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Two items here. First, there is an interview with George Lakoff [What? You don't know who he is? Shame on you!] in the Berkeley News: Framing the issues: UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff tells how conservatives use language to dominate politics. The article is a little dated (last October) and, I think, has been done by Lakoff many times, including an NPR audio clip that I posted a while ago. Thanks to Doc for the tip. The title is relatively self-explanatory.
Second, from the other side, today I found that trailer for Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit 9/11 is online. Moore is, himself, an unrepentant propagandist one-man counter-balance to all that Lakoff describes. Watch the trailer.
Posted by Grayson at June 3, 2004 08:18 AMMan...I hope Mr. Moore wears kevlar underwear.
Whether a person considers themselves an admirer of Michael Moore or not, that trailer is one very finely crafted piece of work...absolutely amazing.
And no, I don't know George Lakoff. But I agree with everything he says. Language is powerful stuff that can be used for good or evil. I work with people who refuse to be shaken from the belief that "just show 'em the facts" is damn-near worthless on its own. Sometimes I feel like such people think less of me because I engage in spin and focus on language.
Posted by: Frank at June 7, 2004 12:45 PMI wish I could get beyond understanding the impact of language and incorporate it into my own "spin." Despite knowing -- being somewhat educated, in fact -- that the truth has many shades long before it even gets close to becoming a lie, it confounds me.
It's all spin. Understanding that is half the battle.
Posted by: TRDG at June 8, 2004 04:37 PM