A portmanteau pairing of the
words “agitation” and “
propaganda,” usually used to describe media productions (posters, books, movies,
music, etc.) designed to instill pro-system thought patterns into those who consume them.
In turn, these implanted thoughts lead to actions that in some way bolster or directly advance official state policies. Agitprop runs a gauntlet, ranging from the crude propaganda posters of the former Soviet Union to today’
s highly-polished MTV fare.
Agitprop can be pathos (emotion) based, logos-
heavy, (logic) or even a combination of both. It works both the high and the low ground. Regardless of the form it takes, the ultimate goal of agitprop is the production of pro-state thought and action.
After having
blasted his eyeballs with countless hours of Fox News television agitprop, Joe Sixpack was ready to
head to the nearest
Army recruiting office and sign up to fight “islamo-fascists.”
