What do you think is the most effective political propaganda image ever?
Asked by
davidk (
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November 17th, 2009
Consider the mass appeal of the image/art/poster. Images are used to express political concepts, ideas, and movements. The best propaganda moves people to action and is universally identifiable. So…what do you think is the singular, most effective political propaganda image ever created?
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The Hammer and Sickle and Swaztika are historically and personally chilling to me; from the Cold War , back to the close call with Hitler.
Hard to beat this one, one of the most widely published photos in history, used by the administration to galvanize support for the war.
Easily the image of Uncle Sam.
The images of the World Trade Center destruction were shamelessly used as a propaganda tool and still are.
Any image of the Statue of Liberty is recognized around the world as a symbol of some freedoms and promise generally not available in the rest of the world. Symbols can be misleading; freedom and promise do not always translate into home and life.
Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter were the first things to pop into my mind when I read this question.
The photo of the naked girl running down the street crying after the My Lai massacre was one of the most powerful propaganda images ever in my mind. Hard to pick any single one as the most.
@janbb That wasn’t propaganda. That was anti-propaganda.
The thing about propaganda is that it is used to perpetuate a pro-government political agenda. The naked girl in that iconic photo exposed the atrocity or war upon innocent civilians. It couldn’t be any further from propaganda.
@Harp had a perfect example with Iwo Jima. That whole event was staged.
@janbb I thought of that one, myself, along with the one of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan Executing a Viet Cong Prisoner in Saigon, where he shoots a bound man in cold blood.
@Harp
You can talk about the first and second flag that went up. You can talk about about Forrestal and his “souvenir flag”. You can talk about the fact that they posed or staged the picture…You can call it what you like…
Taking out the Japanese early warning systems saved many American lives.
I choose to see it as a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph that captures everything. Camaraderie, patriotism, victory, and so many other things. I also choose to see it as a memorial to those who lost their lives serving their country at Iwo Jima.. including two or three of those holding the flag in the picture.
@davidk If you’re looking for defective propaganda .. no need to see much more than this
But since you’re asking for most effective, political propaganda… I’ll just have to turn on CNN and see the latest.
I’ll tell you what isn’t. The Jewish department store octopus. It’s a Nazi propaganda poster from the 40’s. Its a giant octopus on top of a department store that has a yamaka and a giant nose. I found it in a history textbook from my high school days.
this one is pretty cool but I don’t know about it’s effectiveness
the Marlboro Man
the Gecko
Apple’s ‘1984’ images
The ~30k y.o. Upper Paleolithic cave paintings
The Obama Hope poster is a very powerful image for good. I think it is engrained in people’s minds around the world and the message moved people to celebrate across every continent when he was elected. But, (as noted below) probably not propaganda as the term is defined as “the spreading of ideas to injure a person.”
I think alot of people here are having trouble telling the difference between iconic pictures and actual propaganda.
@The_Compassionate_Heretic seems to have a good gist of things.
Even forty plus years later, this ad which aired only once before being pulled, is still memorable. It is the epitome of the term “negative political campaigning”. This iconic image has been featured in other films and even parodied on The Simpsons.
I’m referring, of course, to the “Daisy Girl” ad which gave Lyndon Johnson a landslide victory.
It featured a young child counting Daisy petals, morphing into a man’s voice doing a countdown to a missile launch. The camera then pans into an extreme close up of her eye in which is reflected a huge mushroom cloud of nuclear destruction.
Even tho he was not named, the implication was clear that Goldwater was hawkish and reckless enough to precipitate a nuclear holocaust based upon previous comments he had made regarding nuclear bombs in Vietnam.
Following it’s airing there was such a storm of protest and criticism against it’s use that it was pulled. But it had accomplished it’s intent with just that single airing.
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