206 F22 Image Detective Compositional Analysis

Reflection

Conducting a compositional analysis is about viewing an image the way a mechanic might view a car. Spending time thinking about how the parts move, individually and together, gives one a clearer picture about why the elements were constructed this way. This kind of critical thinking can transform the way we consume all media, making us more cautious about receiving the messages that are being sent to us. Analyzing this poster allowed me to consider the way governments and official departments use psychology as a tool. Whether it is meant to destabilize an enemy, or unify their citizens, propaganda is compiled very carefully to maximize its effect.

I enjoyed pulling the poster apart, and digesting all the pieces at play. The context of the image made it all the more interesting. I was confident in my ability to notice the messaging in the poster and the myriad ways it was exposed. The volume of observations I had actually made the essay more difficult because I had to pick and choose what to explore in my writing. The most difficult part of this analysis for me was finding a way to coherently organize my thoughts. When so much goes into the “big picture,” structuring my analysis properly was crucial to putting the pieces together in an interesting, understandable way. I reordered the sequence of my points a few times before the essay read the way I wanted it to.

This essay taught me that my writing ideally builds to a larger point, or “take away.” I was challenged by this assignment to identify a “take away” that can be supported by the poster’s rhetoric. I had to extend my writing to connect all my analyses to that “take away” in order to make my discussion seem meaningful. I learned to refine the content of my essay, and unclutter my lines of reasoning.

The most important transferable skills from this essay are creating a few, defensible lines of reasoning from a volume of information, and structuring those lines in an easy-to-read (but still intelligent) way. In future assignments, like the multimodal analysis or the contextual analysis, the depth and extension required in those essays relies on having a relatively simple foundation that guides the writing in a linear direction. I look forward to strengthening my essay foundations to allow myself to create longer, more complex analyses.

 

Compositional Analysis of “You Never Know Who’s on the Wires”

 

Anti-Rumor and Careless Talk Poster, “You Never Know Who’s on the Wires”, The British Government, circa 1940

 

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From 1939 to 1945, the Second World War played out in the vast majority of the world’s countries. Two main alliances formed: the Axis powers, with main players Germany, Japan, and Italy, and the Allied powers, composed of The United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union. During this crisis, the United Kingdom was one of many countries seeking to reduce the information available to the enemy (or to its citizens) that might compromise victory. A poster of German leader Adolf Hitler sitting on telephone wires was intended to alert citizens to German surveillance. The hope was that frank discussion about the war or the state of the nation would be eliminated. The power of the poster is concentrated in the dark tones of Adolf Hitler, balanced precariously on the telephone wires, which creates the contrast at the center of the poster’s fear appeal. The poster’s intense parallel vectors of attention, precise use of color, multilayered spatial relations, and bandwagon propaganda techniques work together to solidify this fear appeal and distribute it across a nation.

 

Vectors of Attention

 

The poster’s main vectors of attention are five parallel lines. The first is the telephone lines, the second is the outline of the landscape, the third is the first tagline, and the fourth and fifth are two lines of bold, capital letters at the bottom of the poster. The vectors guide the reader’s eyes from left to right, and top to bottom. These parallel lines stack the intensity of the poster. As layer after layer builds, so does the pressure and the tension. The message of the poster therefore appears more dire. The first vector is the largest – the sagging telephone lines, burdened by Hitler’s weight, point directly to him and frame him in the center of the poster. He is not passive – he is listening in on conversations with one hand cupped around his ear. This is designed to immediately capture the viewer’s attention. The vector of the landscape adds scale to the image, and further defines the ubiquity of the scene as one that could happen anywhere in the country. The threat of Hitler’s surveillance is now important to all citizens. Under this vector, the first line of text unfurls in slanting, painterly font. Functionally, it alerts the viewer to the threat represented in the illustration. It confirms the audience’s fears and introduces the last two parallel vectors. The command of the poster – speak little, if at all, about Allied endeavors. The less that civilians said, the more that came directly from the government. In the crisis of wartime, this information control was crucial for security and morale.

 

Vector of Attention

 

Another, more subtle vector of attention runs perpendicular to the parallel set. It traces the line of Hitler’s distinctive boots, and carries into the sky where a flock of birds fly away into the distance. Framed by the telephone poles, this vector traps Hitler in the center of the poster. His Nazi boots are symbolic of fascism. The disturbance of birds, the natural world and the natural order, emphasizes the threat that Hitler poses to the world and reinforces the civilian’s duty to help defeat him. As Hitler gazes downwards, his line of sight strengthens the focus on his boots.

The dense blackness of the boots and the swastika armband Hitler wears represent the darkness of his regime. The intensity of pitch black captures the viewer’s attention and designates Hitler as a dangerous enemy. Color theory intertwines with the aforementioned set of parallel vectors of attention, too. The text on the poster is bright red. This makes the threat of Nazism seem imminent and severe. Thus, the persuasive message is even more effective. The bold colors bolster the poster’s appeal to pathos through fear tactics by heightening the tension created by the vectors of attention. The tonal contrasts between Hitler’s shaded uniform, areas of rich black, and the neutrality of the poster background draw the viewer’s eye to the man in the center of the illustration. He is the focal point of the poster – the emblem of the enemy, and a simple representation of an intricate issue designed to be digested by the masses.

 

Spatial Relations

 

The spatial representation of Hitler in this poster is exaggerated, and multilayered. His size is comparable to the telephone poles in the illustration. The telephone lines sag under his weight. This dramatization emphasizes his presence in the international crisis of World War II, and the scale of the threat he poses. The fear appeal of the poster is strengthened by this menacing stature. However, Hitler’s face is calm, pleased, and almost comical. As dangerous as this enemy is, the poster belittles him. He is a fat-faced man with big ears and big boots – hardly the image of an unbeatable foe. This depiction tempers the intensity of the fear and paranoia that the viewer feels. For the fear appeal to succeed, the audience needs to feel capable of fighting back. Hitler holds onto one wire, his feet are in different positions, his position is unsteady. The enemy is simultaneously imposing and unstable. Without the flow of information keeping him on these wires, he may easily tumble to the ground. The viewer is supposed to feel as if, with proper obedience of the poster’s message, Hitler is sure to be defeated.

The anonymity of the poster’s landscape and the second-person narrative is designed to capture the attention of as many people as possible. The intended audience is as broad as possible to achieve widespread persuasion. Everyone who uses a telephone is at risk of being spied on. The poster further divides this demographic into two conflicting groups – those who align with Hitler and those who do not. The poster was made by and for a country that was one of the Allied powers. Most who see this poster will clearly reject Hitler and his ideals. Thus, a majority forms. The majority has a massive moral and ethical appeal, which further bolsters their associated popularity and respect. The poster displays the risk of not conforming – allowing Hitler to gain crucial information about Allied war efforts. This bandwagon technique is exceptionally effective at dividing large groups of people and championing one side over the other. When trying to persuade an entire country to keep quiet about current events, using the threat of the enemy is compounded by using the threat of social isolation.

By making Hitler appear menacing but assailable, this poster sought to create the largest bandwagon effect possible in order to form a domestic front against the Axis powers. The real, complex threat of spying was the logistical crutch at the center of the poster’s appeal to pathos through fear tactics designed as a massive counter to Hitler’s efforts. These elements working in tandem mobilized the viewing public, which was already eager to assist in Allied victory, so the clear and concise messaging got through to millions of people. As a result, the British government was able to better control the flow of information nationally and internationally, reduce enemy spying, and boost wartime morale.