Visual Images

“I’m Digging My Grave Today… Yours Tomorrow!”
1940’s Propaganda Remixed- CafePress
August 2006
www.cafepress.com/warposter/11049

This image is a part of the Propaganda Remix project, which took images from the 1940’s and redid them to relate to the current war in Iraq. Instead of holding a gun, the soldier is holding a shovel. This relates to the text of the image because the soldier is digging his own grave. The obvious message of this poster is that war kills many of its soldiers and by enlisting in the war you are possibly killing yourself. By having “WAR: GET USED TO IT” written on the bottom of the poster in large letters, it implies that the war is not going to end anytime soon. There is also an emphasis on various words in this poster. The ‘my’ is italicized while the ‘soon’ and ‘your’ are in caps. I think this was done to show that every soldier in the war could potentially be dying before they make it out. The font works to stand out in this image because it is a lot brighter and bolder than the image. Although the image is a key part of it, the text is what sends the message to Americans. This poster is biased in the sense that the creator feels like no one is going to make it out of the war alive. They make shovels the weapons as opposed to the guns to make it more dramatic and emphasize the face that by joining the military you are going to be digging your own grave. The audience is essentially anyone who knows what’s going on with the war in Iraq, but more specifically people who are thinking about enlisting in the war. It seems that this poster is intended to discourage Americans from joining the military. I think that this can relate to my research paper because it can be used to show that even other Americans don’t want to be fighting in this war. The soldiers should be optimistic and positive when fighting and have feelings that they are doing the right thing. During this war more than anything, these feelings have disappeared. People are focused more on the deaths and injuries then on the progress being made. If Americans did not step up to fight in this war, then there would be no one overseas. We went into this war because we were lied to and now our soldiers have to face the Bush administrations consequences.

“Dead Marine Poster”
Gathering of Eagles
June 28, 2007
Gatheringofeagles.org/2007/06

The font is something that really stands out in this poster. It uses a catch phrase of the army, “be all that you can be,” but puts it in a different context. The image helps to clarify what this context is. The poster was originally put outside of a Military Recruiting office, so that alone lets you know it was created by people who are opposed to this war. The underlying message that I got from this poster was that too many marines are dying. Various coffins are shown along with a falling over marine. The lack of color used allows you to focus on the red, white, and blue of the American flags. The message that this is relaying is that you can go into the marines thinking you are going to be all you can be and reach your goals, but you will most likely come out dead- and if not dead then injured. It is biased in the sense that it is clearly stating the opinion of someone who is against the war. The audience is intended to be anyone who is considering joining the military and that is why it was placed outside of a military recruiting office. This ties in with my research paper in that people do not want to be fighting this war. Ever since it began, people have lost more and more respect for the United States as a whole because of the poor decisions made by the Bush administration. It is being said that because Americans disrespect the war, they disrespect the soldiers. This is untrue but it is easy to understand why it is being said. I think as time goes on and the war continues to go on, the American people are going to become less and less in support of the war (if they are not already) and although they do not mean to be, they are going to focus less and less on the people who are oversees fighting for us.

3 comments July 30, 2008

Blog Assignment #6

Moore, David W. “Public Polarized Over Iraq.” Gallup. 2 Feb. 2006. 22 July 2008 <http://www.gallup.com/poll/21256/public-polarized-over-iraq.aspx>.

Gallup.com was originally a site that I found through LexisNexis. It is a data-driven site that provides news to leaders, business executives, and decision makers worldwide. It focuses on many topics. Some of the “Hot Topics” are Muslim World, Iraq War, Race, Consumers, Gas Prices, and Election 2008. Gallup.com publishes timely stories, videos, and analyses related to important world developments and the daily updates make it a must-read.

