World War 2 Art
It is a fact that World War 2 art really captures the drama of the final battle of good against evil. Modern battles are really mired in the complexity of the day, with neither side being “right”, but only being wrong in different ways and to different degrees. For example, in the war in Iraq which is now going on, one empire which rules the world has, along with its cronies, decided to invade and remake a small country.
It may seem like the United States is dead wrong to many, but in fact the ruler of Iraq before we invaded was a tyrant, and also oppressive to his people. So, ordinary Iraqis – those that have survived the attacks on their country, anyway – are better off than they were under him. What I like about World War 2 art is that it depicts a time when there was not the same kind of complexity. We had to stop Evil empires from taking over the world, and that was that.
Of course, that does not mean that the art of World War II all depicts noble actions. This is far from the truth! In fact, much of the moist popular World War 2 art is actually propaganda which is meant to inspire hate and fear of the enemy. Much of this World War 2 art is actually racist, meant to make the people who see it think that all Japanese or all Germans are subhuman, or evil.
It is sad that the World War 2 art made in this country was not of a higher and more noble standard, but if you want to understand history, you have to be willing to take the good with the bad, and that is that. Whether you like it or hate it, the fact remains that there is a lot of World War 2 art which is really worth looking at.
One of the World War II art works that has the most lasting influence is the image of Rosy the Riveter. This was part of a series of works of propaganda to inspire women to join the workforce to help make weapons. Of all of the World War 2 art that was made, this image is one of the only ones which has really stuck around for the long run, inspiring feminists to organize. If only more World War 2 art had such noble effects! |
