Based on the Theory of Agenda Setting – Analyzing the Propaganda of Films during the Pandemic

Faculty of Art, Journalism and Communication, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, 999078 China

^* Corresponding author: 1210002472@student.must.edu.mo

Abstract

Now that China has entered the post-epidemic era, with the normalization of the epidemic, should the Chinese film industry continue to uphold the purpose of political propaganda? How can films better achieve political propaganda’s effect rather than numb the audience? This research hopes to answer these questions. This article analyzes the role of political propaganda in different types of films in China during the COVID-19 epidemic (2020-2022) and makes relevant recommendations. Based on communication psychology, agenda setting, and symbolic interaction theory, the effects of audiences watching movies are classified and analyzed, and it is concluded that the means of propaganda include direct or subtle propaganda. This paper finds that when a crisis event occurs, the film’s narrative logic should serve politics, to achieve the purpose of persuading the public and gaining recognition, to get rid of the crisis. Subtle propaganda methods are more used in movies other than the main theme movies during the epidemic to promote the recovery of the epidemic and strengthen the role of national cohesion. It indicates that after the normalization of the epidemic, the development of the Chinese film industry should further develop this kind of subtle propaganda.