Propaganda: We Can Do It!

One of the most well known examples of propaganda is the “We Can Do It!” poster made by the US Government during World War II. The poster was designed to motivate women to get involved in the military by helping to take over jobs that were usually occupied by men; with the exception of becoming a solider and participating in combat. Women signed up for jobs like filling out paperwork, making guns, fixing planes, becoming factory workers, volunteering for the Red Cross or working in military hospitals. The poster’s use of a regular woman helps to fuel the idea that any women could come forward to help their country. The woman is not dressed up or wearing makeup and does not appear to be a celebrity type. She is the everyday woman. The words “We Can Do It!” are bold and put in a word bubble. Much unlike the Uncle Sam “I Want You!” poster, this poster encourages the viewer by making them feel part of a movement. The woman in the poster is personally speaking to you and not commanding you to do something. This could all help explain how over 6 million women would go on to have wartime jobs.

Metaphor: Train Wreck

This political comic is a depiction of former President George W. Bush meeting the then newly elected President Barack Obama. The metaphor portrays President Bush as the conductor of a “train wreck”, eagerly shaking the new, and seemingly shell-shocked, president’s hand. The train wreck that President Bush has left in his wake is meant to represent what critics called a disastrous administration. Bush’s greeting of “Howdy!” is representational of his Texas accent that was often the butt of jokes as well as his obliviousness to the “train wreck” he has caused. I believe the train has come to a halt upon meeting Obama who is now responsible for rectifying the train wreck, leaving it as is or fixing it.

Artist Video

“If a broken chair has more latent residence, potential meaning, than an unbroken chair-- than brake the chair.”

http://www.hillmancurtis.com/index.php?/film/watch/mark_romanek/

(Sorry, I can't seem to get the video to work on the blog)

Mark Romanek is a director. His most recognizable works are his music videos; such as: Fiona Apple’s Criminal, Jay-Z’s 99 Problems, Johnny Cash’s Hurt, Linkin Park’s Faint and the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Can’t Stop. He has also done film: One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams.

Romanek tries to create an atmosphere that is authentic. He tries to make the viewer feel like they are looking into an environment that is unchanged by the camera that is capturing them. He does not plan every camera shot in detail, preferring to do most of the work in editing. Involving the viewer is something that he strives for, making the viewer engage in what they are watching by leaving things open ended. The viewer feels that they are watching a series of events, not a story that is being laid out in front of them. The emotion is what matters, no matter how long it took to get the shot or how it came about. All that matters is that it is there and it helps the story along.

Design, Culture, Language

Design means a detailed plan that is used to structure the fundamental elements of something to make it functional.

Culture is knowledge and the collection of arts, literature, music and activates all performed by a population

Language is speech or any form of communication used to exhibit and share ideas, emotions or thoughts with others.

I don’t believe that any of the three things could exist without the others. There would be no concept of design if there were no culture for it to be inspired by. Cultures are formed by their languages; be it words, dance, mathematical equations or grunting and groaning. Language is all about design. Words are designed to make since. Each letter has a place, every math equation has an equal sign at the end, a dancers every movement is there for a reason.

The design of the written word is the most basic form of how all of these come together. A culture comes together to form a language, deciding what means what and how to put a series of sounds together to make a word. That word is then written down; whether it be the markings that make up Cuneiform, “i” before “e” except after “c” in English or the placement of an “ñ” in Spanish. They all are not only functional, but it is also about esthetics. Every word has a look, and when we write them down we can tell just by looking at it if it is right or not. How many times have one of us written something down, only to stop and look at it and say “that doesn’t look right”. We may not be sure the correct way to spell it, but we can tell just from the way the letters look next to one another that it isn’t right.