Still With Us

These techniques never really went away — they moved.

North Korea still paints its rulers in the old Socialist Realist style, almost unchanged: glowing, heroic, surrounded by adoring crowds. Same playbook, new dynasty.

Quieter versions live in free societies too. Magazine covers cast CEOs as lone visionaries; campaign photos pose candidates against dramatic skies. The framing borrows directly from the propaganda portrait — flattering, staged, built to make you trust the face.