What are propaganda posters?

Answer 1

Britain entered the war on 4 August 1914. The possessor of a small professional army and without a policy of conscription she had urgent need of more men - many, many more men - for training within the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).

Thus the government in London acted quickly in bringing out a stream of recruitment posters, including possibly the most famous of its type, featuring Lord Kitchener ("Your Country Wants You!").

Other posters followed in due course, many urging wartime economy. Others simply encouraged continued support for government policy, usually by whipping up indignation against the latest alleged outrages committed (invariably) by the German Army.

Answer 2

A Propaganda poster is where a particular political view or cause is promoted, often through the use of images and words, with the aim of persuading whoever the posters are targeted at e.g the British public, to support whatever it is trying to demonstrate.
Famous examples include the government trying to encourage potential soldiers to sign up, using images of a soldier gesturing at a picturesque scene of the English countryside behind him, with the words, Isn't this worth fighting for?... - ENLIST NOW"at the bottom.
Again, in times of war, military opponents are often portrayed to be worse than they are. This could be depicting a sinister looking skeleton with a wicked grin, dropping bombs onto, say London during the Blitz. The writing on the poster could say, "Germans dropping deadly bombs on your city? You can put a stop to their destruction - The weapon factories are open for all women who care about their family and homes. FIND WORK NEAR YOU" Here the poster is trying to convince women to help with the war effort, by working in a weapon producing factory. It does this by first stirring up possible anger in the reader when they think of their city being attacked, and then offering the reader something they can actively do against it. Users of propaganda posters usually want something in return from their audiences. Propaganda posters are for this purpose and are often straight to the point, engaging, and show how the individual reading it will benefit. Techniques to persuade readers may also include trying to make readers feel guilty if they disagree with/ do not want to do what the poster is asking of them, and possibly ridicule whatever it is that might be a barrier in getting people to agree with whatever cause is being endorsed.

Answer 3

Propaganda posters are used to influence people. Typically, they are used for either marketing or political reasons, such as trying to get someone to vote a certain way during an election.