Personality cult

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(Examples)
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*[[Charles Manson]] and his "Family" (USA)
 
*[[Charles Manson]] and his "Family" (USA)
 
*[[Augustus Caesar]] (Most of [[Europe]])
 
*[[Augustus Caesar]] (Most of [[Europe]])
*If you want to stretch it a bit, [[Ronald Reagan|Saint Ronnie]] for the [[Republican]]s and [[JFK]] for the [[Democratic Party|Dems]] (USA)<ref>A portion of people reading this article will be probably thinking "Why not [[Obama]]?" Simple: looking at it from today's perspective it was a very ''short'' one. The most important element in a personality cult is the usage of authority to perpetuate artificial apotheosis; you don't want [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZFOoqX8kJTs#! videos] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Reimvk8D2Ho like] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4l_-RxbFPs these] lying around.  American society has a unusual tendency to [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21580779 mythologize Presidents] ([[American Revolution|ironically]], even worse than today's constitutional monarchies), and over time [[wilful ignorance|ignore]] the very things [[Iran-Contra|which]] [[Ronald_Reagan#A_sterling_record_of_fiscal_conservatism|make]] [http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2013/01/the-real-cuban-missile-crisis/309190/ them] [http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/all-the-presidents-unreported-women-jfk-never-had-problems-like-bill-clintons-recalls-nick-bryant-1438663.html human.]  Who knows what will happen in 50 years to the legacy of the first POTUS who transcended the barriers of race. (We'd like an objective account, thanks.)</ref>
+
*If you want to stretch it a bit, [[Ronald Reagan|Saint Ronnie]] for the [[Republican]]s and [[JFK]] for the [[Democratic Party|Dems]] (USA)<ref>A portion of people reading this article will be probably thinking "Why not [[Obama]]?" Simple: looking at it from today's perspective it was a very ''short'' one. The most important element of a personality cult is the usage of authority to perpetuate artificial apotheosis; you don't want [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZFOoqX8kJTs#! videos] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Reimvk8D2Ho like] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4l_-RxbFPs these] lying around.  American society has a unusual tendency to [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21580779 mythologize Presidents] ([[American Revolution|ironically]], even worse than today's constitutional monarchies), and over time [[wilful ignorance|ignore]] the very things [[Iran-Contra|which]] [[Ronald_Reagan#A_sterling_record_of_fiscal_conservatism|make]] [http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2013/01/the-real-cuban-missile-crisis/309190/ them] [http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/all-the-presidents-unreported-women-jfk-never-had-problems-like-bill-clintons-recalls-nick-bryant-1438663.html human.]  Who knows what will happen in 50 years to the legacy of the first POTUS who transcended the barriers of race. (We'd like an objective account, thanks.)</ref>
  
 
==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==

Revision as of 09:50, 15 March 2013

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A personality cult or "cult of personality" is a system in which a leader is able to control a group of people through the sheer force of his or her personality and is often portrayed as a god-like figure. Where the personality cult is about of a head of state, criticism of that person is generally prohibited, and state-sponsored media are employed to ensure that the masses are given a consistent picture of the person's perfection. That picture is likely to be a literal picture. The image of the leader is typically plastered over much of the visual landscape. New surfaces may be produced for no other reason than to present that image, as satirized with the balloon bearing Joseph Stalin's image in an empty field in the 1994 Russian film Burnt by the Sun.[1]

Personality cults are often found in totalitarian regimes. Although it is very rare to see them in democratic countries, they do occur from time to time.

Examples

Footnotes

  1. IMDB: Burnt by the Sun
  2. A portion of people reading this article will be probably thinking "Why not Obama?" Simple: looking at it from today's perspective it was a very short one. The most important element of a personality cult is the usage of authority to perpetuate artificial apotheosis; you don't want videos like these lying around. American society has a unusual tendency to mythologize Presidents (ironically, even worse than today's constitutional monarchies), and over time ignore the very things which make them human. Who knows what will happen in 50 years to the legacy of the first POTUS who transcended the barriers of race. (We'd like an objective account, thanks.)
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