Propaganda Poster: This Is America By Dorothea Lange
Propaganda Poster: This is America
The poster “This is America” by Dorothea Lange is propaganda. It was created in 1942, which is the same year as the United States just entered the World War. The poster consists of a happy family eating around a dinner table. As well as the picture, there is also a caption. The caption states that family is “sacred” and it must be kept free. The poster is an attempt to gather support and more soldiers for the war, as many Americans were unsure about entering the war. By saying, “keep the family free” it is saying to defend their freedom. Lange’s poster is propaganda due to its use of bias, lack of information, and how the information is stated.
An example of how the poster is propaganda is the lack of information
given in the poster. The poster includes no facts or statistics about the war. It uses solely emotions and values in attempt to persuade the audience to support the United States joining the war. It does not use the other side’s details, only offering the supporting idea. In addition, it did not state anything regarding the consequences of joining the war. The use of the family tries to reach to the audience by stating in the caption that they must be kept free. It was intentional for the poster to be presented that way, as they relied on family members caring for each other. This was an attempt to convince more people to support the war, or even join the war as a soldier. In addition, the caption is also written in a personal manner. It addresses the reader using the pronoun “you” multiple times. This is one of the attempts to appeal to the reader by making it sound personal opposed to a general audience. By making it a directed specifically to the reader, it can give the reader the feeling of patriotism, or even pride.
Although, some critics may claim the poster is not propaganda and use facts within the caption. However, that is not true. The poster features a family sitting around the dinner. The family is happy, the sky is bright, and everyone is smiling. Above that, the color pallet used in the picture includes red, orange, and yellow, which are all part of a warmer pallet. The combination of all the details help create a pleasant image in the audience’s head of their own family. It attempts to bring happy memories into your thought. Above that, patriotism and pride would also be presented to the reader by using the pronoun “you” multiple times through the caption. All of the methods used in the poster are an attempt to appeal to your emotion, which is propaganda.
CONCLUSION
The poster “This is America” by Dorothea Lange is propaganda. It was created in 1942, which is the same year as the United States just entered the World War. The poster consists of a happy family eating around a dinner table. As well as the picture, there is also a caption. The caption states that family is “sacred” and it must be kept free. The poster is an attempt to gather support and more soldiers for the war, as many Americans were unsure about entering the war. By saying, “keep the family free” it is saying to defend their freedom. Lange’s poster is propaganda due to its use of bias, lack of information, and how the information is stated.
An example of how the poster is propaganda is the lack of information
given in the poster. The poster includes no facts or statistics about the war. It uses solely emotions and values in attempt to persuade the audience to support the United States joining the war. It does not use the other side’s details, only offering the supporting idea. In addition, it did not state anything regarding the consequences of joining the war. The use of the family tries to reach to the audience by stating in the caption that they must be kept free. It was intentional for the poster to be presented that way, as they relied on family members caring for each other. This was an attempt to convince more people to support the war, or even join the war as a soldier. In addition, the caption is also written in a personal manner. It addresses the reader using the pronoun “you” multiple times. This is one of the attempts to appeal to the reader by making it sound personal opposed to a general audience. By making it a directed specifically to the reader, it can give the reader the feeling of patriotism, or even pride.
Although, some critics may claim the poster is not propaganda and use facts within the caption. However, that is not true. The poster features a family sitting around the dinner. The family is happy, the sky is bright, and everyone is smiling. Above that, the color pallet used in the picture includes red, orange, and yellow, which are all part of a warmer pallet. The combination of all the details help create a pleasant image in the audience’s head of their own family. It attempts to bring happy memories into your thought. Above that, patriotism and pride would also be presented to the reader by using the pronoun “you” multiple times through the caption. All of the methods used in the poster are an attempt to appeal to your emotion, which is propaganda.
CONCLUSION