Last week in class 8 we talked about how propaganda was used in World War 1 to encourage men to enlist. This striking image is one of the most famous WW1 propaganda posters and full of symbolism. In this post I will analyse this poster step by step, describe how it tries to convince its audience and to what extent Russia is using similar propaganda tactics right now.

First, it is always important to know more about the context. This poster was made by the American artist Harry Hopps for the American army in 1917. At the start of the war, the US tried to stay neutral. However, the sinking of American ships and the Zimmerman telegram led to anti-German feelings and the American declaration of War in 1917. Joining late in the war meant that the US quickly needed to recruit and train a lot of soldiers to support the allies on the Western front.

Second, before attaching any meaning, it is important to describe what you can see. We can see a mad gorilla holding a bloody club with the word ‘kultur’, wearing a German helmet with the word ‘militarism’ and carrying a seemingly unconscious woman. He stands on the shore with the word ‘America’ and it appears has just crossed the water from the destroyed land in the background. The text says: ‘Destroy the mad brute’. The word ‘enlist’ on the bottom is cut off from this image.

Finally, we can analyse what it means. Because of the German helmet and German word on the club, we can tell that the gorilla is German. By depicting the German as a mad monkey, it dehumanizes the German and turns him into a barbaric monster. The mad monkey is also threatening America (the shore) and freedom and civilization (lady liberty, the woman) after he has just destroyed Europe (in the background) with its militarism (helmet) and war on culture (club). It is clear that the German, the mad brute, must be destroyed.

100 years later, Russia is trying to do the same. It dehumanizes Ukrainians by calling them Nazis and satanic and states that the West is threatening to destroy Russia. Therefore, men should enlist to defend the motherland and destroy mad Ukrainian brutes.

This will not happen. Слава Україні! 

Originally posted on Instagram on October 2, 2022