https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs An explanation of popular propaganda poster examining their effects during wartime and connection to twentieth-century British Literature. en-us 2017-02-20 20:16:48 UTC 2024-04-13 09:09:43 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Pictureland.png merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167063007 During World War I, posters were the most popular way to spread propaganda and inspire men to enlist. The women of Britain say “Go!” depicts the women as being gentle, nurturing and objects of affection that need to be protected. This poster reinforces gender roles because it implies that men and women have specific roles during the war. The emphasis placed on the “Go!” play to the masculine ideal of being brave and protecting their families and country. While the women should stay at home to take care of the children and the house while the husband is away at war.
Another interesting aspect of this poster is the decision the artist made to portray the woman staring out at the idyllic British countryside with the soldiers walking away from it. It could be a metaphorical representational of the movement away from the idealized Victorian countryside towards the new Britain. The women in the poster are similar to Kitty and Jenny from Return of the Soldier , wistfully staring out at these brave men going off to protect them, but not thinking about their actual sacrifice. ]]> 2017-04-19 16:14:09 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167063007 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167080422 Propaganda in World War I was mostly geared towards men enlisting, but occasionally posters encouraging women to join the war effort were made. For the first time, women began to work in jobs which had been primarily dominated by men and by the end of the War in 1918, over a million women were involved with the munitions industry. Even though women became involved in the war effort, there was still a strong division of gender roles. Many men felt that the women didn't contribute as much to the war effort as they did or they didn't understand the impact because they didn't actually enlist and face the traumas of war up close and personal.  

]]> 2017-04-19 17:12:58 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167080422 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167082328 While this propaganda hails from Australia, the common themes of patriotism and nationalism found in British propaganda are still presents. This poster appeals to the common masculine qualities of leadership and pride. In a sense, the poster almost makes the young men that have yet to enlist guilty for enjoying themselves while other young men are suffering in the trenches, dying.]]> 2017-04-19 17:19:16 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167082328 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167082455 At first glance, this poster symbolizes how America needed to stop their neutrality policy and get involved with World War I. There were several reasons why Britain got involved with World War I, but the inciting incident was when Germany attacked France through Belgium and due to the Treaty of London (1839), Britain entered the war. Unlike the US, who only decided to enter the war once the German’s decision to resume unrestricted submarine warfare, Britain was unable to ignore the effects of the war. Suddenly, British culture was changing. Literature developed in a way that nobody expected. Many authors and writers began experimenting with the bond between representation and meaning along with exploring sensory and intellectual effects, such as stream of consciousness. They used literature as a way to understand and reflect on their current world around them. Not only was World War I one of the most gruesome and traumatizing events in history, but the impact of the war spread much further than people losing their lives. 

]]> 2017-04-19 17:19:42 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167082455 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167082728 World War I influenced British culture in many ways, but one of the most remarkable was the way it affected gender roles in society. Before World War I, women did not have much of a place outside their house, but the arrival of the war led women to take up positions in food, textile and war industries. Even though this particular poster calls for women to join the National Fire Service, many women took up jobs as nurses. In Atonement, both Briony and Cecilia become nurses where they gain firsthand experience on the danger of participating in war. The entire construction of British society had been shaken to its very core and recreated. Interestingly enough, the changes that occurred during World War I did not stick. Once the war was over, women’s roles were constrained and the importance of motherhood was stressed. Many women had to go back to their previous domestic jobs due to the ammunition factories being shut down or men returning to the pre-war jobs. 

]]> 2017-04-19 17:20:31 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167082728 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167084180 This is a recruiting poster from World War I produced in 1915. The inspiration of this poster stems from the first German Zeppelin raid at Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in January 1915. Recruiting posters like this one was aimed the specific group of men living in the cities that got attacked and the poster heavily relies on emotional and patriotic ideals because it stresses the idea that as a civilian, you are essentially helpless, but if you enroll in the army, there’s a chance that you can have some impact on the events and save lives.]]> 2017-04-19 17:25:20 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167084180 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167084351 A poem released in 1914 written by Harold Begbie was used as a recruiting poem. Begbie uses intense emotional blackmail playing to the construct of masculinity. He claims that if men do not enlist than his neighbors, family, etc. are going to look down upon him and be embarrassed by him. World War I represented the apex of the male war hero and it is likely that many men would have been offended if other civilians had viewed them as “cowardly” for not enlisting in the war. 

