poster’s appeal.

Overall, this propaganda poster revolves around the idea of fear that was made clear by the headline.

Communication is key to survival

The fear-factor of this poster warns the audience that a disaster will result if they do not follow a particular course of action which is to communicate or to become a communicator. Furthermore, the use of language aspect surrounding this headline also has an apparent effect on the audience; such as the use of inclusive language, like we in we are here to help, which persuades the audience by creating a sense of responsibility or solidarity on the topic.

Despite the controversial use of

The learning outcome clearly states

We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than

one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively,

listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and

groups.

With emphasis on promoting the communicator learning outcome, the image and visual aspects / visual language of the poster contributes to the poster’s appeal. The visual aspect is a conversation which symbolizes express ourselves confidently, during a rescue mission depicting the collaborate effectively aspect of being a communicator, between the refugees and marines that symbolize individuals and groups, in both arabic and english (more than one language).

Propaganda

Throughout history, the term propaganda has always been heavily associated with a negative message, often not only an exaggeration of the truth but to the extent of an outright lie. Solely focusing on the idea of war, propaganda and bias has always played a key role in forming or perhaps altering the perception of the masses during these time periods.

 In response to the chosen prompt, as a student I agree that

The term propaganda always refers to a negative message. 

As previously mentioned, propaganda is mainly used to either exaggerate or alter the truth. To what extent should one simply alter the truth for positive reasons? I believe that being untruthful on it’s own is already a negative act, therefore it puts a negative aspect on the story or news headline.

The media’s use of propaganda during the Iraq war in 2003 is worth the discussion in this case to back up the statement above. In the documentary Control Room, there are many different examples of opposing perspectives on the same issue. The most important one being the conditions faced by the Iraqi population due to the war. From the observations made by Josh Rushing, he pointed out that Al Jazeera seemed to have mostly  depicted the sufferings of the people on the channel as opposed to the threats of Saddam Hussein. This exaggeration of the truth (message) might have had good intentions, to show that the conditions were bad for the people of Iraq but at the end, this refers to a negative message critiquing the United States involvement in Iraq.

Don’t take my word for it, but my point is that even though the intention behind altering the message (propaganda) in itself might be for the greater good, the message it provokes will always refer to a negative message.