Task 1- Image comparison.

Advertising The Uncle Sam Range. Image by Shumacher and Ettlinger, New York (1876.)



Poster by Saville Lumley. (1915)


Daddy what did YOU do in the great war? This poster is trying to encourage men to join up to the army, men that would ordinarily be providing for their family, reasonably wealthy men. The picture is almost chocolate box in style, civilized. The well dressed happy family, daughter sat on knee waiting to here some fantastic stories of her dads bravery and if he did help in the war the children would sit round with there jaws open listening intently to there fathers story's.
This question involves the reader/viewer, with the gaze of the father and the underlined, capitalized you, asking us what did we do. The children are looking at their father asking this question, but the father is then looking at us. The poster give's a feeling of guilt somehow that the father would want his children to be proud of him. His son is sat on the floor at his feet playing with his toy soldiers. You can't imagine the father turning around and saying "well son, daughter I am opposed to this war so some colleagues and I made up some posters and stood outside the government offices trying to put a stop to it, we believe killing is wrong and barbaric!" Not at all patriotic.
Both of these images are trying to sell a lifestyle, and patriotism, they are propaganda. It does not not show any of the horrible things that go on during war times and it suggest's that the father has also come back unscathed from the war.

The image at the top the uncle sam poster for the uncle sam range is quite aggressive, uncle sam sat there on his arrogant, stripy behind right in the centre of the picture, while his maids and slaves make him feasts on the range in the corner. His friends sitting admiringly in the background while he sits doing business with the world at his table!
The American colors and flag runs all the way through the picture.
The type face used for The Uncle Sam Range is stereotypical western style, cowboy and indian movie, goodie and bad guys, gun slinging west and so called freedom. This image is so ridiculously obviously selling a lifestyle and really seems to have very little to do with selling a range. I wouldn't be surprised if the people making these ranges were also making and selling guns to children in push chairs, killing indians and buffalo and anyone else that got in their way. This poster again is aimed at people with some wealth and status, aspiring to a better life and the american dream. There is no guilt in this picture though it is power and aggression.

This picture actually fills me with anger and aggression just looking at it. Thats enough of that me thinks.