Propaganda Theater (screening + talk)

It is often thought of propaganda applies only to ‘totalitarian’ regimes of the past, or those stuck in a time capsule – from Putin to Kim Jong-un. Authoritarian politics within democracies have its own lexicon, as the so-called ‘post-truth’ era, characterised by fake news. The word ‘propaganda’ is rejected, but isn't this very idea that democracy is free from propaganda a product of propaganda itself?

Jonas Staal, artist, propaganda researcher and author of Propaganda Art in the 21st Century (2019) and Climate Propagandas (2024), takes you on a journey through this topic, exploring how contemporary propaganda works, including within Western democracies. From the science fiction writers advising French President Macron, to the Pentagon’s game developers, the filmmaker who conceived ‘Trumpism’ and the dramaturg who scripted Putin’s performance.