Main Argument: If Russia Should Win

The main argument this poster was trying to make was that Communism was a very real and relevant threat. After WWII Russia gained a lot of power but more importantly, underwent a radical change. They became even more militaristic and began to dominate other nations with their communist ideals. A lot of Americans forgot that. They were too busy enjoying their economic prosperity to be worried about some supposedly far off threat. That needed to change and so this poster was created to remind America that communism still existed. That it was powerful and had already conquered other nations. This poster wanted to hammer the idea into Americans heads that if they continued to be self assured and complacent, the Russians would swoop in to destroy their values and subjugate their women. The creators of this piece best show that through the woman being held under the boot. Her helpless figure igniting the protective instincts within men.

- Oliver Argueta

Comments

  1. Eric LangOctober 7, 2017 at 5:02 PM

    This poster, in addition to identifying Communism as a threat, also instills fear into the audience. It argues that Americans must be afraid of Russians and that they must act to stop them. The poster itself argues that the Russians would sterilize Americans and dominate American women, which is really entirely unfounded, but they use that unfounded point to argue their other point that Russia was a threat that must be stopped.

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  2. UnknownOctober 8, 2017 at 2:54 PM

    I agree with your idea that the poster appeals to the fear of communism, with the figure of the woman. However I would like to add that the poster also uses a slippery slope fallacy to appeal to fear. The text suggest that if the communist win then all American men would be "sterilized". This both establishes the communist as a threat to the American lifestyle, and appeals to the existing fear of communism in the American public.

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  3. UnknownOctober 8, 2017 at 8:32 PM

    This ad plays off traditional fears to make its argument. It goes to a ridiculous length to play on the fear of strange invaders coming to take the women. While this is not how modern warfare works, it makes the major argument very striking.

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