This was originally on my previous post in time for the deadline, however the whole thing disappeared when google decided to disable my blog! (and do not have to give me a reason or reply to my message apparantly- let's hope they don't do it again!)
Image analysis Exercise
Kelly Bruce Critical Studies BA Graphic Design
The uncle sam range (1876), by Schumacher and Ettlinger is an advertising image that shows us an Americanized Ideological viewpoint on the uncle sam range.
What we are subjected to is an advertisement for an uncle sam range cooker that is plastered in American westernized semantics, such as American stripe clothing, curtains, furniture etc, the painting is very patriotic and is aimed at the middle classes, as the lower classes would not be in a position to afford this item and the upper classes would most likely have owned one already.
the second painting, which is a poster by Saville Lumley (1915) again is aimed at middle class American families and tries to pressurize middle class men into signing up for the war, of course at this time these men still had a choice of going to war or not.
The poster uses peer pressure to get men to sign up. for example, the look of unease on the fathers face as his daughter points to a picture of “the great war” and asks: “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?” bearing in mind that the war is still ongoing at this stage, alerting us to the fact that this man has not indeed signed up. His son is playing with war toys on the ground beside him, which may or may not be signifying British forces by their red uniforms, which also points me in the direction of the print on the curtains and chairs which is also linked to Britain by the red rose and royal crests...
Basically the poster is assuming that the war has been won, and that the “Great War” will be talked about in books and on tv etc for years to come, they have even began to call it the “Great War” even though the war had only just started at this point!
The question is posed, “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?” so it’s asking precisely that, “what DID you do?”, “How are you going to explain to your children that you did nothing for your country?, that you did not fight in the Amazing Great War?” It’s basically a Propaganda poster using blackmail and peer pressure to make men feel that they are not real men unless they go to war, and that it may seem OK now to avoid enlisting but that one day they will have to deal with the consequences of not signing up!
The first poster has a similar art style and again is a persuasive poster aimed at the middle classes, uses crude advertising tactics in the sense that there is a cynical, stereotypical undertone and an overall smugness coming from Americas ability to feed the world!
For example the “globe” is reading a bill of rights which shows the food that is eaten by every nation all over the world, birds nest soup for China, just potatoes for Ireland, etc.
Uncle sam sits smugly at the table gesturing toward the cooker that will be able to feed the world lots of beautiful amazing and most likely, American food.
This advertisement was created after 100yrs of American Independence which is apparent in the excessive use of the stars and stripes theme and colors.
The typeface used in the picture is similar to that of a western saloon bar, again very Americanized, and the clock on the mantlepiece shows us the date of the “Declaration of Independence- thus signifying American Independence.
The children at the table represent states dixie and west and new england, and the globe represents the rest of the world- displaying Europe, Asia and Africa to be specific.
Overall this piece is selling you “American greatness” and an ideological lifestyle, with the wife serving dinner from the cooker, buy this cooker and you will have it all! is what this advertisement is aiming for, whereas the second poster uses more of a guilt trip method to get men to sign up.
so overall both these posters are selling ideas, but in two very different ways.
