WWI Poster Analysis

1. I think that Propaganda has to do with the use of posters to "advertise" or "support" individuals or ideas.

2. Propaganda, according to dictionary.com, means "information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc." It also says that propaganda can mean, "the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement."

3. Link to the Pictures

4. For the first photo: The first thing I notice after looking at the first image is the "emphasized" lady in the middle of the picture. It is strange because the author has chosen to make her "noticeable" but her clothes "blend" into the picture. In bold letters across the bottom, the picture says, "Buy More Liberty Bonds." The author made this text bolded and in a bright red so that it stands out from the rest of the picture. In the top right hand corner of the image, the question, "Must children die and mothers plead in vain?" is stated. This question seems to be a general question from the mothers perspective. The woman in this picture is surrounded by a lot of male kids. She is hugging one of the kids in the middle of the picture pointing towards the back.

This is the first propaganda poster

For the second photo: The first thing I notice after looking at the second image is the big red cross behind the lady in the black and white photo. It is interesting how the author chose to make everything in the picture black and white except for the cross. This poster says, "For you-they are giving their lives over there. For them- you must give every cent you can spare." In other words people in the army are fighting every day so that us, citizens can have freedom and be safe, and in return we need to help them out financially. In this picture the lady's blanket that is wrapped around her "blends" into the ocean. She is point her finger towards the ocean and holding her hand out away from the ocean.

This is the second propaganda poster

For the third photo: The first thing I notice after viewing the third image is the huge Statue of Liberty in the background. The artist chose to make the whole background a light grey color and then all the people on land have lots of color on them. This propaganda poster says, "Remember Your First Thrill of American Liberty." This is stated across the top of the picture in a bright red and on the bottom it says, "Your duty-buy United States Government Bonds 2nd Liberty Loan of 1917." This is in big letters in a dark navy blue across the bottom. Some of the people in this picture appear to be in motion and some are not. 

This is the third propaganda poster

5. For the first photo: I think the artist was hoping that the audience would feel sad and worried about the children and the mother. I think he chose not to show the woman's face so that the audience could image what she would look like. He was probably hoping that they would imagine her with tears in her eyes. 

For the second photo: I think the artist was hoping that the audience would feel "guilty" for the men and women who are protecting the American citizens overseas. I also think that the artist was trying to get the audience to realize that those men and women are overseas so he chose to make the women's blanket into the ocean.

For the third photo: I think the artist was hoping that the audience would feel passionate about their first time seeing the Statue of Liberty. He was hoping that they would recall that very first moment when they laid eyes on "her."

6. For the first photo: I think this photo is "designed towards" mothers. I think this because of the words that are on the picture. The author is trying to get mothers to notice how sad this situation is.

For the second photo: I think this photo is directed at people who never think about the military. To people who always "forget" that there are people who are risking their lives everyday to save the citizens.

For the third photo: I think this photo is geared towards people with a lot of money who can "buy" the bonds. The author is trying to first capture their attention by having them remember the first time they saw Lady Liberty and then wanting them to buy the bonds. 

7. I am comfortable with the government using tax money for propaganda. These posters raise awareness to the public about many different topics. I think it is necessary for everyone to know about all the "bad" stuff that is going around in the world. Therefore, propaganda is an effective way to accomplish just that. I think that if various individuals would fund these posters it would be better for society as a whole.

8. I think the government felt it was necessary to spend money to produce these posters during WWI because they needed a quick and effective way to spread ideas. I also think that propaganda was fine during this time because majority of the posters are raising awareness about topics that people may not know about.