“Small majorities of Americans say the war has been a mistake and that the Bush administration deliberately misled the public about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.”
What do I think of this idea?
I think that it is a reason why people are against our country since the war. The fact that the people feel like they are being lied to is a quality reason for why they should not trust the president and his decisions. The Bush administration wanted the people to think there was a real reason for fighting this war, when now they are realizing that they were misled.
How true is it?
I feel that it is true because it is the opinions of the Americans and they were polled to find out these answers. I also know that this was a reason used by the Bush administration to justify their reasons for going to war and Americans now feel misled by it.
Why does it resonate with you?
This quote resonates with me because I personally am not in favor of the war. When doing my research however I cannot be biased, but facts like these that come from the Americans make it clear that the majority of the country is not pleased with what is going on.
Does it challenge or support anything I know or believe?
It supports the idea that Americans are against the war in Iraq as well as the decisions made by the Bush administration. If a large majority of Americans believe that this war is a mistake, then they are not going to be in support of the things going on in this country.
Does it raise or answer questions?
The only questions that I connect with this statement are ones related to the weapons of mass destruction. The public originally obviously would believe what the Bush administration had to say, but what did the Bush administration think the outcome of lying to the public would be? They would have to realize that their would be a repercussion to their lying as well as knowing that the American public would eventually find out what they did wrong.
How does this quotation or claim make you think differently about your topic?  How does it challenge or push your thinking or give you a new line of thought to pursue?  What new original ideas arise from your encounter with this source?
It makes me think a little differently about my topic of why there is disrespect for the United States after September 11 because the underlying root is most likely related to the lying and misleading that occurred. It pushes my thought in the sense that a majority of the American public is against the Bush administration, making it more difficult for them to gain support and correct their mistakes. This source as a whole works to backup the ideas that I had about majorities being against the war and the decisions made. A lot of polls were given and the percentages are somewhat surprising as well as very useful for my research.

““If You Don’t Support the War, You Play Into the Hands of the Enemy, and you Help Destroy the Morale of the Troops…”.” Voice of a Veteran. 22 Feb. 2007. 22 July 2008 <http://voiceofaveteran.blogspot.com/>.

Voice of a Veteran is a blog created by a Veteran from the Iraq war. The first posts began in February of 2004 and have continued to June of 2008.

“So, the administration and its remaining backers in Congress are using the troops and their ‘morale’ as pawns in making you feel guilty about your increasing opposition to the war in Iraq – 2/3rds of you in this country.”
What do I think of this idea?
I think it is a new idea that is brought up that is seemingly very true. The public does not want to be against the soldiers because they are the ones who are fighting for us in this war and in the end many of them are losing their lives and coming out injured. The administration knows that America as a whole does not want to be against the soldiers, so they are using it against them and using it as a way to get to them during this war.
How true is it?
I feel that this is a true statement because as the source before this stated, a majority of the country is against this current war. The Bush administration knows that so they are trying to do everything they can to gain back some of the support. However, their tactics are not effective since the country knows what they are trying to do.
Why does it resonate with you?
This resonates with me because I think it is terrible that the administration is using its soldiers as a way to manipulate and get to the public. The morale of the soldiers for the most part is low and by having them know they are being used as a way for the administration to get to the public, it will make their morale even lower.
Does it challenge or support anything I know or believe?
I know that not many American are in support of the war so this just confirms that even more. For the most part, I do not think that by using the troops as pawns there will be more support for the war. The public knows the general idea of what the soldiers are going through and the number of them that are getting injured and killed. Although they are not going to want to go against the troops for the most part, they are not going to become in support of the war based on the fact that the administration is yet again lying to them and misleading them.
Does it raise or answer questions?
This statement works to clarify that the administration is pushing the public away. By lying to them more and more, they will have less trust in the administration and their decisions. When I read “the remaining backers in Congress” it makes me wonder how much of Congress is against the current war and how much of Congress is one of the backers.
How does this quotation or claim make you think differently about your topic?  How does it challenge or push your thinking or give you a new line of thought to pursue?  What new original ideas arise from your encounter with this source?
This makes me think differently about my topic because the administration is now clearly using the troops as a way to get to the people. I do not believe in this and this is another reason why Americans may be against the country. Yet again they are being misled and lied to. It pushes my ideas more because it is another idea to explore and brings in a new aspect of the lying being done and the reasons for it.

2 comments July 30, 2008