Propaganda Posters
Most of us have seen the poster of Uncle Sam in the huge hat with stars. He is pointing his finger, saying I want you. It then goes on to encourage people to put their faith in the freedom of America. Such designs are known as propaganda posters. This one of Uncle Sam is probably the most famous in the United States, followed by the one of a woman in a work uniform and hair up in a handkerchief. She has her sleeve rolled up with her muscles flexed. It is to represent the power of women in the workforce. The United States made a bold statement with a propaganda poster, showing a pilot on his plane with the words ‘you back the attack, we’ll bomb who we want’. Propaganda posters began being used in World War I from 1914 to 1918. In addition to promoting a stand on the war, the posters were sold to encourage men to join the military, and to supplement money to support the cost of the war.
While those examples date back in the history of the United States, propaganda posters continue to be a tool used to stir emotions in people and encourage them to take action. Current propaganda posters include the army man with a gun pointing out, with the wording ‘If you’re not terrorist, then stop asking questions!’ and huge eyes watching a silhouette saying ’surveillance means security!’
The purpose of poster propaganda is to stir up emotions in each person who sees it, in the hopes it will cause them to think about what the poster is saying, and take action that supports it. The largest collection of propaganda posters were used in Germany from 1933 to 1945. They were used to support the Nazi’s taking over the Jewish population.
Poster propaganda continues to be a popular way to promote views in the United States as well as in other countries. Sometimes a person seeing such propaganda may not have the same view as the poster, yet they feel they should feel that way because of it being advertised. While they may not speak up for the cause in the poster, they are more likely to keep their own view to themselves rather than expose it after seeing such a propaganda poster.
