Critical Studies Image Analysis Exercise

The Uncle Sam Range (1876) Advertising Image by Schumacher & Ettlinger, New York

WWI poster by Savile Lumley (1915)

I'm going to be analysing and comparing and contrasting the above two images. I'll be paying close attention to the choice and organisation of font style and illustration, the purpose and meaning of the image, the target or potential audience and finally the social and historical context relevant to the production of the image.

Both images are hand drawn and painted. Both images have a similar illustration style although I think both contrast quite a fair bit in the actual content. The overall mood of the Uncle Sam image is quite patriotic, it's basically America looking down on the rest of the world 100 years after the declaration of American independence. The type used on the piece is very American, looking at it you can just picture it above a bar or ranch in the west. It almost could be used to put over a shooting range - THE UNCLE SAM RANGE. it's very bold and sturdy, a message America may want to express about the country itself. On the other hand the WWI poster is quite free flowing and 'classy' - different target audiences perhaps. The overall mood of the poster is less patriotic and in turn the font is also less patriotic. It's kind of coming out of a child's mouth ("daddy") so in this context it works with a looser free flowing font. it works with the comfortable and warm surroundings painted in the picture.

Both pieces also have different purposes obviously. The Uncle Sams Range image is obviously to advertise the Uncle Sams Range, a sort of stove/cooker thing I'm guessing. The WWI poster on the other hand is sort of informing and warning. It's essentially a call to enlist for men to fight in the 'great' war. Although the Uncle Sams Range image is essentially advertising a cooker it's worth noting it was made 100 years after America's independence. It says "feeding the world" on the picture. Uncle Sam, the children, the eagle and the maid are all looking down on the globe. The globe symbolises the rest of the world. The globe is reading a menu of food, all of which contain stereotypical food options - Uncle Sam reckons all Irish people eat are potatoes - a nod to the growth of potatoes in America and how they had a dense supply places like Ireland wanted. There are many subtle nods to the industrialisation and prosperity of America on the poster. In the background is the Centenary Hall in Philadelphia, a major venue for inventions and machinery to be displayed. It's basically saying America is a giving and prospering country, feeding the poor of the world, and giving them jobs (the african slave) and mentions people like the Irish emmigrating to America. At it it's core though without all the secondary purposes, it's advertising The Uncle Sam Range, some kind of stove cooker.

The purpose of the WWI poster, I think, is simply to tempt men to enlist for the war. It's doing this cleverly through questioning the reader and making him feel slightly guilty. It does this through asking "Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?" It's quite clever and subtle in that it lays all the foundations and the scenario in the image with the comfy sofa and daughter on his lap, and then it asks you the question. The man is looking directly at you, almost as if to get the answer off you.

The target or potential audience of the WWI poster would obviously be British men (note: the english roses on the curtains) who haven't yet enlisted to serve in the war. This was made in 1914, it was before forced conscription - men had a choice if they wanted to join or not. It's also worth noting that the surroundings and the people in the picture are very cosy, comfortable and maybe middle class. Alot of poorer people in the war enlisted simply to get a wage and food, richer people obviously didn't need any more money so less middle class people enlisted. This poster is therefore aiming at this section of people.

The Uncle Sam Range poster is obviously very patriotic and lacks subtlety, it's very in your face about all the issues. It's very crowded and full of symbolic objects such as the eagle, the globe, the little kids being the future of America etc. The American's shown in the picture seem very well off, they have slaves and maids etc but to be honest, the same type of people in real life probably wouldn't see this. At the core of it, it's selling a cooker. I think it's marketed at possibly lower class people, slightly less educated and quite presumptuous about the world - the type of people that would eat up all these patriotic and stereotypical symbols and statements about the world. Advertisements always target people aspiring to be more, in this case wealthier and happier.

The Uncle Sam poster was finished in 1876, on the 100th anniversary of the declaration of American independence. The composition and layout of the film all points to the Americans being very prosperous. The stove/cooker itself is a symbol of the industrial and technological prosperity of the country, not only does it advertise the cooker - it uses it as a means of communicating that America 'feeds' the world. America also had a large number of people emigrating to the country, on the food menu the globe is holding you can see Ireland, China, Italy and Russia. It's possibly saying, we look after people of all cultures and backgrounds in our country, look how far we've come since 1776.

The WW1 poster is basically giving the viewer a guilt trip. When you read it, the underlined and capitalised YOU would make a reader in 1915 question himself and wonder why he too isn't in the war. It's quite different in that it assumes that Britian will win the war, it will be referred to as the 'great' war and the country will be back to normal. This also subconcsiously serves as something to lift spirits and optimism about the outcome of the war, so it kind of has a double message. When soldiers come back their limbs will be intact and they'll come back as heroes to their families. Most importantly in this case - they'll have stories to share, you on the other hand won't, because you didn't go. You're missing out. There are subtle touches such as the disappointment in the boys face as he plays with his toy soldiers and probably hopes to be a soldier himself one day unlike his dad. Also the anger in the girls face as she asks her daddy what he did in the war and daddy is completely stumped.