The Uncle Sam Range
The Uncle Sam Range (1876) by Schumacher & Ettlinger, New York
This first image advertising the ‘Uncle Sam
Range’ isn’t shy to present you with overt patriotism for its country of
origin. This is clear from the use of
star spangled banner all over the image, (for those unaware that is the
American flag) telling me this product is definitely American. These elements
of the flag I speak of are the use of stripes, stars and a tonal range of red,
white and blue. In fact I would even argue that hosting the party portrayed
within the image is Uncle Sam (the US personified) himself, donning attire
containing all of the afore mentioned elements of the American flag, and also
an eagle, happily perched upon his shoulder, eagles being a national emblem.
Other indications of the country of origin exist, being the date 1776 on the clock
(the birth of the nation) and 1876 also on the clock and the table cloth,
celebrating 100 years of independence, and the view from the window being the
Memorial Hall, the site of the signing of the declaration, of which is framed
upon the wall above Sam.
The image portrays Uncle Sam feeding the
world, which has taken form as its own character. This acts as an indication of
superiority on the US’s part, a “our device has the capability of feeding the
whole world” mentality, which brings me to the centre of the image, what it is
selling, it being a cooker.
There are many things to indicate this,
mainly the emphasis that is placed upon the object. The cooker is in use,
allowing the advertiser to show its functions/ range of capabilities. Uncle Sam
himself is pointing at the cooker, with a smug expression as he presents it to
the world. The world also happens to be admiring a list of the different
countries, and their stereotypical cuisine, showing that the cooker can
probably handle anything. A final and, pretty big clue, it the use of text
under the title stating that the product was “manufactured”.
One of the most interesting elements of the
poster to myself is the insight it offers to the state of the world in
America’s eyes at the time. Most apparent being the black child operating the
cooker, telling me that child and slave labor were both in full effect and
celebrated at the time of creation. Also at the table with Uncle Sam and the
world is Dixie, Texas and Great Britain, causing me to believe that America as
a whole were having trouble with those specific places, and is trying to show
that they are ‘big enough’ to have them over for dinner.
Taking all these elements in to
consideration, I am lead to believe tat the poster was targeted at wealthy,
white Americans, appealing to their pride in their country, and showing a
aspirational, powerful lifestyle that they can have thanks to the product, now
they can feed the world.
Colonial progress brings home prosperity
'Colonial Progress Brings Home Prosperity' series of posters by Adrian Allinson;
displayed Dec 1930 - Jan 1931, Waterlow and Sons Ltd
This second sequence of images, advertise
the different states of Africa between two different times. They come from the
‘Colonial Progress brings Home Prosperity’ (1930-31) series and the purpose
seems to be a justification of colonialism. My reason for believing this lies in
that it seems to be portraying the act as advantageous to an American audience,
showing a white, confident, assertive man taking lead over an indigenous
African workforce.
Both images are certainly racist,
portraying the Africans with twisted and angered expressions, showing them used
and abused as forced labor. Not only that, but they are all strikingly similar,
in what seems to be an attempt at dehumanising and removing all individuality
from the tribesmen, whereas the white man stands out over his slaves.
This white character only appears in the second
image, with the first featuring the tribesmen commuting, this is trying to
portray a drastic ‘improvement’ over time to the white demographic of the time.
Some ‘advantages’ that are featured on the second image that are implied to
have been brought by the white man are, bridges, advanced tools, and additional
transports such as boats and vehicles. The final ’advantage’ would be the white
mans utilisation of the indigenous people as a workforce, causing me to believe
that the message proposed by the posters is the causation of a ‘better, more civilised’ tribe as a result of the white man. The most striking evidence of
this is the change in attire for the tribe between images, starting with what
would be typically considered tribal attire, and the second image featuring
them in shorts, as though they should abandon their culture. The image is
trying to say that colonialism is a good thing, saying the technology is more
advanced so obviously Africa is a better place now.
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