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”Propaganda is indifferent to truth and truthfulness, knowledge, and understanding; it is a form of strategic communication that uses any means to accomplish its ends” -Walter Cunningham
Propaganda is primarily used in today's newspapers, television, and most common social media. However, propaganda has been used in the past at major historical events, such as WW1. Aside from today's technology, we can notice how propaganda was used in art, music, and posters. It is the same thought, the same idea, and the same intentions. Propaganda is some sort of information that bonds to our insecurities and anxieties, a fuel to our feelings and the motivation to make a move. But the essay’s subject will be propaganda in wars.
Wars are the proper place to use propaganda moderately for power hence the definition of propaganda, in other words, to obtain power over people but also not. The examples that will be used in this essay are the “I want you” poster by James Montgomery Flagg and King Theoden's speech to his army in the movie Lord of the Rings. Both are erudite sequences of war propaganda.
The white hair and goatee, the topper (the top hat)hat, the pointy accusing finger, the severe eyes, and the - “I WANT YOU”. The well-known American illustrator Flagg constructed it on the 6th of July, 1916, and was used by the United States of America as a personification of the government. It is one of the most supreme images in U.S. history.
The character's name is Uncle Sam and the illustrator transformed him into a stern and powerful figure in the image. The purpose of making the poster was to recruit troops during WW1 by the U.S. army. It proved to be an excessively effective tool during the war; nearly 4 million copies were printed between 1917 and 1918. Flagg produced 46 other posters for the war effort, several of them featuring Uncle Sam. The ideal tool of propaganda for Flagg was the use of this national personification. Even though Uncle Sam's character existed since the early 1800s, it was Flagg´s version that assembled the identity we know of today. The question here is, who is Uncle Sam?
The origin of the term is associated with a businessman from New York, Samuel Wilson who is known as Uncle Sam. He supplied the army during the War of 1812 with barrels of beef so the nickname was used as a national symbol later on. The character was used to represent the U.S. by the American cartoonist from the 1830s to 1861. They helped evolve the modern figure of Uncle Sam making him a lean whiskered gentleman wearing striped pants and top hats (a top hat).
Blue, white, and red represent the colors of the U.S. flag and also the poster. Uncle Sam's clothes have all the flag's colors, as noted before, a national symbol. The audience could see it as if the United States of America was talking and asking for help. The character was used in cartoons as well, perhaps it could be a way to connect the audience with their childhood.
Even though the poster is 100 years old, the message was powerful enough to remain in the minds of multiple generations. One of the reasons is the call to action by an entire country. In other words, the whole nation is relying on YOU to serve in the military. That is the reason for the big red word “YOU”, to be a focal point for the reader.
King Theoden starts his speech with “Arise, arise”, as a way of alerting the soldiers that the time has come. Using anaphora which is the repetition of the same word, is a way to make the speech more quotable, powerful, and memorable. The audience may also hear the repetition of the letter “S” and the sound “Sh”, in the line “spear shall be shaken, shield shall be splintered”. King Theoden uses alliteration to create a musical effect, giving a better flow and appeal to the speech.
King Theoden uses these literary devices in the rest of the speech to make a good connection between him and his warriors. As said before, propaganda is some sort of fuel to our feelings to make the audience up. In this case, the speech was heard by the warriors on the battlefield before fighting. Feeding them with feelings, hope, and energy to fight. Later in his speech, King Theodones uses the word “death” three times in a row, which is charged with emotions, fear, and emotions. He used many literary devices which are full of emotions and a musical effect. Helping the audience to understand the speech on a deeper level. To highlight the concepts of the speech, strengthen the narrative, and create a theme.
In conclusion, both the poster and the speech are made for a reason. The poster was illustrated to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The speech was made to energize the soldiers for the war, using literary devices linked to emotions and an internal rhyme. It is easy for the audience to link both the poster and the speech to propaganda. As the definition of propaganda says, a type of information to promote a cause or point of view. In other examples, it could be hard to figure out if it is propaganda or not. That's why it's important to know the definition, to read twice, to ask questions.
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