Propaganda Poster Destroy This Mad Brrute-Enlist Analysis

The propaganda poster Destroy This Mad Brute - Enlist was created by Harry Ryle Hopps and published in 1918 by the government of the United States of America as a means of demonising the German enemy during the First World War. This form of propaganda was aimed at convincing American men to enlist in the army in order to prepare the country for a possible attack by Germany. The poster aims to achieve this through the use of dramatic imagery, stereotyping and a host of other propaganda techniques.

The most prominent parts of the poster are the enormous frightening gorilla, the half-naked lady in his left arm, and the enormous caption in yellow that says ‘Destroy this mad brute’. The gorilla’s helmet says ‘Militarism’. The piked helmet that he is wearing is a typically German one that was used during the First World War. These cues suggest that the gorilla portrays a German soldier, or even represents Germany as a nation. The monkey’s blond mustache implies that he is a general. The gorilla suggests German aggressiveness and brutality, as well as
When examining the poster more closely, the word Kultur (German for culture) can be read on the monkey’s bloody wooden club, while the ground on which he is standing says ‘America’. In this case, however, Kultur refers to ‘culture emphasizing practical efficiency and individual subordination to the state’ (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). This type of culture was seen as superior to that of other countries, subordinating the individual to national interests (Dictionary.com, n.d.). In the United States, where individualism had been the norm for a very long period, this was perceived as a very frightening threat. With his bloody club, the poster suggests, the German general has come to the United States to destroy everything that is different from his culture, and force his own culture upon the