Influence of Pictures in Support of Popular Opinion of War - Essay Example

? Influence of pictures in support of popular opinion of War Influence of pictures in support of popular opinion of War Introduction History has proved that use of pictures influenced the popular opinion in support of Wars. Although the immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, pictures influenced other nations to join the War (Allan, 2003). The War pacts and bilateral agreements that had earlier been signed by different nations provided that such nations would assist each other in case of invasion by other countries (Dowling, 2006). Thesis statement: pictures especially of military objects mobilized popular opinion in support of war. This paper will discuss the role played by pictures in the outbreak and spread of the World War 1 and the Vietnam War. Experts believe that propaganda spread by the media then played a big role in the outbreak of the war (Dowling, 2006). The mass media played a great role in spreading pictures that were emotions and aggressive thus convincing the neutral nations that their sovereignty and peace was at risk (Allan, 2003). Many countries relied on propaganda pictures in scaring their enemies and demonstrating their military power. Cartoonists drew sarcastic pictures of their rivals thus contributing to anger among the citizens and agitations for the support of the War (Dowling, 2006). A majority of the pictures contained ill motive messages such as killing of women and children thus implying the intention to contravene the universal human rights of the civilians that were safeguarded by the international law. The agitated interest groups and emotional civilians could not withstand the provocative messages contained in the pictures and hence urged the governments to join the War in order to ensure national security (Allan, 2003). Pictures of women being raped by soldiers during war prompted feminist groups to urge the nation to join in the war while those containing images of burning property prompted the humanitarian groups to join urge the national governments to take military action against countries that breached civilian rights (Dowling, 2006). This was the height of propaganda since pictures portrayed the negativity of the war leading some countries to join the War in order to safeguard the innocent civilians (Allan, 2003). Accordingly, some pictures and images depicted an ongoing arms race since several countries were involved in military strengthening and manufacture of sophisticated weaponry. Countries like German and Britain were engaged in manufacturing advanced war ships and battle tanks that could easily overpower the enemy (Dowling, 2006). The mass media fueled the popular opinion on War through showing the pictures of enemy weapons and analyzing how such weapons posed a great threat to their stability and security. Military weapons pictures contributed to War since several countries wanted to demonstrate their superiority and military strength through putting the advanced weapons in to action during the War (Dowling, 2006). The increased fear among the citizens led to agitation for surprise attacks on the enemies (Allan, 2003). The humanitarian crisis images and pictures taken in Vietnam also created a popular opinion towards the War since pictures showed images of crushing trains, burning airplanes, starving children. The pictures of death American soldiers and crushing planes made Americans believe that extreme military offensive through air strikes, naval strikes and additional soldiers was needed in Vietnam. The effects of these devastating images prompted the entry of other states in order to end the costly War (Dowling, 2006). Recruiting Poster, World War I Pictured above was part of the posters used to urge nations to join in the First World War in the wake of its outbreak (Dowling, 2006). The picture shows a gorilla with fangs and a scary spiked Prussian helmet carrying off an American woman. The club has a label of “kultur” which is translated to mean culture. The picture illustrates the intentions of the gorilla to invade America (Dowling, 2006). From the picture, two elements of propaganda were spread across the American nation. The enemy is being portrayed as subhuman beast “The Spanish Brute” that mindlessly used force rather than brain. The abuse of helpless captives during the war especially women is yet another propaganda being spread in the pictures (Dowling, 2006). Although various scholars can interpret the meaning of the picture differently, it is generally accepted that the picture was intended to create tensions and show the negative impacts of the War. Little substantial interpretation was awarded to the picture as more people headed to the message by the artist that was to wage war against the warring nations (Dowling, 2006). Protection of a nation’s interests and safety of the citizens was the biggest concern for most nations and not the ultimate costs of the war. The messages contained in the picture were so powerful that citizens could not withstand the rhetoric and aggression of such pictures. Sarcastically, the Spanish were agitated since the picture portrayed that the ‘beast’ would be more interested with the American women rather than the animals in the fields (Dowling, 2006). Additionally, the written information contained in the picture reads, “Destroy this mad brute” thus referring to the soldiers of the war as mad brutes thus provoking the Spanish citizens. This raised a lot of emotions from the side of the fighting nations especially Spain so much that they contemplated on waging war against the United States (Dowling, 2006). On the American side, chaos could have resulted from the spread of the picture among the citizens. The intention of the artist was to rally the Americans to protect its citizens from outside attacks through joining the war and supporting a particular side (Dowling, 2006). The manner in which the war had spread raised the worry of the Americans. This culminated into popular public opinion for support of the war (Dowling, 2006). Picture of a Brutal Subhuman Character This photo pictured above was used to refer to the nativity of the enemies who were stupid enough to result into war without giving dialogue a chance. From the picture, a brutal subhuman in a tattered