My interest lies in showcasing how mental warfare affects specifically Black and People of Color communities. Mental warfare entails the planned application of propaganda and other psychological operations to affect the emotions, behavior, opinions, and attitudes of one’s opponents.
To me, mental warfare poses a special interest as it becomes steadily more and more relevant in modern society due to various social, military, and ideological conflicts that constantly occur in the world. There are two specific features of mental warfare that I have found specifically necessary to explore. Firstly, mental warfare is a tactic that can be used to bring triumph in either physical, ideological, or cognitive wars. This aim is achieved by reinforcing the attitudes and behaviors that favor the fighter’s objectives. Secondly, mental warfare provides leeway for depressing one’s opponents’ psychological state, meaning it creates false flag strategies that weaken the opposing side. While it may seem that psychological warfare benefits humanity, this combat can suppress people’s ability to express important opinions, especially those involving social inequalities such as racism. Therefore, understanding when and where to apply mental warfare would be integral for everyone.
To illustrate mental warfare in action, I plan to showcase 15 images of different people portraying it. The photos will be taken in various parts of the city where Black and POC communities reside to emphasize the effect of mental warfare on vulnerable populations. Since live actions better display mental warfare, my images will be arranged in the form of a picture ledge that lets people notice important patterns of mental warfare. Creating a picture ledge will involve combining small, medium, and large frames of different colors with respective images along a shelf. The frames allow easy swapping of pictures, meaning I can reshuffle my images to make the overall display appear fresh and even induce visual interest. By installing a picture ledge, my photos will feel like a video that shows people making stances through the usage of propaganda, which is the ultimate reflection of mental warfare.
What keeps me passionate about mental warfare is its application both in historical and recent times. Previously, mental warfare was used to affect governments of different countries through civilians. Civilians were encouraged to apply propaganda that ultimately affected the country’s performance. I plan to make my photos feel like insight into the effects of mental warfare on people’s everyday lives, representing how vulnerable communities are targeted by it and what are the consequences.