Here is my propaganda poster supporting Kuno’s perspective against The Machine from E.M. Forster’s story The Machine Stops. For this, I used a template from Canva, then I used other elements to create the final product.
Jump! It is worth it.
With today’s society, it is difficult to make changes for oneself, especially under the influence of media or news sources. This leads to techniques such as propaganda being used to persuade people to follow suite. Some elements found in propaganda are fear, attacks, symbolism, calls to action, bold texts, vibrant colours, and pathos. For instance, when creating my propaganda poster for Kuno’s perspective, I used these aspects as a persuasion technique as well. The fist in the center of the poster represents the rebellion against The Machine, and the statement on the bottom relates to a call to action that society needs to take. If The Machine is willing to kill, then why let it? Why not fight to resist instead of letting it happen? This contributes to the use of pathos, where emotions such as happiness, fear, anger and sadness are used to influence an audience. In addition, I used the elements of fear and attack in forms of text that were motioned in the story. For “Man is the measure”, Kuno was describing to his mom how men have changed over the years, from being controllers to being controlled, “Man is the measure… Man’s feet are the measure for distance, his hands are the measure for ownership, his body is the measure for all is lovable and desirable and strong” (Forster 13). He continues to mention that “If (The Machine) could work without us, it would let us die”, meaning The Machine will continue to grow if nothing is stopping it (Forster 17). After, The Machine had grown more powerful and God-like, and Kuno’s ideas against The Machine were becoming true. However, society would rather follow others down the wrong path than listen to the truth being told by one person. Fear struck civilians like Vashti as the realization of The Machine living without them became true. Finally, I used critical and creative thinking to develop my ideas for my propaganda poster with my planning skills and my reflective thoughts. Initially, I was planning on having wires being held in Kuno’s fist, then I noticed the image and the text had no connection. I changed part of the image and added some lighting bolts to emphasize the power that man can measure without the use of The Machine. Instead of being controlled by The Machine, men and women can break free, our beliefs shouldn’t consume us, we can control our own ideas.
Here is my podcast that Maya Dermott and I did together: