How semiotics in political propaganda affect people?

Semiotics is often used in political propaganda to attract the voters or either plant certain ideologies into people's minds.  Umberto Eco stated that 'semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as  a  sign’. It involved the study of things that we refer as 'signs' in our everyday life, their meanings and the way they are presented.

We will take the propaganda during Leninism in Soviet Union as an example. Vladimir Lenin who was the Soviet Union politician said that ‘genuine art is one expressed so clearly, that it is perceivable for everybody. Its topic is something more sublime and important for the mass of workers rather than the idle minority’. That is why the messages conveyed through the visual arts during Leninism is easily comprehended by their nation, not just only the upper class, but to all citizens.



This poster is created during the Leninism. The words on the posters are 'Long live Marxism-Leninism'.

Their signs in their visual art was also a reflection of reality. 'Lenin insisted that the human mind was able to objectively perceive the correct reflection of nature, and this reflection was objective, absolute and the eternal truth' (Kruk. S, 2008). Those visual art contained a symbol, a conventional sign that could show life in its development where one could associate with its professionalisation, personalisation, and the ongoing phenomenon during that era depends on the elements that are used in those visual arts.


This poster has Lenin on it. The words on the posters are 'All power to Soviets! Peace to all nations! Lands to all peasants! Factories to workers!' which is used to remind his nation about the slogan - 'Peace, Land, Bread'.

This is why semiotics is important and often used in the political propaganda when the politicians want to introduce certain ideologies. It does not just make people to associate with the message conveyed by the propaganda but also give people the reality they themselves want to see because it affects people psychologically.


References:
Chandler, D. (2002) Semiotics: The Basic. Available at: https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9780203014936 [Access on 29th June 2018]

Kruk, S. (2008) Semiotics Of Visual Iconicity In Leninist 'Monumental' Propaganda. Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/doi/10.1177/1470357207084864 [Access on 29th June 2018]


Figures:
http://www.sovposters.ru/view/1085/

http://topris2012.blogspot.com/2008/10/russian-propaganda-poster-project.html

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