The Global Power of World War II Propaganda
April 23–July 5, 2021
Forsyth Galleries | Memorial Student Center, MSC 2428
For many decades, countries have used media to further their viewpoint, especially Germany, Japan, and the United States during WWII by using political art, films, and news outlets to foster nationalism and change the view on history so that each representation of events mimics the appropriate government’s agenda while also devaluing the importance of citizens thinking independently.
Media can have a bias on current events and history especially in the political sphere. We seek to show this through Germany, Japan, and the United States’ political art used during WWII and how it progressed throughout the war. Throughout WWII, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. used different artistic mediums such as posters, news, and films to create a homogeneous outlook in favor of their ideas. All political art has core values presented in each piece.
For these countries, the core values of nationalism, state security, global justice, liberty, and freedom were embodied in political artwork including the ones presented in this exhibition. By the end of the viewer’s experience, we hope to reinforce the value of thinking for yourself and gauging how the media might distort certain aspects of events.
This exhibition was curated by Texas A&M University students as part of their coursework in Advanced Museum Studies (ANTH 421).
Note, some of the posters in this exhibition present language and/or imagery that could be seen as problematic and/or offensive to the modern eye. The students who curated this exhibition hope that by placing these historic documents in context, the viewer can come to recognize the potentially deceptive nature of propaganda so that they will be able to identify it in the world today.
Make Your Own Victory Garden with Seed Bombs
Coloring Page
