Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Rhetorical Analysis #5

Check this painting out:



Obviously and blatantly, this is a World War II-era propoganda-style poster. Let's analyze, shall we?

Argument: This is trying to make the viewer more worried about, or more aware of and careful of, the dangers of domestic forest fires. Although it really isn't related to the evils of foreign military powers (Hitler and the Nazis, Hideki and the Japanese Imperialists), the painter attached the idea of forest fires with the frightening idea of the axis powers of the world war.

Audience: Those Americans living in World War II times, in areas where forest fires are a serious risk. Adults in rural or forested areas, patriots.

Methods: The artist effectively juxtaposed a domestic problem - forest fires - with an unrelated but horrifying image of wickedness incarnate (as Hitler and Hideki would have been recognized at the time as being the epitome of evil). In the text of the work, it actually plants in the mind of the viewer the idea that Axis powers may use forest fires as a subversive weapon against the American populace at home while the war went on abroad.

Effectiveness: While it is rather silly when looking back at such works, it was probably very effective at the time. In modern times, it would probably have been labeled "biased" "conservative bigotry" or "slanderous discrimination," and would probably be just another joke about the seeming ignorance of Americans.

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