Propaganda may or may not work, but one thing's certain: even in wartime, there will be satire. The admonition Loose Lips (May) Sink Ships is readymade for "repurposing." The origin of this? The US Office of War Information aka Ministry of Propaganda, Second World War. In the 1940s and 1950s, at least one variation turned to kissing: "An Upper Invitation to a Lower Invasion." I've recently heard the phrasing morphed into something about "Moose Lips" and "don't gimme no lip on a sinkin' ship." Political wags have trotted out "rearranging decks chairs on the Titanic" (or the Hindenburg) for as long as I can remember. What goes around comes around, on seaships and airships and radar blips. It's strange: Loose is derogatory except when one's discussing coins or warming up for something, but so is uptight and its variations. Playing fast and loose with the truth. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Either way, wild cards and jokers will trump, and propaganda will be contested by a coalition of the chillin.'
Today's Rune: Initiation.
1 comment:
The key to propaganda is that the one seeing it easily susses out that it is a MOST IMPORTANT thought from the authorities and take it from there. Thomas Hart Benton was one of the most prolific propagandists of WWII.
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