Spanish military attire triumphs on top of a grave of the Maine sailors. Portraying the enemy as a subhuman is a common phenomenon in the military propaganda. This picture was used to show the insensitive nature of the Spanish soldiers in the war for their failure of giving dialogue a chance. The consequence of this photo was increased anger towards the side of the enemy (Dowling, 2006). There were increased tensions among several counties such as Serbia and the Austria Hungary, Germans and Spain even before the onset of the War due to territorial aggressions. The increased tensions among several European nations sparked the need for formation of military alliances that could protect the bilateral interests of the alliance members. This was clear indication that a large scale war was imminent (Dowling, 2006). There are numerous reasons which prompted these nations to think of waging war against each other. While natural hatred could pass as one of the causes of these alliances, the major one was protection of their interests. Boarder problem and empire building was equally another reason for the increased tensions. Overseas empires by various countries and the conflict that these countries faced with each other were shipped back to their countries (Allan, 2003). Dialogue was not an option for these countries, as evidenced by the alliances that they formed thus the citizens popularly supported the war. Violence against Women and Children This picture is an indication of the violence against women and children during the First World War and the war of the Vietnam. The picture portrays a half-naked dead woman lying on her back. This is illustrative of the violence against women by the soldiers during the war. The picture suggested that the weak in the society bear the biggest pain and hardships during the war than the strong ones (Levy, 2004). While the participating soldiers have excellent training on how to avoid landmines and enemy fire, the women and children suffered due to unrestricted military fire exchanges in the battle zones. Women were not strong enough to resist atrocities meted on them by the soldiers such as rape and murder thus fueling the popular support for the War in order to end such heinous acts (Dowling, 2006). This picture is believed to have raised a lot of anger from the Germans and German authorities ordered for the murder of the people who had issued the picture. The war was characterized by rape and other sexually related violence against women. In addition, the German authorities denied the violence against women, yet it was evident from the pictures that German soldiers killed women. While the picture held truth in it, it agitated the soldiers of the war to the extent of killing the person responsible for the picture (Dowling, 2006). Feminist groups were also angered by the picture and demanded that national governments should join allies in ending those atrocities during the First World War and the Vietnam War. In fact, they felt that the abuse of women during the wars was disrespectful and uncalled for (Levy, 2004). Beginning with campaigns of urging countries to come to an understanding on the impact of the war, feminists outlined the seriousness of the violence against women through airing such pictures (Levy, 2004). From protests to formation of delegations, they tried any method that they could lay their hands on to stop the war. When these were not effective, these groups resulted to their governments, trying to convince them to join the war and stop the fighting nations. The fear of the women being victims of the war was evident from the numerous attempts by these groups to urge the government to join in the war (Levy, 2004). Picture of Military Tanker in the War Pictured above is a tanker. In the background, there are another many tankers that were used during the First World War and the Vietnam War. The period that came before the break of World War I was characterized by amassing of weapons by the enemy nations. These were in preparation for a war that was long in the waiting. When other nations learnt that their enemies were involved in an arms race, they too took to investing in war tankers, helicopters, ammunition and submarines (Levy, 2004). The Vietnam War was fought through the use of heavy machinery which included tankers, helicopter, heavy guns and bombs (Levy, 2004). War ships were also used in the Vietnam thus escalating the intensity of the war. A lot of people died in the war as a result of the use of these lethal weapons. Such pictures by the military prompted nations to join the war in order show their might and attain geopolitical influence after the end of the war (Levy, 2004). Conclusion Pictures are a convenient way of sending information to the people. The targeted audience deciphers the information contained in the images and pictures. The nature of pictures distributed during the war was characterized by emotional images that sought to increase tensions among different countries. Additionally, the information spread in the pictures during the war prompted countries such as America ally with Britain in fighting the Germans. Pictures created a popular opinion in support of Wars since most of the messages highlighted the long standing hatred and propaganda that was geared at increasing the public support of the War. Pictures containing advanced military weapons suggested that national sovereignty was under threat from the aggressive enemies that had stockpiled weapons and recruited new soldiers in order to attain a superiority position in geopolitics. Accordingly, some pictures demonstrated the humanitarian crisis and suffering of women that had been occasioned by the war thus leading feminist groups to demand for military intervention in order to end the war. In addition, pictures of burning planes and dead soldiers forced the citizens to request for more offensive approach to the war in order to end the death of the soldiers. In the First World War and the Vietnam War, pictures played a big role in the start, development and spread of the war to various nations. Works Cited Allan, T 2003, The Causes Of World War I. Chicago, Ill, Heinemann Library. Dowling, T. C 2006, Personal Perspectives. Santa Barbara, Calif, Abc-Clio. Levy, D 2004, The Vietnam War. Minneapolis, Lerner Publications. Read More