The Power of Media Communication: How Propaganda Techniques Used in Advertising Influence Japanese Women

Media, as a communication tool, has a great impact on society.  From the traditional simplex communication tools such as T.V., radio, newspapers, and magazines, to the most current bidirectional communication tool, the Internet, media has a great amount of influence on society.  Media is a powerful tool that can influence a country’s policies, shape public opinion, and even set the standard for societal norms. Consequently, research has shown that media outlets use propaganda within advertising.  Advertising agencies skillfully manipulate female emotions, in order to create and bolster a perpetual culture of consumption.  As a result, this directly contributes to gender inequality.

The primary purpose of this paper is to analyze how media propaganda influences females in Japanese society and the impact it has on their lives.  Additionally, this paper will detail how media outlets use propaganda techniques, which have profound implications to female identity.  This greatly affects how females view themselves and their roles within society. 

Social problems including, excessive consumption, identity, and gender inequality, are viewed as generalized social problems.  These social problems are often ignored or downplayed by the mainstream media.  This paper will engage in a historical analysis, to include the studies that have been conducted, concerning media propaganda on women in Japan. 

Although, the news media is supposed to report objectively, studies have shown that notion to be false.   The news is often skewed to serve the interest of the power elite.   As a result, the news media often reinforces the dominant social ideology.  In Japan, the dominant ideology is largely male-oriented.   Similarly, this paper argues that the propaganda techniques used by advertising agencies, even as a byproduct, serve that same purpose:  to maintain a male-dominated power structure in society.