Rhetorical Analysis of the 7th War Loan Poster (1945)
Below is a brief overview of my rhetorical analysis essay on the 7th War Loan Poster. The purpose of the essay is to investigate and discuss how effective the use of rhetoric (through visual means) was for war efforts and funding for World War Two. The essay provides definitions and examples of the forms of rhetoric used and how they are meant to affect the viewer.
Content of Choice 1: Rhetorical Analysis of WW2 Poster
The 7th War Loan poster is a painting by C. C Beall of Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of five United States Marines and one Navy corpsman raising the second American flag on the island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945. The painting was then converted into a print and mass-produced by the U.S. Treasury.
The poster uses earthy colors like green and brown, with a background of yellow and blue for contrast. The American flag stands out at the top center and is used as a focal point. The image is meant to be viewed from the top down. All the soldiers are facing to the right on the poster, and there are no identifying characteristics for the men.
The Marines and Corpsmen were later identified after the original picture was taken. The soldiers’ names were Cpl. Harlon Block, Navy Pharmacist Mate John Bradley, Cpl. René Gagnon, PFC Franklin Sousley, Sgt. Michael Strank and Cpl. Ira Hayes.
Photographer Joe Rosenthal originally was a photographer for the San Francisco Times before the United States joined the Allied powers in World War Two. Rosenthal volunteered and trained as a Marine photographer and eventually worked his way into the Associated Press. In 1945, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the picture taken used in the poster.
C. C. Beall was an American commercial illustrator widely known for his artworks used by the National Treasury. Beall worked on many of the War Bond and Loan posters. The National Treasury used these posters to inspire American citizens to buy war bonds and increase the defense budget for our military. The treasury struggled to keep up with the increased spending demands of the war. War bonds also served as a means for citizens who did not go overseas to fight to feel like they were participating in the nation's interest.
Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols. When examining a visual, it is important to understand why an artist uses certain signs and symbols. Artists use a collection of signs and symbols to create meaning. Two key theorists who are responsible for the development of semiotics are Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and American philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce. The purpose of semiotics is to understand how signs have meaning. Signs have multiple components to them. The three main categories are: iconic, indexical, and symbolic. Iconic signs are things that represent the signified. Symbolic signs are less universal. Symbolic signs can mean different things to different people and cultures. Signifiers also have two categories: paradigmatic and syntagmatic. Paradigmatic refers to type, and syntagmatic refers to structure, order, and placement. For the artifact, the signifier is the poster itself because it is an image. The signified is U.S. soldiers taking Iwo Jima in the Pacific campaign. Within the image, we can see multiple signs (I.e the American flag, soldiers, a hill). The American flag can be seen as either symbolic or indexical. Another aspect of semiotics noted in rhetorical theory is Jacques Derrida’s concept of differance. Differance is noticing not only what we can see, but what we cannot see. The artifact has ambiguity that aligns with unity. We see faceless heroes who are Americans. The lack of features allows the viewer to relate to the soldiers in the image. Depending on the viewer and the viewer's ideology, the meaning changes. Understanding the concepts provided should help us understand how the visuals we see are created and used to achieve their purpose.
“We see faceless heroes who are Americans. The lack of features allows the viewer to relate to the soldiers in the image.”
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