War Posters

The first poster analyzed what "An Appeal to You." The soldier is beckoning the viewer of the post to join him in battle and in turn, war. It is an urging message that the soldier is making. He is hoping that in doing so, the viewer will make the decision to fight the good fight. The artist used a contrast of browns, greens and whites as to portray the typical perspectives of war. The title of the poster is written in all capital letters so it was the first item that jumped out. The soldier has his hand raised with one finger in the usual beckoning position. The other items that jumped out were the gun that the soldier is holding in his right hand and the soldiers behind him who also can be interpreted as hoping the viewer joins them in the battle. The artist very systematic in the execution of this poster and that is evident by the sharp and concise coloring. This poster is talking to anyone who will listen. The soldier essentially wants to speak to and petition the viewer on why fighting for what you believe in is valid.

The second poster analyzed was "Buy War Bonds." What is striking about this poster is it is also an appeal poster, but on a more subtle level as the man in the poster is asking for the viewer to buy war bonds in order to keep him flying. The man is not looking at the viewer but to the viewer's right, which is also quite interesting. He is wearing the usual attire that one wears that flies. The use of brown, blue and white make a rather fascinating level of expression as blue is considered one of the most beloved colors because it is the color of the sky, water and we live on a blue planet. White is normally understood to be neutral and balancing, while brown is reliable and comforting in its symbolism. Therefore, the artist was exceptionally meticulous in how this poster's artwork was framed.

The third poster analyzed was "I Want You for U.S. Army." This particular one has a skeleton on it. Why the artist would choose that as a way of engaging to the ethical and moral side of humans was unbelievable. This poster out of all of them would not make any viewer want to join the U.S. Army or consider it to be anything ethically right to do because they'd worry about becoming like the skeleton in the poster - merely becoming forgotten collateral damage of war. The use of capital letters was not very striking as what stood out mostly with this one was the skeleton with the Uncle Sam hat on bursting through the poster looking somewhat intoxicated.