The 5 Stages of the Overton Window: How Public Opinion is Manipulated?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

On the Russian-language Internet, information about the Overton Window technology, dedicated to the mechanisms of manipulating public opinion, has become widespread. The name of the technology bears the name of its author - American lawyer and public figure Joseph Overton.

Lecture 6: Overton Window Technology. How is public opinion manipulated?

Overton Window Technology

On the Russian-language Internet, information about the Overton Window technology, dedicated to the mechanisms of manipulating public opinion, has become widespread. The name of the technology bears the name of its author - American lawyer and public figure Joseph Overton.

According to his theory, for every idea or problem in society there is a so-called "window of opportunity" that defines the framework for a possible discussion of the topic, in which persons expressing different points of view will not be automatically compromised in the eyes of others. It is customary not to touch on some ideas, some can be discussed in a narrow circle of specialists, and some are available for public discussions.

But the area of topics open and closed for public discussion in modern society, which lives in conditions of constant change, is not static, but dynamic in nature. This means that the so-called "window of opportunity" can move to the left or to the right as the information situation changes, depending on the situation. The majority of citizens do not notice this movement, because it occurs gradually, over several years, and people are usually immersed in personal affairs and do not track long-term processes.

And the main question is whether the discussion is shifting due to objective reasons for the development of society, or is it artificial and controlled?

Some part of the processes, of course, proceeds by itself due to the development of the technosphere, science, the interpenetration of cultures of different peoples, and so on. But within the framework of our lecture, we will touch upon those topics that are moving into the public consciousness artificially, with the active manipulation of public opinion through the media, which would be more correct to call "means of forming and managing public opinion." This point must be remembered: it is control over the central media that is the main condition for the artificial movement of Overton's windows in one direction or another. The main signs of the artificial promotion of certain topics are their obvious financial incentives and do not correspond to the interests of most of the society.

Let's give a good example: the appearance of the first open homosexual in Disney products as one of the heroes of the new version of the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", released in 2017. Obviously, this fact, having caused the discontent of a significant part of the audience, greatly narrowed the target audience of the film and the Disney company in general, not only in the United States itself, but also in many other countries of the world. A decrease in the audience automatically means that the company did not make tens of millions of dollars, because many parents did not want to lead their children to a film that promotes perversion.

Nevertheless, despite the direct financial losses, the Disney company took this step, and the theme of perversion has already taken a strong place in modern cinema by now, even reaching products intended for a children's audience. This means that in Western cinema either unspoken rules have been introduced to promote LGBT themes, or mechanisms have been created to gently stimulate such processes, which indicates the artificial nature of the Overton Window's displacement in this area.

Before we begin to analyze in detail how ideas are promoted at each stage, let's watch a video dedicated to the topic of perversions and how they are introduced in Russia.

This video review was released in 2015, and since then the window of opportunity has moved even further. What are the main stages of the whole process of introducing destructive phenomena into the life of society?

First stage

The first stage in the movement of the Overton window is to move the discussion from the "unthinkable" to the "radical". Any phenomenon is taken that is categorically not accepted by society, is in the zone of sin or taboo. For example, cannibalism, incest, homosexuality, etc. Imperceptibly for society on some concrete and publicly promoted example (a scandal or a series of programmed events), a previously forbidden topic begins to be actively discussed, often under plausible pretexts: “What is so bad in this or that phenomenon? Why can't this be done? We see that, for example, these people are doing this, they are happy and do not offend anyone?"

This is how the agenda is formed: “This topic, of course, is forbidden, but not so much that we could not talk about it - we are free people, conscious people, our civilization is highly developed, especially since we have freedom of speech, so we can talk about the forbidden . On the Russian TV channel Domashny there is even a show called “No taboo topics,” and it is precisely what it is doing, under the guise of scientific and other research, introduces into the public sphere those issues that were previously in the zone of taboo.

The result of the first movement of the “Overton window” is that an unacceptable topic has been introduced into circulation, the taboo has been desacralized, the unambiguity of the problem has been destroyed - “grayscale” has been created. This is how the problem is transferred from the area of the forbidden, the unthinkable to the area of the radical, when the topic is still considered to be in the zone of sin or taboo, but you can already talk about it and, most importantly, express your personal opinion without fear of consequences.

Second stage

On the second stagethe opening of the "Overton window" occurs on the one hand - the creation of a euphemism and the replacement of the original meaning of the taboo phenomenon (for example, instead of the words "pederasty," sodomy, "the press begins to use more neutral terms:" homosexuality "," gay "); on the other hand, finding a historical precedent (of a famous person or event) that would justify this phenomenon in the eyes of a part of society.

The technology for creating and implementing euphemisms is clearly shown in the video "Linguistic weapons":

What processes, in addition to the LGBT themes we have already touched upon, are the first two stages of the Overton window movement going through today?

As the analysis of modern mass culture carried out within the framework of the Teach Good project shows, in society, discussions are already artificially provoked on the admissibility of incest, pedophilia, mutilation of one's body, suicide, cannibalism, Satanism, prostitution, transhumanism, drug use, and so on.

