In 1984, George Orwell wrote of a world where the only colour to be found was in the propaganda posters. Such is the case in North Korea. Images of Kim Il-sung are depicted in vivid colours. Rays of yellow and orange emanate from his face: he is the sun.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the use of propaganda in totalitarian regimes to create a glorified image of leadership.
Barbara Demick's quote draws a parallel between George Orwell's depiction of a colorless world dominated by propaganda and the reality of North Korea, where vivid imagery of its leader, Kim Il-sung, is used to reinforce his cult of personality. The use of bright colors symbolizes the distorted reality that governments can create to manipulate and control their citizens, illustrating how imagery can be employed as a powerful tool in political propaganda.
In practice
In a discussion about the role of propaganda in authoritarian regimes.
In 2012, a five-year-old girl in Shandong province described to me how ten officials had chased her six-months-pregnant mother through the fields to prevent the birth of the family's second child, a boy. She died during the procedure.
If you look at satellite photographs of the Far East by night, you'll see a large splotch curiously lacking in light. This area of darkness is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.
The government is us; WE are the government, you and I."- Theodore Roosevelt
The crisis of black politics can only be resolved through the development of multiclass, multiracial, progressive political structures.
Arresting opposition leaders and restricting civil society will not stop people from protesting, but it can create leaderless movements that leave no one with whom the government can mediate a peaceful way forward.
He who uses the office he owes to the voters wrongfully and against them is a thief.
Of course, there is no question that Libya - and the world - will be better off with Gaddafi out of power. I, along with many other world leaders, have embraced that goal, and will actively pursue it through non-military means. But broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.