Blog Post 1 Ryan Quirke

One image that I found interesting in the textbook was the "Trophies of the Air War" poster of 1917. It struck my attention because of how Julius Gipkens utilized two symbols that work together to illustrate Germany's dominance over the allies in terms of air force during World War one. In the poster, there is a black eagle perched on top of a damaged marking of an allied plane. The black eagle represents Germany and the marking of the plane represents the allies. The illustration of the poster is simple but conveys a deep message.
Image result for trophies of the air war
Gipkens, J. (1917). "Trophies of the Air War" Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmalon/5709760361/ on January 15, 2020

In this piece of propaganda created by William Allen Rogers it portrays a german soldier wielding a bloody sword while walking over innocent people. The bright red blood on the sword and the red text, "Only The Navy Can Stop This, contrasts heavily with the faded corpses at the bottom. The german soldier is illustrated as a pirate to convey that the U.S., at the time, thought that the germans were demonizing and relentless. The black lines are darker around the german soldier which implies a menacing presence.
Image result for german propaganda ww1
Rogers, W. A. (1917). "Only The Navy Can Stop This" Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/2001700444/ on January 15, 2020


I chose this image of anti-german propaganda from Harry R. Hopps because it was one of the propaganda posters that I have admired from history class. It compares Germany to a gorilla that is savagely threatening to take over the U.S. The text is well accentuated with a bright orange color to emphasize the urgency of enlisting in the war. This poster stands the time because it kind of reminds me of the fictional King Kong. The gorilla is stepping on the word America which implies that Germany will invade the U.S. if Americans did not step up and join the war.

Hopps, H. R. (1917). "Destroy This Mad Brute" Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-German_sentiment on January 15, 2020


Comments

  1. Hanna HJanuary 15, 2020 at 2:44 PM

    I really like the choices, especially the mad brute since I learned about it last history class. The way you described each design is very well thought out such as "emphasize the urgency of enlisting of war" how you brought the history to it as well as design concepts.

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  2. Leslie RamirezJanuary 15, 2020 at 2:56 PM

    For a second, I hadn't realized there were faded bodies in the water. I think that just proves the point you made about the importance of having darker lines for the German soldier. His menacing presence is a little overwhelming at first when considering the contrast of the faded bodies. I find it interesting that this poster captured your attention because I skipped over it and now wish I had taken another look at it.

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