]]> 2017-04-19 17:25:55 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167084351 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167085957 Jessie Pope’s poem “Who’s for the Game” reflects the extreme patriotism apparent in British culture during WWI. By comparing fighting in war to a game, she implies that war is a fun game where men can earn glory and prestige only if they’re brave enough. In Pope’s eyes the worst thing that could happen to men during war would be to come back on crutches rather than die, which portrays war as fun and light-headed. Pope never mentions death or other traumas in her poem, which paints an incorrect picture of war and encourages men to enlist. Pope received a lot of criticism from soldier, Wilfred Owen, due to her “false advertising” of war. As a man with war experience, Owen does not support this fantasized ideal of war. He knows how horrendous and traumatizing war was. ]]> 2017-04-19 17:31:56 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167085957 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167502234 This recruiting poster was released in 1915 by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee. Like most propaganda posters released during World War I, it played to the guilt of not joining the army. Many men were aware of their responsibilities to their family as the sole wage earner and volunteered. However, the monetary compensation that they received was often not enough to compensate for the risk they put themselves at. The artist’s decision to have the father face away from his children with a blank, expressionless face implies to the audience that the subject feels extreme guilt at not joining and protecting his family and country. It also implies that men who do not go to war will be considered bad role models for their children. The poster challenges what they will be remembered for, and the example they’re setting for their children. 
The artist of this particular poster seems to believe that men who do not go to war will not be respectable role models for their children, but in reality, they still will be because these men will be able to be all the things that a stereotypical father is expected to be. Authors, such as Ted Hughes, in his poem "Out" seem to have some animosity towards his father who clearly suffers from PTSD potentially because he came back irrevocably damaged and is not the masculine war hero.]]> 2017-04-21 14:37:53 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167502234 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167502859 Once again, a British propaganda poster portrays the war as a fantasized, fun game to participate in. This deliberate false portrayal created excitement and a strong desire to enlist. In reality, World War I was anything but fun. Thousands of men were dying every day from injuries they sustained during battle. If a man managed to avoid death, it is likely he would come back traumatized with some sort of psychological damage such as PTSD. As described in Rebecca West’s novel, Return of the Soldier, PTSD was a fairly new concept and largely misunderstood amongst doctors, and especially civilians. Soldiers experiencing symptoms of “shell shock” were regarded as weak and cowardly and were only treated for a few days. Many soldiers with PTSD would unfortunately return to the battlefield where their fate was unknown. Even though shell shock slowly became more legitimate, many professions still questioned how real it was. Having all the knowledge about PTSD now makes it hard to fathom why a country would portray war as fun and games, when in reality, it could shake the person down to their very core.]]> 2017-04-21 14:40:07 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167502859 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167648831 While World War I and World War II were both horrific with thousands of mass causalities on all sides, there were several differences between the way the two wars were fought. Part of the trauma of World War I was that fighting was much more personal. It was comprised of trench warfare, up close and personal with the enemy. World War II was much more removed and fought on a broader scale using modern weapons and methods such as the atomic bomb, blitz attacks, missiles, etc., which led to the death of 70 million people. As demonstrated by the depiction of war in Atonement by Ian McEwan, World War II was an utter nightmare because there were suddenly so many different ways to fight and kill people. The gore and bloodshed that McEwan decided to include displays the German victory in war torn France. This piece of propaganda plays on fearful emotions of an air strike and uses it to encourage people to support atomic weaponry, which is ultimately going to cause more casualties than an air strike. ]]> 2017-04-22 20:59:10 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167648831 merdonaldson https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167648985 The purpose of the propaganda is clearly stated right on the poster; always be prepared because there could be an attack anywhere, at any time. World War II was also different from World War I in another way because everyone was in danger, not just soldiers. Rebecca West's Return of the Soldier portrays how World War I affected civilians. Even though Kitty and Jenny were not directly involved in the war, their picturesque, pastoral lives were still disrupted by the war because of Chris's injury. The impact of World War I demonstrates the way Britain is moving away from the Victorian Age to more modern times.
By World War II, Britain had moved past the Victorian Age with the development of advanced technology. Civilians became much more involved in the war effort and had to prepare for the worst. This development of technology in between wars was unbelievable. Poison gas had been used in the first world war and it was expected to be used again, so civilians became familiar with the necessary precautions in case of an attack. In fact, attacks on civilians were so common that McEwan decided to include one in Atonement killing Cecilia. ]]> 2017-04-22 21:02:24 UTC https://padlet.com/merdonaldson/tom98q7hdfgs/wish/167648985