Propaganda
The image of the man is very hopeful. The man has a focused forward gaze where there is a source of light, giving the the effect that he sees a bright future, all while proudly wearing the French uniform. The poster reads, “Standing in the trench as the dawn illuminates the soldier dreams of victory and his home. Subscribe to the 3rd National Defense Loan.” The text also calls attention to the light, as well as the French pride in the image of a soldier who thinks of his home. The sense of nationalism and hope that the poster attempts to inspire in the French public is quickly turned into a demand to buy war bonds, so the people at home too can fight for their country, while the government manages to supply more troops with food and munitions.
The text on this poster reads, “Grow wheat, it is Gold for France,” the simplistic yet exaggerated call to action emphasizes the importance of food at a time of war. Meanwhile, the imagery of the French flag in the background inspires a sense of nationalism and duty, the three swords are being used in a similar effect, inspiring the want for action from the people. The vivid colors make it highly demanding of attention, but especially in the red, white, and blue ribbon on the sickle, connecting the French people to the farm, while encircling the golden wheat, which highlights what the sentiment of the entire poster, inspiring people to aid the war through farming.
The dark skies, with flag held up by an armed woman in tattered clothing, who leads an army forward creates imagery highly reminiscent of Eugéne Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People from the French Civil War. The word read, “For the Flag! For Victory! Subscribe to the National Loan. Subscriptions available at the National Credit Bank.” The repeated attention to the flag, the call to action, and the use of an image that represented how much pride and duty were a part of being French allow for a strong grab at nationalism, and gives the people a way to contribute, bonds, national bonds. By buying bonds, they will help aid soldiers in war, and most importantly, their home country, France. If the public purchases bonds, then they will help soldiers who need who are fighting for France.
The dead german eagle is a simple yet powerful image. The text aims to inspire morale, as well diminish Germans by saying, “2 Scourges: The Germans/Tuberculosis. The German Eagle will be Vanquished. Tuberculosis can be too!” The poster’s text very effectively ridicules the German war effort, by referring to them as “Boche” (a slang term for German), exclaiming victory as a certainty, and calling their attacks against France nothing more than a plaque, which France would survive as well. These boldly exclaimed claims of victory would have greatly increased national morale, both against disease and Germany, potentially even convincing more to join the army, giving France the precious resource of manpower.
The smile on the soldier as he waves backwards, running forwards, and exclaiming “Let’s get ‘em!” gives a very optimistic image of the war. This light hearted gentleman running off for his country with joy inspires a lot of nationalistic sentiment. This could potentially lead to some other young men responding to his call literally and enlisting themselves. It could also get those who read the rest of the poster, “Subscribe to the 2nd National Defense Loan,” to buy war bonds and financially aid the war effort. Either way, the military gained valuable resources for the war.