When it comes to propaganda, it seems that every war has its own distinctive markings and messages. The same happened when the World was at war in 1945 and the propaganda posters of the time served their purpose perfectly. Propaganda posters in World War II were used to encourage the common masses to join the military and gain support for the war and nation. This essay intends to explore the representation of the propaganda posters and the underlying meaning of the selected posters that were definitely filled with propaganda in one of the most significant events of history.
Women of Britain Come into Factories
The poster titled “Women of Britain come into factories” shows how women of that time were expected to engage in the factories in order to do their part in the war effort. The poster depicts women as workhorses because the need for more resources was urgent during World War II. The poster shows a woman wearing a factory uniform with her hands spread wide with the message that reads “Women of Britain come into factories” to persuade women of the country to be more involved in the workforce by working at the factories. Moreover, the woman standing in the middle of the frame is used as a persuasive technique to ignite the pressure on the women fraternity of Britain to help their husbands out in the factories as men went off to the battlefield (Carruthers, 1990). The targeted audience of this poster was women of that era who were supposed to do home chores. The poster challenges that notion and persuades women to participate in factory work that introduced a new ideal image of womanhood. This poster conveys a significant message and an ideal image of the woman that did not exist during World War II time.
Every Minute Counts – Early Stopping Will Make a Late Victory
The second poster that is selected for the analysis reads “Every Minute Counts” at the top of the poster and “Early Stopping Will Make a Late Victory” to create propaganda by the British government during World War II to encourage the nation to not waste a bit of their time. The pictorial representation of the poster shows a man dressed in a particular way that gives a strong vibe that he must be working in the manufacturing sphere. However, the representation of the worker lying in front of the clock gives a message that a time-thieving worker needs to clock back into work to get the nation out of the turmoil. Furthermore, the visual design of the clock along with the message “Early stopping will make a late victory” delivers the idea to the targeted audience that a minute wasted a day will result in production loss to the country. The targeted audience of this poster is the workers who were stealing the production time at factories and manufacturing sectors amid the harsh times of the war. In a nutshell, this poster aims to motivate people, workers in particular to volunteer to serve in the factories and manufacturing to defeat the enemy in the production sector (McCrann, 2009).
In conclusion, the themes and central messages of these posters are primarily centered around the theme of patriotism and loyalty to the country and nation. By promoting the idea that Britain was fighting for the freedom of its people and that only Britain and its people could restore freedom to the nation, the propaganda posters tried to convince the people that only Britain could save the world from the evils and turmoil of war.
References
Carruthers, S. L. (1990). “Manning the Factories”: Propaganda and Policy on the Employment of Women, 1939–1947. History, 75(244), 232–256.
McCrann, G.-E. (2009). Government wartime propaganda posters: Communicators of public policy. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 28(1–2), 53–73.
Posters Reflecting World War II Propaganda
Introduction
In the early stages of World War II, various nations took to using propaganda as a tool to spread information and ideas. Britain was no exception, and the government used a variety of media to communicate their messages including propaganda posters. These posters were designed to appeal to the emotions of people in order to encourage them to support the war effort to the maximum potential they could whether through working in the factories or volunteering to fight on the front lines. This essay intends to examine the major themes and messages that appear on these posters as well as how they reflected the propaganda campaigns carried out by the government during World War II.
Analysis of Propaganda Posters
The first poster that is selected for examining the underlying narrative and propaganda reads “Front Line Breakdowns Can Lose Battles” at the top of the poster in the white letters. The poster has a bright red header and a blue closer or footer that conveys a significant contrast of color to the audience to make it more attractive. The blue closer has the message “That’s Why Our Workmanship Counts” which depicts a powerful message with the main subject that military personnel and their efforts depend on brilliant craftsmanship. It is conveyed through the poster that poor craftsmanship could compromise the security and safety of the military personnel at the front line which would brutally impact the nation and the country amid war. The poster shows a striking image where a soldier is underneath the tank while the other is handing the tool to him reflecting the hardships, struggles and challenges of soldiers who selflessly serve at the borders to protect their nation. The phrase “Front line breakdowns” depict the constant battle and hardships they face on a daily basis on the battlefield. Therefore, good craftsmanship is required to win the battle for the sake of the country and the nation’s sovereignty so that soldiers could not have any challenges on the front line (Mahaney, 2002). This propaganda poster shares a positive message that in order to win the war and save the nation, a high level of efficiency on the part of manufacturing workers is needed to maintain a high level of productivity during the trying times of World War II.
Air Defense is Home Defense
The second propaganda poster selected for the analysis is “Air Defense is Home Defense” which was created to encourage the common masses to volunteer for the air force in order to protect their homes from enemy attacks. The poster depicts elements of air power as a fighter aircraft flying over the heads of the people to proclaim that air power is an important tool that can be used to defend the homes of the vulnerable population of the country under attack (Borrego, 2021). The poster was designed to present the idea that being air-defended was a logical next step for the people. The people in the poster staying at a bay side while flying aircraft are at their heads emphasize the important role of air power in defending the home front of the vulnerable people so they could live and do their routine work as they used to do before the war. Moreover, the idea behind the poster was to create a sense of national unity and the belief that every person was obliged to defend the air borders as well. However, the aircraft flying straight towards the city from the bayside represent the element of surprise or suspense as one cannot guess where the airplanes are coming from.
Conclusion
Concluding the analysis, propaganda posters during the trying times of World War II were proven to be highly effective as they invoked a sense of unification and patriotism for the people facing the brutalities of war physically, financially, emotionally as well as psychologically. These posters used emotional appeal to recruit soldiers for air defense as well as to encourage factory workers and manufacturers to do good craftsmanship.
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