During World War II (WWII) around the time in 1942, mostly Americans’ men joined military forces to defend their own country against war. The country is having issues of lacking man power helping out behind the war. ‘Rosie the Riveter’ song first appeared in the government propaganda simultaneously with the poster “We Can Do It” by J. Howard Millar to encourage women to work for the industrial factories to help provide war supplies.
Since the “We Can Do It!” poster is targeted against American housewives during the WWII to support and help providing war supplies, it is indirectly influence women in the other non-factory sector supporting the economy. As the males were calls to enroll themselves in the battlefield, the government campaigns that recruiting women power in the war supplies industries had built a strong patriotism perception towards women as well as men. Women were called into manufacturing jobs to support the war effort overseas and the government propaganda was successfully delivered to the audience and many female responded enthusiastically to this poster, the number of working American women which is 20 million by 1944, then a tremendously increase of 63% by 1942.
According to the article in skwirk.com, ‘cultural assumption is not stereotype; it is based on age, gender, lifestyle and ethnicity.’ The poster of ‘We Can Do it!’ has clearly clarified that it was printed to deliver a message which is American housewives should enroll in manufacture area to contribute themselves to aid their country. It has comprehended by the targeted audience because the elements in the poster included the assumptions. The poster were not merely printed to raise patriotism of American housewives, it also signified the downhill of their country’s economic as well. The elements in the poster included the slogan, “Rosie the Riveter” image and a yellow background. The woman was drawn with a rolled out sleeve and shows her muscular arm depicted that actually women are strong and capable in doing things that men can do.
The first glance toward the “We Can Do It!” poster, we will look at a woman with a beautiful make up and wearing a bandanna, which will lead audience to think about a typical middle class housewife looks. In this poster, the woman was wearing man attire which came with a logo of Westinghouse Company and showing her masculine arm. The size of the arm is representing the men’s arm and the way of rolling up her sleeves signifying that she is prepared to work hard. This icon is significantly targeted on the audience and easily delivered the message.
The government of United State was not hoping that the woman power will be as strong as man power after all, so they choose to target on normal middle class housewife who were not as smart as those woman who already working in other industry area. The intended audiences, who been targeted are actually being recruited to help out behind the war, to produce ammunition and war supplies.
The codes that applied in the poster consist of connotation and denotation meaning. Connotation is often contrasted with denotation. Denotation define the precise meaning of the object and connotation present the connote content of the object. In the term of denotation, women in “We Can Do It” poster that showing muscular arm is representing strong. From the ancient era, the color of blue has stereotyped as males’ colour and combines with the term of connotation, it is implying that women are not only define as productive, they are also capable to work as what men can do. The woman that drawn with polka dot red bandanna is the denotation of showing they are American housewives. The women has dolled up with red lipstick connote the sign of middle class American housewives, as they are able to afford cosmetics. Thus the message of poster is aiming to deliver to middle class American housewives.
Besides the pop art elements, the background color was not painted as will. As what can be seen from the poster, yellow color is brightly added to emphasize the pop art elements, because of the high visibility of bright yellow, it is often used for hazard signs. The common view of the yellow color is warm and perky but according to desktoppub.com, the connote message of yellow color defined as hope and happiness. Showing the bright background, it wants to resemble the situation of inclining economic can be save by the involvement of women.
“Rosie the Riverter” which was considered as a feminist icon in the US has emerged as a cultural icon in gaining greater significance over years and changed her original purpose as a recruitment aid to attract female workers during WWII. Although later adopted by women's groups and proudly embraced as a symbol of strong independent women, “Rosie the Riveter” image was never intended to empower women of all ages, backgrounds and economic levels. She captured the imaginations of white middle class women who yearned to follow in the footsteps of this heroic, patriotic, and glamorous female figure doing a man's job. She enhances the way for gender right and spread to let the women to work in society in the decades ahead. As time change, somehow in 1970-1980 where supposedly the poster is being forgotten, it had been rediscovered and became famous. The image had become an iconic symbol after all in women’s right struggles and it had been adapted in other political campaigns as well.
The text “We can do it!” that stated on this poster have bring a strong impact during World War II, it has been use as propaganda to convinced woman to believe that they can do it and contributed to the country. As we read the text “We can do it!” we will automatically think it positively, and convinced ourselves that we will make it. Somehow the meanings of this text are not directly but depending on the audiences themselves to define and understand the meaning out of it. People will get the same meanings, when they have experiencing the same things before. When the times changes, the meanings might change too. People will interpret it with a different way according to the environment or new experiences they could achieved. Even though the text “We can do it!” is mainly read as a positive statement, but there will be small part of negative issues. This is because different people will have different point of view and it’s hard to have the exactly same meaning for everyone. However in the reality, during the WWII, it is in fact affecting women to recruit their power to aid their own country.
Our own values about the understanding of the text are woman should have their own personality and stay strong in many ways just like the characteristic of men. It motivates woman to aid the country and build up the spirit of patriotic onto them. It changed the perception of woman. In the other ways, the values are often relating to our own cultural values. Hence, it is vary depending on how people think about the poster itself and the meaning hidden behind the whole iconic symbol of “Rosie the Riverter”.
