Composition of the U.S. World War II Art Poster

As a beautiful color U.S. World War II art poster, it originates from part 1 under the link Its a Womans War Too. The artists working at the Royal Typewriter Company produced the original poster for the U.S. Civil Service Commission. The poster aimed at empowering women by displaying that they had the capabilities to play a major role in the war effort. The text written at the bottom recites Uncle Sam Needs Stenographers! Get Civil Service Information at Your Local Post Office/ U.S. Civil Service Commission, Washington, D.C.. These jobs were praised as a nationalistic war service if women in the U.S. were to be convinced to accept them and maintain them. They had to be persuasively presented if their significance to a state engaged in total warfare.

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Analysis of the text

The style of the text is red and bold black letters which makes its message important. Also, the poster shows an excellent arrangement of the text. It cuts to the chase in the first line and inspires the viewer to read the second line. It reveals the power of persuasion to its observers and motivates them into action. The writing then conveys the information necessary for a person to take further action because of the poster in case they want to. The poster is well arranged and the image and the style of the writing are very striking. Additionally, the implications of the slogan Keep Em Flying, Miss U.S.A. is that it was the responsibility of the woman shown on the artwork to do everything possible to win the war. The word Miss was used to clearly show that the Civil Service Commission was in search for single ladies, which meant young women who had just cleared school and had not yet settled down outside their homes. Denoting the woman as Miss U.S.A. also increased a sense of prominence. It is because the words deemed ladies as symbolic agents of the United States and what the nation stands for, which appeared to be a pleasing role.

Analysis of the image

In the poster, the innocent-looking, young blonde and American girl has been told that she can assist in winning the war. The woman is shown working as a type writer and in the spirit of the times, she salutes and goes back to perform her duty to her state without getting her hands filthy. Among other series of posters, this particular picture aimed at motivating women to look for jobs outside their family setting during the World War II production, by the U.S. Government. Moreover, just by paying close attention to the position and the color of the portrait, Miss U.S.A., the woman in the artwork and the placement of her hand, which depicts a soldierly salute, interprets that the image had a bit to do with females in the U.S. martial. Nevertheless, after a clear observation, it is very easy to recall the uncomplicatedness of the womans job and her smile. It is because the portrait encourages an American civilian to enjoy his or her work, with a smile on the face, and at the same time do something great for his or her nation state. The poster image in line with the implication of the term Miss assisted in attracting young women with the ability to see themselves contributing in regime as stenographers and also assure them that they were equally and significantly participating to the war (Maureen, 55).

Analysis of the colors

The poster sustained the subject of patriotism. That is, all the red, white and blue makes an individual picture and think of America, as a country to be proud of. These colors are the principal shades of the poster. The elusiveness such as the womans blue eyes together with her white teeth, bloodshot lips, blue and red ribbon visible in her hair, and a red, white, and blue background behind her propagated the nationalistic ideals. An individual imagining that he or she live in the time this poster was produced makes him or her an audience, who happens to be the woman residing in America in the World War II period.

Historical background

During the time period 1942-1945, the main weapons used were guns and bombs but other than that, there were other, more delicate, warfare methods that the military used. Words, films, and posters led to a constant combat for the minds and hearts of the Americans just as the army used the weapons to fight off the rival. However, the power of persuasion to the Americans turned out to be a war industry, more or less as significant as the manufacture of aircrafts and ammunitions. There was an aggressive publicity campaign launched by the U.S. Government so as to stir up public support, and in that regard, selected states top artists, philosophers, and filmmakers became fighters. From May 1994 to February 1995, the poster Victory waits on your fingers Keep Em Flying, Miss U.S.A. was amongst the displays presented in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, as a way of reassembling the public to engage in the war. This artwork was used as a motivational tool to the observers by infusing a positive attitude, nationalism, and confidence.

During the period severe war and labor unavailability, women were recruited for the national service, Armed Forces, and defense activities. Even though there is a continuity of the tendencies of women joining the workforce in the ongoing 20th century, persuasive operations targeted only those women who had never had jobs before (Maureen 52). Big screen imageries and posters idealized and glorified the characters of the employed women and advocated that there should not be sacrifices of a ladys femininity. Females were described as attractive confident, and set to participate in helping win the war, while still performing their obligations in the military, workplace, or home.

Audience

The audience in this poster stands in for any individual who imagines him or herself living that in United States at the time of dissemination and setting up of the poster. In addition, since it was not totally unusual for women to be employed in office work during the 1940s, hiring them for such spots was not all that challenging. Factory positions were also among the numerous occupations available to females due to the labor shortage experienced in the World War II period (United States, Office of War Information, 20). It has always been a stereotype that working in a factory was a masculine job due to the involvement of the hefty machinery and the hostile conditions in the workplace. Intrinsically, propaganda producers wanted to discover a way to demonstrate to the women that it was okay to be strong, progress, and work in factories and at the same time upholding their feminism.

Ethos, Pathos and Logos of the poster

The poster uses ethos by portraying an image of a young beautiful woman engaging in decent profession, typewriting, without actually getting her hands dirty. Also, the phrase Uncle Sam Needs Stenographers depicts that only those skilled in stenography were needed by the Civil Service Commission to assist in the wartime industry. By using Pathos, the poster is all about showing viewers that the young ladies who engaged in positions such as secretarial during the World War II era, were happy since they were playing a role in helping win the war. The poster then uses Logos by getting attention of the observers by the dominant colors, the message and the image of an innocent-looking young lady.

Fallacies

The use of a word Miss for young reference was a common approach for the advertising organizations in the U.S. to appeal more easily to certain groups of women. Such a word, message, and the image of the young woman permitted the young audiences to feel more comfortable with the part they would be performing in their war occupations (United States, Office of War Information, 23). It is because they would have been used to those positions and roles, while older women who were interested in those types of prints in the war would have been less persuaded to scrutinize them profoundly for it did not favor their positions as mothers and spouses. The picture also tends to illustrate younger females wearing more cosmetics and more of their hair showing, but it lacked head coverings and placed more attention on bodily appearances such as facial or hair features.

Work Cited

Royal Typewriter Company. Victory waits on your finger Tips. U.S. Civil Service

Commission: Nara Still Picture Branch.

United States, Office of War Information. The More Women at Work, the Sooner We Win!

Northwestern University Library. World War II Posters. 1943: Pg 1-23

United States, Civil Service Commission. Victory Waits on Your Fingers. World War II era.

The National Archives. Power of Persuasion. (Accessed 3 April 2010). http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/power_of_persuasion/its_a_womans_war_too/its_a_womans_war_too.html.

Maureen, H. The Womanpower Campaign: Advertising and Recruitment Propaganda during

World War II. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 6, no. 1/2. 1981: Pg 50-56