
The biggest Western conspiracy is that the 'Western propaganda' itself is the most effective anti-Western propaganda possible (Captain Obviov).

In the Western(centric) (world)view the only possible Grand Narrative is the Western one. Any counter-narrative or even an attempt to create such narrative is seen as a threat and is labeled as ‘propaganda’, ‘conspiracy theory’, ‘lies’. The only small narratives which are accepted in the West are the ones that support the Grand Narrative in one way or another. Any challenge to the Grand Narrative is dismissed as apparently impossible: “How dare they break boiled eggs at the sharp end?!”. So ‘freedom of speech’ is, in fact, practiced only in the realm of the Grand Narrative.
The ‘nutty Russians’ can’t be right by default (exclusion: yes, they can sometimes they can but only if they reproduce the Grand Narrative). Those-who-disagree are called ‘lunatics’, ‘conspiracy theorists’, ‘Putin’s trolls/puppets’, ‘useful idiots’, ‘pro-Russian‘ ‘whataboutists‘, and so forth. I coined the term ‘stealth Russians‘, i.e. educated, Westernized Russians who challenge the Western master discourse of Russia. They are absolutely invisible to the Western MSM and their existence is less likely to be discussed than the existence of unicorns.
By the way, I don’t deny the fact that there is ‘Russian propaganda’. Broadly speaking, ‘propaganda’ is a tool which forms worldview of a person (cultural propaganda, soft power, etc.). The problem I have with ‘Western propaganda’ is that it tries to pass for the Absolute Truth and positions the promoted Grand Narrative as the only ‘objective’ one.
Thus, the principle which lies in the foundation of the Western Grand Narrative is as follows: the halo effect is for us and the horns effect is for others. In other words, it is a combination of self-idealization with a demonization/vilification of the Other.
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I am also interested in narratives, and how they vary between cultures. The u-tube extract you show shows how humour varies between cultures. British humour is very much like the extract you show. American humour is quite different and most Brits would find it ham-fisted. This is hard to put into words, but more use of irony and self-critique in Britain.
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Russian humour is too self-critical imo. Sometimes it’s even self-deprecating. I’ve never heard a ‘Western joke’ (at least, I don’t remember it) without its Russian analogue being ‘harder’, ‘harsher’, etc.
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You never heard of a “Western joke” because there are none! We need to look at the different western cultures, break it down into countries. One of the strengths of the European Empire is divide and rule, its a linguistic tower of babel, and the EU wants to keep it like that.
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Of course! That’s why I put it in ”. French, British, Italian humour, etc., has its own peculiarities.
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VERY good piece. I just hope that more and more people get to disbelieve Western MSM.
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Thank you!
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Reblogged this on susannapanevin.
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