James Montgomery Flagg Essay

During World War one, the United States Navy Recruiting Bureau, and the United States Treasury Department each commissioned posters featuring women who encouraged citizens to participate in the war effort. The two posters, despite being intended for the same purpose, depict women in particularly contrasting light. Analysis of the contrasting war posters can help illustrate society’s perspective about women during the early 1900’s, their expected roles pertaining to the war effort, the strategies used to engage citizens and encourage them to become involved, and the use of imagery and symbolism that were used to achieve the posters’ objective.

Although the draft was established in 1940, in WWII thirty-eight percent of United States forces were volunteers. The direct advertising in propaganda posters is effective, even in peacetime; by evoking patriotism and the memory of a triumph over adversity it has the intended effect of helping the viewer identify emotionally with the source. This is important in modern advertising and the concept was utilized fully in propaganda posters and leaflets from many nations in many

The government used propaganda to convey strategies and goals to the public. This was done by exalting service in the military, making the industry look appealing to women, and making the military look like a non-racist group. The government recruited people in many fields to achieve this goal. They enlisted members of society from writers to photographers. They distinguish the military by taking photos of handsome men in their dress uniforms; the clean shaven, pressed uniform of the military, the “poster-boys” of the war. Another technique they used to try and convince men and women to join up with the military was to use the Uncle Sam “wants you” poster. This made them feel like they were needed to help in the military.

Rockwell’s ‘Rosie’, which appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in the 29th of May, 1943, was inspired by a real woman by the name of Mary Doyle. It shows a muscular feminine figure in front of an American flag, on her lunch break, sitting on a stump, riveter gun on her lap, factory goggles pushed up on her forehead and wearing dirty overalls. She looks confident, strong and comfortable in this environment, doing this job freely and willingly to support the US war effort. The illustration resembles a Michelangelo’s painting from

Back in the 1900’s world war 2 broke out. Germany and britain were fighting against each other, and in 1940 Germany began heavily bombing Great Britain. Every person that lived in Great Britain in some way had to participate in helping with the war whether it be working in the factories, hospitals, or jobs that support the war. Therefore, in order to make the people help the British government employed a variety of persuasive techniques through posters to convince the people to join the war effort.

Images, such as paintings and photographs, are intensely visually striking and evoke strong emotions in those who view them.“Into the Jaws of Death” provides a perfect example of that intensity, having been taken by Robert F. Sargent during the early morning hours of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Even today the famous photograph evokes strong emotional reactions in many people who view it. This photograph served a purpose more significant than was realized at the time, to the point of becoming a pivotal point in support for the war effort. How was this accomplished? By conveying personal themes of heroism, patriotism, and mortality through devices such as angles, colors, uniforms, and proxemics.

Aside from the general nationalism in the form of increased military and activism exhibited by the American people, the propaganda effort also increased the chance of war success through the sense of individualism and importance instilled in those who weren’t on the battlefield. Many resources were “important to conserve during the war effort,” and posters geared toward conservation composed one out of every seven propaganda posters made between 1941 and 1945

With every able-bodied male of age subject to the draft, few remained at home to gather supplies. In response, the government launched a propaganda campaign to encourage women to join the workforce. As stated by Business Week, “Our entire manpower problem is most acutely a problem in womanpower” (Risjord). Two distinct images of women, Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter and J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It” poster, have remained popular among viewers and historians through the years. The creation of Norman Rockwell’s iconic Rosie the Riveter cover of the Saturday Evening Post (May 1943) aided the government campaign, persuading millions of women to do their part by taking a job in one of the war industries. However, the extent to which J. Howard Miller’s famous “We Can Do It” poster affected this movement has been greatly exaggerated. Contrary to popular belief, Miller did not intend for his poster to encourage women to break free from traditional gender roles. This myth has spread because the image has been taken out of context and interpreted incorrectly to reflect the modern feminist

The history of graphic art and the cycle of politicization, depoliticization and then repoliticization span the late 19th century through and into the 21st century. Evolving from humble beginnings into the commercial behemoth it’s become to today this essay will explore graphic design’s evolution and the politics that affected this growing art movement during this influential timeline.

The "England Expects National Service" poster branches out to every citizen in the Nation to help strengthen the war effort. The large statue of the soldier shows immense pride for the Nation and it persuades those to join the Navy to fufill the expectations of the government. The techniques used in this poster are "bandwagon" and "plain folks". In addition, the use of painting everyday people below the soldier shows that anyone could join and takes more than just one courageous person to make a difference. This poster shows pride for one's country and is very effective at illustrating the fact that ANYONE can help.

The name of John Wilkes Booth conjures up a picture of America's most infamous assassin, the killer of perhaps the greatest president of the United States. However, J. Wilkes Booth (as he was known professionally) led a very prominent life as an actor in the years preceding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This period of his life is often forgotten or overlooked.

When looking at what factors lead to the rise of the pictorial poster, it is clear to see that the majority of them occurred in late nineteenth century Paris and that perhaps one man, Jules Chéret, can be thanked for exploiting and mastering the techniques which made these posters reach the levels of respect previously reserved for the fine arts. As well as Jules Chéret and his mastery of lithography I will be exploring the influence of Japan and their printing techniques upon Toulouse Lautrec as well as Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann’s renovation of Paris during its Second empire, the impacts of the rising middle class, and the effects that tax had upon the walls of Paris.

The new technology to create mass production enabled the profession as a commercial graphic designer which stands for a significant aspect of modernism in Australia. In fact, the first appearance of the term “Graphic Design” is not until 1922, in an American book designer William Dwiggins’ essay “New kinds of printing calls for new design”. (Drucker et.al, 2009) Prior to that, the concept of graphic design such as poster design was not seen as a general commercial advertising medium. “The ‘poster style’ was almost completely confined to the covers of art exhibition catalogues and literary periodicals, and to advertisements in these publications.”

In Barbara Kingsolver's essay she mentions “our iconography grew out of war” meaning that the flag that mean so much to Americans has been related more to death, war, and hatred instead of Americans having freedom and and stopping the wars because war is not the answer to everything People are losing their lives over our American flag when we need to come together teach positive things instead of fighting and hatred. Dave Barry feels that the advertisements are misleading the Americans. The same way Kingsolver’s think about the American flag it is misleading to American citizens. I like Barry's argument that commercials are misleading to Americans because they portray one thing but mean another. Diane Ravitch feels in her essay there are two

No matter how beneficial or hurtful a leader is, propaganda is crucial for them to gain and maintain their power. These leaders use pathos, name-calling, and bandwagon propaganda just as Napoleon does in George Orwell’s Animal Farm.