Field Journal 6: War Posters Now and Then

From the famous 1917 military recruitment poster with “Uncle Sam” on the front ( it is actually self portrait of the artist himself James Montgomery Flagg) to the current war posters of today, we have seen a shift in how the posters are being used. Initially when posters first started being used in association with the war, they were all positive recruitment posters. Most were colorful, looking very patriotic with the American flag or using the colors red white and blue, and having some sort of person on it. During the year and a half that America was involved in the war, James Montgomery Flagg produced forty-six war posters including the most famous military recruitment poster which is one of the most widely reproduced posters in history. Here are a few of his other posters. 

I would describe Flagg’s posters simple, classic and patriotic. The posters now a days about the current wars do not seem patriotic at all, instead they seem to mock what our current political leader is doing. 

I feel as though back around 1917 there was more of a sense of unity and pride for the people in the posters. Now the posters are a way for the American people to voice how they feel about the war and they don't rallying around our troops to support what they are doing. This posters become such an influence to the American  people that it can make it hard to understand and actually know what the president is actually doing about the situation. These current posters have much more power than people realize. Here are some of the more current war posters.