Re: [Pen-l] The Obama cult

["Jim Devine" <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

In reference to a contribution by Louis, Tom writes:
>> Time for another Two Minute Hate? <<

If I understand correctly, Orwell's fictional 2 minute hate sessions
were based on the real-world phenomena of "4 minute men," who were
speakers at films and other public venues in the US during World War
I. President Wilson had mobilized about 75,000 of them to give
patriotic talks all across the U.S. to whip up support for the US role
in the war.[*] There were similar phenomena in the UK and US (and
likely many other countries) during World War II, along with books,
movies, and comic books aimed at pushing the official line on the war.
This tradition continued into the Cold War.

In _1984_, I believe, Orwell was not simply criticizing Soviet
"totalitarianism." (That would be too easy.) He was also saying that a
lot of the phenomena that he had seen in the UK during World War II
(Newspeak, etc.) could be used for Evil instead of for Good.

I don't think Louis is engaged in anything at all like a "two minute
hate," which is a government-sponsored activity. Instead, he's engaged
in social criticism, something that's totally legit on pen-l.

[*] From Answers.com:
>Committee on Public Information, set up by executive order of President Woodrow Wilson, 14 April 1917. Formally it consisted of the secretaries of state, war, and the navy, with the journalist George Creel as civilian chairman. The committee was responsible for uniting American support behind the World War I effort. Creel, handling most of the work, plus a far-flung organization abroad and at home, presented the war issues with pamphlets, films, cables, posters, and speakers (known as Four-Minute Men). The committee's sophisticated use of propaganda became a model for future government efforts to shape mass opinion.<
-- 
Jim Devine /  "Nobody told me there'd be days like these / Strange
days indeed -- most peculiar, mama." -- JL.
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