Both images play on the arrogance of national pride, despite
the fact that the sense of national pride is completely different. The American
sense of pride is more of a collective thing, Americans as a community are
proud of how far they’ve come in their relatively short existence as a country
in this image, whereas the English sense of pride is a more individual
arrogance, the message is implying that if you weren’t in the war you’re less
of a man, less of an Englishman, than those who went to war. On top of this,
the man sat down is clearly a middle class person, which backs up the idea that
only the poor go to war. At the time this image was released more soldiers were
required naturally the middle class man was the target for the propaganda as
all the working class men who were going to go would have gone at the beginning
of the enlistment process (generally).
The stereotype of a middle class man is someone who has enough money to care for his family through a secure job, so by sending out a message that his children would want to know about his effort during the war so they could be proud of their father makes his secure job seem insignificant. Americans on the other hand are seemingly under the impression that anyone can do anything in their country, and people in their society at the time had the dream to be the man sat in the room with his family, dressed in clothes that express their pride for their country, surrounded by decoration that expresses their pride for their country, having a slave to make them feel superior to people who’ve descended from other countries, and being able to choose what countries they want to associate themselves with. That said, what lower class Englishman wouldn’t aspire to be middle class with this “perfect family” where his daughter will read while sat on his knee and his son will play with toy soldiers after the country his father fought in have just been victorious in the “greatest” war the world has ever seen.
The fonts used in each are typical of the time in each country. In the American image bold, block text is used which is associated with Texas, one of the post iconic states in the US, where the wide open space and massive amounts of land make the American Dream achievable. The English poster however uses a typically understated script font, giving the poster a personal feel to it while still allowing room for alterations in the style to highlight certain words, as shown with “YOU”.
The illustrations are rather different in that the English poster is dull and dreary to reflect the serious nature of the war, whereas the colours in the American advert are bright and vibrant, which reflects the attitude of the American people towards their country. What is odd is that the meaning of the American image isn’t immediately clear, and that the illustrator has clearly gotten caught up in his love for his country, which is something I would rarely expect from an Englishman due to his sense of individual pride rather that his nationality.
The stereotype of a middle class man is someone who has enough money to care for his family through a secure job, so by sending out a message that his children would want to know about his effort during the war so they could be proud of their father makes his secure job seem insignificant. Americans on the other hand are seemingly under the impression that anyone can do anything in their country, and people in their society at the time had the dream to be the man sat in the room with his family, dressed in clothes that express their pride for their country, surrounded by decoration that expresses their pride for their country, having a slave to make them feel superior to people who’ve descended from other countries, and being able to choose what countries they want to associate themselves with. That said, what lower class Englishman wouldn’t aspire to be middle class with this “perfect family” where his daughter will read while sat on his knee and his son will play with toy soldiers after the country his father fought in have just been victorious in the “greatest” war the world has ever seen.
The fonts used in each are typical of the time in each country. In the American image bold, block text is used which is associated with Texas, one of the post iconic states in the US, where the wide open space and massive amounts of land make the American Dream achievable. The English poster however uses a typically understated script font, giving the poster a personal feel to it while still allowing room for alterations in the style to highlight certain words, as shown with “YOU”.
The illustrations are rather different in that the English poster is dull and dreary to reflect the serious nature of the war, whereas the colours in the American advert are bright and vibrant, which reflects the attitude of the American people towards their country. What is odd is that the meaning of the American image isn’t immediately clear, and that the illustrator has clearly gotten caught up in his love for his country, which is something I would rarely expect from an Englishman due to his sense of individual pride rather that his nationality.
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| The English Image - Savile Lumley (1915) |
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| The American Image - Schumacher & Ettlinger (1876) |
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