Explore how propaganda and images have been used to communicate the ideology.

The work is from 1974, China. It was during the Cultural Revolution when Maoism was
spread by the Chinese Communist Party. The work uses stereotypes, symbolism and
hyperbole to communicate this ideology.

 Propaganda is often simple in order to communicate quickly and clearly. This is essential as
propaganda aims to influence as many individuals as possible.  To accomplish this, the text
uses stereotypes and breaks stereotypes. The work features a large number of women, who
represent lower class mentioned in the title. They are all fair, young and have black hair.
This is the stereotype of an ideal woman in this context. However, unlike what is culturally
expected, they seem to work with blueprints, fixing things with wrenches and lifting heavy
machinery. This effectively communicates the ideology that women are equal to men by
letting them take roles that are traditionally occupied by men. Moreover, there is also a
relatively dark man who is working with them who is a stereotype of the minorities, another
lower class. They all are performing skilled labour in a time where they were expected to be
peasants. This all to communicate the central message of the text:” People of the lower
class are most intelligent”.  The work puts known stereotypes of lower classes in pristine
positions to visually communicate their skill and convince the audience of their intelligence
and power.

 However, this effect is relying on the symbolic meaning of the industrial labour to
communicate intelligence and power of lower classes.  As a good portion of the work’s
audience was illiterate, the symbolism was an important tool to communicate the ideology.
Factories were a symbol of intelligence, progress and power of the proletariat. The objects in
the room like blueprints, hammers, drills and wrenches emphasis this by symbolizing
intelligence, power and skill. Moreover, the work’s audience were partially peasants, who
were believed to be inept in revolutions due to their lack of intelligence and power. The
work’s primary purpose is to convince the peasants, the lowest class, that they are intelligent
and have the power to drive the revolution. Therefore, the work empowers its audience
through the symbolic use of factory work which is done by stereotypes they can understand
and relate to. It shows them reading blueprints even though they are illiterate. It shows them
the promise of the industrial revolution even though they are still stuck doing agriculture. It
shows them that they have the intelligence to rise to higher classes. It communicates the
ideology that they have the power to drive the revolution because they are as capable and
intelligent as any other social class.

 This ultimately leads to the audience being persuaded that they deserve equality and that
they should eliminate social classes, which is the goal of the ideology. However, the title of
the work is “People of the lower classes are the most intelligent” which runs counter to most
of the visuals which convey a message of equality between sexes and classes. Hence, the
title could be hyperbole. Hyperboles are effective techniques in propaganda as they make
sure the audience understands the key messages needed to take action. In this case, the
work wants the audience to take part in the revolution and to move up social classes. The
audience would be more motivated through the use of hyperbole which would give them a
sense of superiority. Hence, the work uses a hyperbole effectively to accomplish its purpose.

 In conclusion, the work uses stereotypes, symbolism and hyperbole to effectively
communicate its ideology to a wide audience and to empower the lower classes so that the
goals of the work can be achieved.