Brilliant and completely true, thanks for writing this. State actors arent the only ones doing this — the problem of art being used to manipulate is pervasive throughout modern culture, but it stretches back into previous eras as well (The Dutch Old Masters, with their perfectly-curated interiors, were not so different from the current instagram-influencer psyop accounts and their immaculately-presented public lives). I'm very interested in the religious angle as well. We all know Christian films are terrible, and that's no doubt in part because Christians are trying to ram a message into the minds of the films' viewers. But is that any different from the latest Disney cartoon with its inevitable "follow your heart" message? Your examples of Armstrong and Simone being sent on tour as "ambassadors of goodwill" was particularly spot-on. Thanks again.
Brilliant and completely true, thanks for writing this. State actors arent the only ones doing this — the problem of art being used to manipulate is pervasive throughout modern culture, but it stretches back into previous eras as well (The Dutch Old Masters, with their perfectly-curated interiors, were not so different from the current instagram-influencer psyop accounts and their immaculately-presented public lives). I'm very interested in the religious angle as well. We all know Christian films are terrible, and that's no doubt in part because Christians are trying to ram a message into the minds of the films' viewers. But is that any different from the latest Disney cartoon with its inevitable "follow your heart" message? Your examples of Armstrong and Simone being sent on tour as "ambassadors of goodwill" was particularly spot-on. Thanks again.