During the lecture, we will take a closer look at two topics - the legalization of prostitution and the justification of cannibalism

The image of a prostitute has never been sung, romanticized, or even idealized in culture as it is today. Remember the classic and still beloved by many film "Pretty Woman", where the prostitute was portrayed as almost "Cinderella".

If earlier the problem of prostitution was raised in works of literature or cinema, then the prostitute was usually shown as a victim of circumstances, the result of the depravity of the system. In our time, in the cinema, the image of a voluntary prostitute is romanticized and humanized. The woman who chose this profession for herself. They become the protagonists of films and TV series. Foreign - "Kept Women", "Secret Diary of a Call Girl", "The Diaries of the Red Shoe", "Young and Beautiful"; domestic - "Cursed Paradise", "Ordinary Woman", "Shadows of the Past" and others. Moreover, in these films, the prostitute acts as the main character. And if we expand the list to those paintings where they play a secondary, but positive role, then not a single article will be enough for this list, we can mention only those that are known to almost every Russian at least from posters: "Capercaillie", "Karpov", "In the spring love blooms", "Open, police!", "Policeman from Rublyovka", "Real boys" and so on.

In parallel with the development of this theme in the cinema, former porn actresses like Pamela Anderson or Sasha Gray are artificially turned into a media personality. They are invited to appear in ordinary films, they come on official visits to Russia, sell their books in our country. All this is taking place with the active support of the central and even state press. Interfax agency publishes in quotation marks "news" about the new erotic novel by Sasha Gray, published by the Eksmo publishing house. The NTV channel enthusiastically comments on Sasha Gray's participation in the rally from Vladivostok to Moscow, and Channel One invites her to the Evening Urgant program.

The transformation of a porn actress into a brand and, in fact, the promotion of pornography by the leading Russian publications is something that only recently seemed inconceivable, but today it has already become a reality. The next stage is the legalization of prostitution at the legislative level. Although, in principle, even now the law enforcement agencies practically do not fight with the so-called "massage parlors" and other cultural signs of such establishments. Now let's watch a few videos on this topic.

Pay attention to this point - as prostitution is gradually legalized, the opposite process takes place - such terms as "chastity", "modesty", "purity" are ridiculed or completely removed from public rhetoric. They seem to be shifted on the Overton scale in the opposite direction, and they are replaced by such euphemisms as "rich sexual experience", "trial or civil marriage."

And now the girls are embarrassed to be modest, they consider their purity to be something unnatural, abnormal. And some enthusiastically discuss the "sexual revolution" that took place in the West, and then the "sexual revolution" that came to us, not realizing that this is just another euphemism behind which there is a controlled process of demoralization.

Third stage

On the third stageAfter the legitimizing precedent has been provided, it becomes possible to move the "Overton window" from the territory of the possible to the area of the rational and acceptable. At this stage, the previously unified and integral problem is fragmented into many species and subspecies - some of which are "very terrible and unacceptable", while others are "quite acceptable and cute."

A plurality of points of view are also being broadcast to the masses. For this, communities promoting "grayscale" are placed on the extreme flanks. On the one hand, there are non-handshake radicals, whom a highly developed society is forced to endure, and on the other, quite respectable gentlemen who are received in the best houses of "Paris and London".

For example, in the public consciousness it is necessary to artificially create a "battlefield" for the problem of the permissibility of cannibalism. Scarecrows are placed on the extreme flanks - radical supporters and radical opponents of cannibalism who have appeared in a special way. Real opponents - that is, normal people who do not want to remain indifferent to the problem of rattling this phenomenon, are trying to pack together with scarecrows and write them down as radical haters.

The role of these scarecrows is to actively create the image of crazy psychopaths - aggressive, fascist haters of "anthropophilia", calling for cannibals, Jews, communists and blacks to be burned alive. The presence in the media is provided to all the listed categories of citizens, except for real adequate opponents of legalization.

In this situation, the so-called anthropophiles themselves remain, as it were, in the middle between the scarecrows, on the "territory of reason", from where, with all the pathos of "sanity and humanity," they condemn "fascists of all stripes." "Scientists" and journalists at this stage prove that humanity throughout its history has eaten each other from time to time, and this is normal.

Now the topic of anthropophilia can be transferred from the rational to the popular. The Overton window moves on.

At the same time, the topic of cannibalism, considered here as an example, is not something abstract or fantastic, but the current reality of the Western world, which so far reaches us only in echoes

Fourth stage

On the fourth stageAs the Overton Window unfolds, a previously forbidden phenomenon is legalized - it becomes the main topic of talk shows and news broadcasts. For example, TV shows about cannibals are filmed, people are immersed in discussion of the details and various aspects of the problem, thereby creating addiction. Phrases are heard everywhere, like:

• “These are creative people. Well, you ate your wife, so what?"
• “They truly love their victims. Eats, it means he loves!"
• "Anthropophiles have high IQs and otherwise have a strict morality."
• "Anthropophiles are the victims themselves, their life made them"
• “They were brought up like that,” and so on.

