Image Analysis

Write a 500 word comparative analysis of the two images in relation to the following...

1. The choice and organisation of font and style of illustration
2. The purpose and meaning of the image
3. The intended audience of the image
4. The social and historical context of the image, such as social values at the time

- The Uncle Sam Range (1876) advertising image by Shumacher & Ettkinger, New York

- The Great War (1915) enrollment poster by Lumley, England

“The Uncle Sam Range” image uses a typically Western font. This font depicts power to Americans by subconsciously creating a link to the time of the Indians and Cowboys. Most Americans would typically be on the side of the Cowboys, who in their eyes were victorious by capturing their land. This Western typeface therefore has connotations of power and hierarchy. The font is placed at the bottom of the image and so it is not in the primary position. The image is more key here to the advertisement. Again in “The Great War” image the text is also at the bottom. However, the typeface take on a more personal approach using italics (the style of most handwriting in those times) and posing a question to some of the audience.

The purpose of “The Uncle Sam Range” image was an advertisement for the cooker. The image shows a happy, very patriotic scene. The world is sat at the dinner table, looking through the bill for the meal, which shows stereotypical meals that other countries/the world has eaten. There are three children in the background Dixie, West and New England. New England being shown as the girl and segregated from the other two, symbolising weakness. There is a figure representing Uncle Sam at the table who is a figurehead for America and symbolises alot of patriotic views. The range is pictured to the left of the image and Uncle Sam appears smack in the middle, giving him the most emphasis. This, along with the tag-line, typeface and overly Americanised decoration scream out that if you are American you should have this cooker. There is a black servant getting the food from the cooker, demonstrating how much social views have changed since this image was produced. I think “The Great War” poster is more subtle in its tactics. The scene is less cluttered than in the other image yet still gives alot of messages. This image was produced to recruit men into the Army for the First World War, also known as The Great War (making it seems better by using great). The scene shows a comfortable family life with a father and two children. The poster is using a method of personal affection by guilting men into feeling like they should be in the Army, it seems you may be humiliated by not joining in future when your Daughter poses this question to you (and you say nothing). This is supported by the boy playing with a set of toy soldiers, dressed in a highly ranked uniform, seeming as though the boy himself aspires to be like them. The decorative pattern on the curtains and chair are very British and give this image a patriotic angle. The father is looking into the eyes of the audience and seems to be answering the girls question with deep thought. We can interpret his thoughts in different ways and I think the designers wanted this to be the case.

I believe the intended audience for “The Great War” was family men who may not of originally chosen to fight. However, now the Army were loosing so many men, they had to enroll more and so change their tactics and target audience from young men to those slightly older. For “The Uncle Sam Range” I think the intended audience was more Middle Class Americans. These people could aspire to have “The American Dream” as this image is depicting. The image is showing a ficticious scene and so I don’t think it would be aimed at Upper Class Americans as they would already be seen to have “The American Dream”.