Analyzing a Wartime Poster

There are always many different interpretations of war posters, or any posters, and they all depend on the person who is looking at it. Very rarely will you find that everybody gets the same feeling from a poster. The whole point of a poster, I think, is to attract attention to all different kinds of people, not just one certain group. That is also the reason there are so many different types of war posters; so everybody will be attracted to at least one of them and be persuaded to join the Army/Navy etc. which is the whole purpose of these posters.

The third poster on the first page (pg. 338), where a big hand pointing has broken through a red and white striped background and has the text "Are YOU Doing All You Can?", is very interesting to me. There is a lot more to this poster than most people think when they first look at it. You have to think about the different kinds of colors, texts and fonts, and photographs that the creators used and why.

For starters, the background is red and white striped, just like the American flag. On the arm of the hand it looks as though he is wearing an outfit that is very patriotic, with blue background, white stars, and a red and white striped band around his wrist. The reason these colors are used is to attract the attention to the American person, someone who is very patriotic, loves their country, and is hopefully willing to fight for it. The colors are a very important piece in the poster because it really does catch the eye, because these colors are something that all, or most Americans identify with.

The hand that is breaking through the background is very big and one of the main points of the poster. When you look at the poster, it is the first thing you see, something pointing directly at you. It gives the viewer the feel that the man is pointing at you, and only you.

The text is big and the second thing I see after the pointing hand. The "YOU" is much bigger than the rest of the statement, and with black outlining the letters, and I believe that is so the viewer feels like the poster is talking to them; "YOU, yes YOU" kind of vibe. It also helps to stick out more with the black outlining so people will see if first and feel that is the most important word in the poster. "Are YOU Doing All You Can" with the big hand pointing at you definitely gives you an intimidating feel. It makes you feel as if you are not doing all that you can, and you can do more by joining the Army/Navy etc.

As you can see, wartime posters are all very different in the ways that they portray themselves, but I think one of the biggest factors I see in a lot of these posters are intimidation. The first four are all very intimidating, which may scare people into joining the forces, which is a very interesting, and yet successful way to go about recruitment.