Context of Practice Task 1 Image Analysis Exercise
The two images presented share both similarities and differences
between them. While both are persuasive advertisement images, one is selling a product;
the other is selling war. The product being ‘The Uncle Sam Range’, which uses overpowering
patriotism to appeal to a wide audience of Americans; from Uncle Sam himself,
the embodiment of America, wearing an
eagle on his shoulder to a carpet filled with stars and stripes, this image has
it all. The other image uses emotional blackmail to get men to go to war.
The image consists of what seems to be an upper-class family
containing a father, son and daughter. The daughter is sitting on the father’s
knee asking ‘Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?’ The father’s concerned
look to the audience shows a range of emotions, the main one being guilt. I
believe the father feels this guilt due to his lack of involvement in the ‘Great
War’ and therefore has to put up with the humiliation of being perceived a ‘coward’,
not only by the general public, but by his own daughter. I feel the themes of
this image are clearly guilt, but also masculinity and pride. The very fact he’s
ashamed to tell his daughter the truth shows that he has no pride and possibly
feels he is not a man. Although the image is not about him, it’s about whoever
is reading it. The personal pronoun ‘YOU’
in the text at the bottom of the image is directly addresses the reader and the
rhetorical question makes them think of their own families, their own guilt, and
their own pride. The script font that is used to communicate this message adds
a sense of innocence to it as it’s coming from a young girl that needs
protecting in this time of war.
This child-like tone that is portrayed by the font in this
image contrasts to the font used in ‘The Uncle Sam Range’ advertisement. This slab
serif font is very bold and demanding, as if it were a command from Uncle Sam
himself, but it also has a feel of western-genre films, which are very American
in their story telling, as it skips the genocide of natives and focuses on the ‘positives’.
Although the images may differ in font styles, they are similar in themes. The
themes of masculinity and pride run through this image too. The fact that Uncle
Sam is sitting at the table with what appear to be his sons; Dixie, West and
New England, (which are areas that make up America) shows that he is the male, authoritative
figure, even above the rest of the world - represented by the globe. This image
is targeting male Americans by showing them this is what’s achievable if you
buy The Uncle Sam Range. I also think that this image is aimed towards a wider
audience, targeting all classes. The lower class want that life, and it’s part
of The American Dream, and the upper class have that life, so they want to
maintain it and have the best product around. In relation to the other image it
is possible that it is only aimed at upper-class males. I believe this may be
true as the lower and middle-class men would have already been to war as they
would have been happy with a steady wage but then it was more than likely most
had died, so reinforcements were needed. The men who had something to lose didn't
sign up at first but were then needed.
Similar to Lumley’s poster this advertisement is about
pride. While the propaganda poster was using it against the viewer, this image
uses pride with the viewer, encouraging
everything that is America. One of the main selling points of this image is the
clock that represents the one hundred year anniversary of American independence,
which carries the heavy patriotism that this image contains.
Overall, these images are both persuasive and manipulating,
designed to get the viewer to think or feel a certain way. Whether that is to feel
guilty about not fighting for your country or to go and buy a top of the range
cooker, both use the pride of one’s nation to force an opinion or emotion onto
the audience. It shows how powerful image and type can be and will be.
