Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A comparison between Jew Suss and the Eternal Jew, both products of a specific epoch, both from a similar ideological vein, reveals interesting insights into effective propaganda. Jew Suss and The Eternal Jew touch on similar Nazi tropes: The parasitic nature of the Jewish people, their seemingly unstoppable spread across 'true' nations and peoples, their chameleon-like ability to blend into a 'host' society in order to take advantage, etc. The main difference between Jew Suss and the Eternal Jew and the resulting difference in popularity and de facto effectiveness of the propaganda, lies in the power of the narrative. Jew Suss utilizes a well made narrative to create a reality--The eternal Jew attempts to ethnographize the Jewish people and thus warn against their evils through a stream of facts. In Jew Suss the viewer is presented with the opportunity to confuse the faults of a part with the whole, that is the narrative allows for an evil character to make lasting insinuations of the Jewish race. Conversely, the Eternal Jew addresses the problem of the Jew by listing the faults of a whole through sweeping generalizations. The effectiveness of Jew Suss as a piece of propaganda lies in human nature--leading one to make connections will give a lasting impression, however, making the connections for them rarely does. There is a basic human necessity in drawing ones own conclusions and we feel a sense of veracity--even when the conclusion is one we have been conditioned to make.
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