Tuesday, 7/31, afternoon session - Clay Dube, USC

[Courtney Hendrix]

In this image I am seeing the embracing of foreign visitors depicted. It seems to be coveyed to what seems to be the tour provided and pictures taken. The expressions and body language is embracing and happy. They seem to be still conveying their message using the typical model of workers and peasents to reach a certain grouping of people. 

[Courtney Hendrix]

This seems like another 'how to live life' posted depicting what to me seems like an embrace of the different arts. It is shown through the mother discussing sculptures with a child to various dance/music forms. To me it conveys their needing to be well rounded.  

[Wen Shi]

The poster is about opposition of Falungong, and Chinese people should firmly agree on the decision make by the Central government about dealing the illegal Falungong Organization. There's a family with a father, a mother and a daughter with a male solider saluting to the party with background of a city view and a banner indicating that Jiang zemin was the president of PRC. The red star on the top left corner indicates the communist party. There's three people in the background representing soliders, farmers and workers respectively.

So the entire poster is sending the information that Chinese people unanimously support the decision made by the Central government.

The poster uses warm color mainly red and orange and it makes people feel welcoming and also becasue red is the color of communism.

The people in the picture all have firm and positive look in their eyes and the people in the backgroud all look very happy about the decision. This message is conveyd in a very positive way.

I think the time period of the poster is from  early 2000.

[Wen Shi]

The poster is about opposition of Falungong, and Chinese people should firmly agree on the decision make by the Central government about dealing the illegal Falungong Organization. There's a family with a father, a mother and a daughter with a male solider saluting to the party with background of a city view and a banner indicating that Jiang zemin was the president of PRC. The red star on the top left corner indicates the communist party. There's three people in the background representing soliders, farmers and workers respectively.

So the entire poster is sending the information that Chinese people unanimously support the decision made by the Central government.

The poster uses warm color mainly red and orange and it makes people feel welcoming and also becasue red is the color of communism.

The people in the picture all have firm and positive look in their eyes and the people in the backgroud all look very happy about the decision. This message is conveyd in a very positive way.

I think the time period of the poster is from  early 2000.

[Kim Leng]

I enjoyed our class analyzing the political posters to educate people about family planning, parenting, and general life lessons (everyone dies!). These posters would be a great exercise in analyzing a primary source.  I found this useful handout for students to use: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/poster.html.  Conveying a message through the visual arts can be a challenge.  I wonder…what might my students be able to create given the challenge to create a poster about a topic?

[Juana Evink]

A group of people like workers, soldiers and farmer carrying Mao's little red book. They seem to be marching happily.The message seems to be that Mao will take good care of them. The color red is definitely at the center of the image as well as the little red book. Based on the heavy Mao/communism message , I think it is from the early 1950s.

[Mayra Brady]

Poster number two depicts different successful occupations who seem proud and happy.  The bridge and water look pristine along with the people's outfits. The red in the poster represents the influenced of Mao. 

[Juana Evink]

This image shows foreigners touring China, they seem happy and taking photos. No one is bothering them, they seem to be welcome, hence the Chinese guy in the image. I noticed the color red is still prevalent in this image. The message, I think is that China is open to visitors, based on the smiles, hugs, and also different religions like Islam are ok. I guess this image is dated 1960s/70s.

[Zoey McKinney]

This poster shows three men standing together holding the Little Red Book. They are standing in front of a map of the world. The three men are different races: European, Chinese, and African. They are holding guns and are possibly soldiers. I think the message here is about uniting as a strong alliance with Communist countries across the globe. It demonstrates the successful spread of Communism outside of China. The map in back is actually in red, showing the goal of converting everyone to Communism. Though there are three men standing together, the Chinese man is front and center, leading the others. Mao's quotations are vital to all three of them. The poster uses the color red liberally of course, to represent Communism, and I think the use of black and white creates a strong contrast and a striking visual effect. I think this poster is from the Communist Revolution in China, or directly after it, as it seems to be celebrating Communist military victory.

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I did some research on this poster as I don't speak or read Mandarin, unfortunately.  The writing states: "Carry out birth planning for the revolution, 1974."  I found out that this poster was part of an intense campaign, started in 1970,  to encourage the use of contraceptives. The female holds Mao's Red Book in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other.  The images behind her show the time for family one child parents have, and the quality time they are able to spend with this one child.  They are able to pay more attention to the single child resulting in a happier, more well-rounded child, as Courtney mentions here. 

[Zoey McKinney]

In this poster I see delegates from Africa who are visiting China and being warmly received by a worker and peasant. They are taking a photo in front of a tractor and there are many more tractors in the background. The scenery is very colorful, with bright colors and flowers in the foreground. Along with the smiles on the people's faces, the colors give the image a very positive mood. The African delegates are shown wearing some traditional clothing. This image reminded me of a Russian poster I saw in school, where the Soviets were welcoming the Chinese delegates. I think the message here is one of unity with other Communist places, but also it shows the Chinese as world leaders. They are bringing farming technology to less developed countries, showing them the way to prosperity. I think this poster would be from the Cultural Revolution based on this message and its softer, more artistic style than earlier posters.

[Gerlinde Goschi]

We touched on this in class with Dr. Dube.  The two children, one of them a pioneer, are killing sparrows.  This was encouraged as sparrows ate the seeds on the fields causing the harvest and food supply to decrease.  In a country with the population size of China where food was sparse, to begin with, this presented a real challenge.  By killing the birds that cause this challenge, children are keeping up the productivity of the country, therefore aiding productivity for the revolution.  The boy and the girl are both very focused with the goal in mind.  It looks like nothing will deter them from their aim.

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I like Martin's description and would like to add that the flag in the top left of this poster is the Romanian flag.  It was the Socialist Republic of Romania up to 1989 when the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain fell.  The flag in the front right (immediately behind USSR) is the flag of former East Germany, the German Democratic Republic.  These two countries were part of the Eastern Bloc.

[Jennifer Place]

Many workers wearing different uniforms, some wearing some sort of harness gear.  Each holding up a little Mao book or a tool.  Additional peopl far in the distance.  All standing in front of a very long bridge that appears newly finished.  Around the workers is billowing red fabric that could be flags or banners.  Everyone is smiling and looking proud.  I believe there is a train crossing the bridge.  The message may be that when people work together they can build for the future, help the people move ahead.

[Shad Springer]

This poster depicts a well-built Chinese man holding what could be Mao's "little red book". Given his blue shirt and rolled up sleves, he could be a worker/laborer. He appears to be striking down two cartoonish-looking men with his powerful right arm. The two men have long noses, which could be a reference to Westerners. I am unclear what menance the Westerners could represent, but the threat could be anti-Communist given how fiercely the Chinese man is clutching Mao's little red book. The message is, clearly, don't fuck with China, don't fuck with Communism. We're strong, badass, and we will beat you down. As such, I'd say that the message is intended to empower the Chinese working class, and its meaning is clear: don't listen to anything outside agitators might have to say about Communism or China. 

There are just two colors in this poster: proletariat blue and Communist red. As far as the time period when this poster was made, I'd hazard a guess to say that it appeared during the Cold War when the Communist party felt most under siege from the democratic West. 

[Author]

Posts