IIs ‘Battleship Potemkin’ Effective Propaganda

In the absence of the types of mass media sources that dominate today’s society, Cinema was one the few forms of media capable of reaching a high proportion of the populous. Yet its effectiveness as a medium was limited by both the attendance of its target audience and their ability to accurately relay the intended message to others. Therefore the power, resonance and the manner in which the information is delivered became paramount, especially if (as in the case of Potemkin) the film is to be judged as an effective instrument of propaganda.

Originally created with the intention of reaffirming na

tion-wide belief in Communism, Battleship Potemkin became a vessel in which Eisenstein succeeded in visualising many of his own theories of cinematic expression, in particular montage, a somewhat impromptu discovery by the American D.W. Grithith (Intolerance, The Birth of a nation). Explored in greater depth by Lev Kuleshov (The Extraordinary adventures of Mr West in the land of the Bolsheviks).1 However it was Eisenstein’s pioneering theory of ‘the Montage of film attractions’2 that elevated this concept to a new level expanding it into his ‘Four Dimensions of cinema’.3 As Eisenstein himself describes:

It is by this interpretation we can understand that the use of a pre-meditated range of shots can be arranged to achieve its objective of steering the audience into a desired direction. Stimulating the emotions of the directors choice in order to enhance an overall mood and feeling and inspire thought processes on an ‘intellectual level.’5 One of Eisenstein’s desired effects is to direct the audiences’ emotions to that of sympathy towards the crew of the Potemkin while creating an affinity with the citizens of Odessa. The Odessa massacre itself is littered with a number of graphic examples of how Eisenstein manipulates his audience like a puppeteer. Conducting the sequences with orchestral skill, he uses montage to convey the films major political messages with the pure intention of conjuring incessant anti-tsarist and pro-revolution feelings. Jubilant scenes initially designed to establish a bond between the people of Odessa, Potemkin and subconsciously the audience preceded the powerful sequences following the arrival of the Cossack guards.

‘An attraction…. Is in our understanding any demonstrable fact (an action, an object, a phenomenon, a conscious combination, and so on) that is known and proven to exercise a definite effect on the attentions and emotions of the audience and that combined with others possesses the characteristic of concentrating the audience’s emotions in any direction dictated by the production’s purpose.’4

Some topics in this essay:
Odessa Potemkin, Bolsheviks1 Eisenstein’s, Edmund Meisel’s, Russian People, Battleship Potemkin, Precision Eisenstein, Sanctioned Soviet, Odessa Odessa, Potemkin Sailors, , battleship potemkin, russian people, lowering sales, angled shot, bow ship, audience’s emotions, people odessa,