Popularizing an idea also includes:

• Creation of various media products (films, songs, exhibitions) dedicated to a previously forbidden topic;
• Attraction of "stars" of show business to the promotion of the idea;
• Stimulating the self-reproduction process (awarding prizes, supporting the right creators in the media, etc.)

Fifth stage

TO the fifth stageOverton's window movements shift when a topic in society is warmed up to such an extent that it can be transferred from the category of “popular” to the sphere of “norm” and “current politics”. At this stage, “the preparation of the legal framework begins. Lobbyist groups in power are consolidating and coming out of the shadows. Sociological polls are published, allegedly confirming a high percentage of supporters of one or another taboo who want to legalize this sin. During the last stage of the movement of Okna, society was already broken. The most lively part of it will somehow resist the legislative consolidation of not so long ago still unthinkable things, but on the whole society is broken and has already agreed with its defeat.

The most terrible consequence of this technology is that a person loses harmony, getting in its place endless internal disputes and torments. After achieving the result, many people are forced to maintain the illusion of accepting other people's values. People are less and less human, losing touch with their roots and culture. In other words, a person from a strong tree turns into a tumbleweed, becoming just as dry and vulnerable.

The ideology of tolerance

What is the main condition or main platform for promoting all these deviations into society? So actively introduced to us today "tolerance", with the help of which people are led away from the question of which processes and phenomena should be tolerated, and which should be resisted by showing intolerance.

Again, it sounds beautiful - “everyone can have their own opinion,” “no need to impose anything on anyone,” “watch yourself, do not meddle in the affairs of others,” and so on.“Well, LGBT characters appeared in children's cartoons - what does it matter to you, you are not forced to change your orientation? Well, they show on TV vulgarity, prostitutes and pornographic actresses - take and change the channel, it's just business! If you don’t like it, don’t look!”. Such formulations usually hide the propagandists of everything base and immoral.

In fact, all their calls, one way or another, boil down to the fact that a person should become passive, stop caring about others, live according to the principle “my house is on the edge, I don’t know anything”, thinking only about himself

In society, there is always a concept of the norm. The deviations and perversions that we considered during the lecture as clear examples of the Overton Window movement, although they met in the history of mankind, were never the norm. Therefore, we must not, and what is more, we have no right to be calm or conniving at attempts to justify them, let alone legalize them. Whatever they hide behind - whether it is "protecting the rights of minorities" or calls "to keep pace with the times, not to be retrogrades." You cannot follow the lead of the ideologues of tolerance. We must understand well in which situations it is appropriate to show tolerance to the opinions of others, and in which to show intolerance and suppress the development of socially dangerous tendencies.

Willingness to show obedient tolerance in any situations means only one thing - a person's lack of conscience and his inability to distinguish between good and evil. Tolerance is so strenuously imposed on society so that it does not resist and calmly accepts all the changes, without delving into the essence of each of them. In order not to fall for this "bait", it is important to understand how the Overton Window technology works, and to be able to resist the introduction of destructive ideas and meanings.

How to counter the technology of the Overton Window

To resist the Overton Window technology, you must:

• Always and everywhere try to tell the truth. Avoid using euphemisms, getting to the bottom of things and processes, calling the events by their proper names, no matter how intolerant it all sounds.
• Self-education. In a modern information war, the winner is the one who is smarter, the one who knows more and better understands social processes, can more effectively use the labor or financial resource available to him to correct the situation. All the tendencies voiced in the lecture cannot be stopped from the position of power confrontation; it is necessary to participate, first of all, in information confrontation.
• Create and support media outlets that counteract the spread of destructive trends. It must be understood that it is the media that are the main instrument of the unstructured management of society. Not the only one, but the most important.

Some believe that major media outlets are supported by advertising or other natural funding mechanisms. But in reality, almost all modern news agencies, TV channels and publishing houses are directly tied to the international financial oligarchy, which forms the trends that we see. They receive huge amounts of money from their owners, and therefore they are busy not with objective coverage of events, but with artificial promotion of an agenda that is beneficial to the owner.

Profits from advertising make up a small part of their income - moreover, in Russia, for example, television advertising is ordered in most cases by foreign brands and, in fact, serves as one of the mechanisms of external control. Therefore, in the field of big media, in principle, there is no question of any healthy or fair competition, they are all subsidized in one way or another and therefore “tame”.

A massive alternative to the existing system today is developing mainly thanks to the Internet, with the advent of which ordinary people have the opportunity to create information sites, maintain their blogs, YouTube channels, communities in social networks.

No one will subsidize such platforms that distribute news and analytics useful to wide layers of society, and they can exist and operate effectively only with the support of ordinary people. Therefore, if you find and regularly read sources of information that, in your opinion, contribute to the moral and intellectual improvement of society, take an active part in their activities: leave comments, write articles, distribute materials, provide financial assistance.