OUGD401- Context of Practice - Critical Comparison

Critical Comparison.

Saville Lumley - Daddy

The Uncle Sam Range

In this essay I will critically compare two images, one being an Advertisement for The Uncle Sam Range (1876) and a War propaganda Poster by Saville Lumley “Daddy what did you do in the great war?” (1915).

The organisation and style of illustration in the Uncle Sam poster is very intricate with a lot of detail, compared to the adverts of today. The advertisements of those days seemed to fit in as much meaning as possible instead of being direct and clean cut like today's media. The type is strong and bold and has a wild western genre to really tie in with the American patriotism. However the organisation and style of illustration in the Saville Lumley poster is more simplistic and life like, the image looks like a photograph. The writing is in calligraphy, which was a popular type at time and experiments with tone through the use of punctuation.

The Uncle Sam range image from 1876 is an advertisement for selling a cooker range. The image paints a picture of patriotism and nationalism due to the extensive use of stars and stripes around the room and the main character Uncle Sam dressed head to toe in the same print which is a reflection of the American flag. Also there is a wall clock with two hands pointing at ‘1876-1776’, which marks the 100 years for the declaration of independence that happened on July 4^th. This exudes a sense of pride and patriotism in the advertisement. Similarly in the “Daddy what did you do in the Great War?” poster by Saville Lumley from 1915 which is a propaganda poster to persuade people to join the army as it was not a mandatory thing. There is a subtle and more naturalistic portrayal of patriotism shown through the toy soldiers dressed as the Queen’s British guards and the flue du leap pattern imprinted in the curtains, which is a symbol of royalty. The language within the poster “Great War” also implies that fighting for your country is an important cause.

Also both posters show strong alpha male characters within them. The Uncle Sam advertisement places the character in the forefront of the frame with the American eagle perched on his shoulder, which is a big symbol of independence and power in America. A black slave and a woman are also waiting on Uncle Sam. This shows the symbolic values and expectations of that time which represents his importance and status. This indicates a middle class audience that want to aspire to his lifestyle at that time era. Also in the Saville Lumley poster the father is again in the forefront of the frame with his children surrounding him, the poster shows a positive envision of the future after the war showing a happy and wealthy life due to his smart suit and royal pattern symbolism. The father’s daughter is also looking up at him with a book on the Falkland’s, picturing him as a hero and the son is playing with toy soldiers suggesting he wants to follow in his footsteps. The poster is aimed at men and families with strong male figures in persuading them to join the war. The poster uses emotional manipulation and plays on the male pride through showing an idealistic man and what’s expected of him. The emphasis on the ‘YOU’ in the poster displaces the responsibility from the character to the audience and the father’s eye contact accentuates this.

The Saville Lumley poster was created in 1914, which was in the middle of the war that gives it a historical context. The poster tries to represent a positive prediction of how the war would end compared to the reality. The social and historical context is also shown through the style and surroundings of the characters. The father is in a suit with neatly parted hair and the children’s clothes are clean cut. The Uncle Sam poster has a cultural context due to the subtle references to the other worlds, there is a globe sitting at the table with a list of all the countries and there specialty meals, this implies that the rest of the world is invited to this spectacular meal provided through the oven range. The food bill is racist and stereotypical of what each country east e.g. Ireland – Potatoes, fried, boiled, stewed, baked, mashed and raw. This links to the time where there were a lot of immigrants fleeing for a better life and people aspired for the ‘American dream’ lifestyle due to it being the richest nation. The advert plays upon this idea and intends to make its food look superior to other cultures.