Here is my propaganda poster supporting the Machine’s perspective from The Machine Stops. I used CANVA to make this poster.

Return to Civilization!

We, as consumers, are constantly affected by the media.  Propaganda is strategically created to make us think and act in certain ways by using pathos to invoke emotions from the audience. I used three propaganda techniques in my poster: deification, the bandwagon, and fear. Firstly, deification is the process of making an idea or person appear holy. This technique is demonstrated in my poster with the text “blessed is the machine”, and the visual of the hands. By using the word “blessed” the machine is associated divinity, and the hands are in position of prayer. The Book is floating above them, giving it the appearance of it being ‘above’ the humans. Next, the bandwagon is used to trigger fear of isolation and missing out on something everyone else is doing. I used this technique by having multiple sets of hands praying to the Book, which creates the illusion that there are lots of people worshipping the Machine. Finally, the last technique I used is fear. By having the words “beware” and “terror” in large, bold font, it invokes fear in the audience. This causes people to become wary of direct experience and seek comfort in the Machine. This design was inspired by the increased worshipping of the Machine and the Book throughout the story. People depended on the Machine for everything, and eventually it became revered as a deity; “The Machine… feeds us and clothes us and houses us, through it we speak to one another, through it we see one another, in it we have our being… the Machine is omnipotent, eternal; blessed is the Machine” (Forster 22). As the Machine became increasingly treated like a god, any ideology, ideas, or way of being outside the Machine became blasphemous. This marginalized the people who didn’t partake in the religion of the Machine. For example, Kuno is described as “sinful” for comparing the mending apparatus to worms (Forster 22).

I utilized the critical thinking core competency when I developed and designed a poster that would reflect the ideology of the Machine, allowing me to create powerful propaganda. Propaganda is everywhere, and it’s not always as harmless. Being able to reflect on the message of propaganda without being affected emotionally is an important skill to learn.

Here is my podcast with Sonoma Booth: