Teh Procrastinators: WWI Posters

I love war posters. They're so unique and stylized. A visual medium used to get a point across quickly and thoroughly.

And I think that the Germans had much better posters during WWI than the Allies. So there. I suppose that this is because I'm so used to seeing Norman Rockwell and Uncle Sam-styled posters that anything different is just neat-o. From a propaganda point of view, of course, the German posters were a complete and utter failure, while the American and British ones generated tons of support for the war.

I mean, just look at this one! I don't care if it doesn't harbor any patriotism, that is a great art style.

Same goes for this one. I prefer this style over the painted Precious Memories styles of other posters.

And this one is awesome as well. Mimicking the style of Albrecht Durer, it has way more class than most posters.

I think the only real flaw of German posters during this time is how dark and depressing they can get. Check this one out. If it wasn't for the German at the bottom it could very well be a poster for Allies. Just swap out the German for "DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN - ENLIST!"

Not that American posters couldn't be just be just as depressing, of course. This one is from WW2, but still. James Lilek's commented, "Again, to restate the point: let's imagine how some people – hell, a lot of people – would react if the government put posters like this in bus stops and public buildings today. People would shriek as if they were having burned skin peeled off with a straight-edge razor. They would be convinced that the transformation of America into a fascist state was finally complete. But this was FDR's America. Just so we're clear."