At the time when Goebbels was writing this, the radio was the most effective and convenient way of reaching the masses. The Nazis believed in the power of the spoken word, and therefore, in their eyes, it is a very effective and influential form of communication. Goebbels claims, “It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio” I also think this is true, the more significant something is in influencing the masses, the more responsibility it has to the future of the nation. This is not so applicable to society today. His idea about letting the government control what is put across the radio, and using it as a form of propaganda is not as relevant today as it was in the 1930’s as there are more radio channels so people can choose what they listen to, and forms of communication such as the Internet enable people to access more information than they used to.
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb56.htm
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Good to see you getting the bit under your teeth Lucy! As to Goebbels, what do you think of this in terms of that old technological versus social deteminist argument? In other words, Goebbels seems to choose his words carefully here - he isn't after all, claiming that the revolution wouldn't have happened without the radio, but that it wouldn't have taken the same form. So here we go back to the idea that society must be "ripe for change" in order for the technology to play its own part in big historical moments.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that there are many different forms of mediated communication today than in the 30s - and possibly the most important factor here is some are many-to-many rather than the broadcast model. But there is perhaps a nagging question here - with more forms of communication, doesn't that mean there is potential at least for more influence from those who control access?
Keep up the good work!