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Media and the Unusual Direction.
The media uses various tools to get its audience. In many instances, this involves the use
of statistics and historical facts in bringing forth a particular agenda to the public. However, as it
is in the case of the Dust Bowl Odyssey, exaggerations and manipulation of facts effectively
reach people. Therefore, it’s important to check the unusual direction used by the media to set
their agenda and how this direction may contradict to the popular impression at the time.
Propaganda
Propaganda is the use of ideas or information with the goal of harming an institution or
person .Propaganda influences people’s social, political and economic attitudes. The press, for
example, through print and newspapers uses propaganda as a tool to reach its readers. According
to Robert Cialdini, an expert in the field of influence, because of the rapidly changing world, we
use stereotypes and other assumption to judge the information we get. Therefore, we are
susceptible to propaganda. One way the press uses is by identifying a given person as an
“expert”. This term makes us believe the information presented by this person is factual without
necessarily validating it (Cialdini 181). Also, the United States media has used this tool to
propagate its foreign policy. France has been an ally to the USA for years. Consequently, when it
decided to launch its first atomic bomb in 1960, the hold of the USA in world politics increased.
Therefore, to deter rival nations from doing the same, the country’s media proceeded to
undermine other nations that tried to do the same but were not close allies. An example is
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Pakistan. The major stages of propaganda include; the ideology and foundations of the
propaganda, the situation where the propaganda happens, the propagandist, the organizational
arrangement of the propaganda, the audience, the media techniques, other specific techniques,
the reaction, a counter-propaganda based on the reaction and the effects of it all (Jowett 213).
Irrespective of the technique used, the criteria are that it is perceived, understood, recalled and
reacted to. This approach is like that of advertising. Propaganda against Pakistan started with the
social proof. Given that the ordinary citizen does not understand the nuclear technology, the
media propagated that Pakistan was having strong relationships with countries commonly known
as enemies of the USA. An article in the Washington Post highlighted that an Iranian Minister
had congratulated Pakistan on their achievement and that it was a win for all Muslims. This
made the public aware of the close relationship between Iran and Pakistan. This ended up
creating a negative opinion over Pakistan in the US that before did not exist. Therefore,
propaganda influences public opinion.
Exaggerations
An exaggeration is the use of a statement to make something seem as more than it really
is, either positively or negatively. The media use exaggerations when trying to make a point. The
data provided in the Dust Bowl Odyssey indicating that a huge percentage of the population was
affected by the incident is an exaggeration as research shows that only 2% of the population was
affected by the Dust Bowl (Hornbeck 1479). Additionally, the immigrants are described as being
in bad shape, in the novel but they settled into better lands than they originally were in and their
overall life was more productive. In the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck uses detailed imagery and
other writing techniques to push the audience. Steinbeck later concedes that “I’ve done my
damnedest to rip a reader’s nerves to rags.” (Chilton).The reaction to this book was as
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passionate as its author and the protests and burning of the book are evidence. There are several
films made in the USA which exaggerate the might of the American protagonist to convince the
audience of the superiority of America. In the film series, Rambo, the main protagonist wages
war in Vietnam killing several Vietnamese soldiers with ease. The popularity of such films
ended up clouding the reality that America lost many soldiers in that war. Furthermore,
Hollywood is known to typecast roles based on race. It is common to find black actresses playing
maids in movies, white men as the lead protagonist of an action film and Arabs as terrorists
(Nittle). Such classifications contradict the fact that a majority of black women are not maids,
terrorism is not a preserve of the Arab community and White supremacy is not real. However,
the media has played such stereotypes to its agenda especially in political matters and sadly it has
worked.
The Grapes of Wrath Fulfilling its Vision
Steinbeck wanted to show that the suffering of the poor is not caused by nature rather by
those in power. He chooses to focus on two families to bring out this point. This plays out
perfectly. It is by dividing the world into the rich versus the poor that the characters are able to
shine and so, the story. The story is of the two families that have a strong bond not of blood but
of commitment and devotion to each other. Poverty is their enemy and life on the road is hard.
The immigrants bond because of poverty (Chilton). Dignity is a major theme of the story and it’s
emphasized by the struggle to keep up their self-respect in hardship. The altruism of the rich and
their selfishness leads them to create a system that destroys the lives of many people. Corporate
gas companies take advantage of their employees and rare moments of kindness are rewarded.
The major conflict drives the entire narrative giving readers a masterpiece and a natural flow to
the narrative. Therefore, the narrow vision brings the story to life.
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Conclusion
In the modern world, facts continue to be manipulated by the media. Following Donald
Trump’s win in the USA general elections, observers warned that the fake news on social media
played a role in undermining Hillary Clinton’s candidature. Therefore, the usual direction is
slowly losing the fight to the unusual direction.
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Works Cited
Cialdini, Robert. Influence: Science and Practice. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Jowett, Garth. Propaganda and Persuasion. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1992.
Nittle, Kareem N. “Common Racial Stereotypes in Movies and Television.” ThoughtCo,
https://www.thoughtco.com/common-racial-stereotypes-in-movies-television-2834718
Chilton, Martin. “The Grapes of Wrath: 10 Surprising Facts about John Steinbeck’s novel”
The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/john-steinbeck-grapes-of-
wrath-what-you-should-know/
Hornbeck, Richard. "The enduring impact of the American Dust Bowl: Short and long-run
adjustments to environmental catastrophe." The American Economic
Review 102.4 (2012): 1477-1507.

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