Grandfatherly figures are often thought to be comforting and convincing, but for some people they are actually quite threatening. When people view the "I Want You" poster drawn by James Montgomery Flagg in 1940, they saw his fierce grandfather gazing at them with his eyes piercing them with the challenge. "Are you good enough to be wanted?" In this essay we will breach the topics of: 1) How the Government uses your history to manipulate you. 2) How the Government uses your unsatisfied feelings to manipulate you.
The government played off the subliminal remnants of weak minded citizens with this image. When it was viewed people, in an effort to please their 'grandfather,' accepted his challenge. Of course, there were the few free-minded patriots who genuinely wanted to serve their country, but this poster didn't seek to recruit them.
With the release of this poster many people signed up for the military. It was as though they had all been lemming-ized. The government created a masked propaganda machine with this small idea on a piece of paper.
Of course other things went into it besides the main image. The colors chosen for the words and images helped as well. Red, white, and blue make up the image and words. This garish display of patriotism is emblazoned upon the subtle memory of the viewer and they begin to associate what they learned in school about our Country's past and the rich adventures that led to the creation of our nation. They then want to become part of this in some way.
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