Blog #2

The trip to the Armed Forces Military Museum was interesting. The thing that captured my attention the most was the propaganda posters from World War II, which was conflict the museum focused on. Not only where there some that pushed men to join the army but there were also posters for the men over seas and the woman and children who remained at home.
This particular one was not at the museum but there were others encouraging men to enlist.
This one was at the museum. It struck me because it demonstrates the fear that both the men over seas and women at home were experiencing. Like we mentioned in class, World War II may have been popular because no one knew much of what was going on just what the government was allowing us to know. Today there is still a lot we do not know but we see images everyday of what is going on instead of having everything being hush hush.

One of the last displays in the museum had a display of the propaganda posters directed to the people who were on the home front. There were a few which were encouraging people to buy victory bonds and grow their own gardens to support the troops. There was quite a few that almost threatened people not to waste. I know that this had a deep psychological affect on the people at home. The worst thing you could do to my Dad is waste food. You can never throw anything out no matter what, everything must be eaten. Even sixty years later people are still affected by this. I could not find any of the ones they had at the museum but this one struck me.

It seemed that the museum portrayed the Americans only as the hero's. I can understand that with the World War II display but I think it would be interesting to go back and see how they display the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and out current war. Unlike WWII, the wars not yet on display were/are, not popular wars.

One display that really struck me was Saddam Hussein standing next to an American soldier holding a Mars Bar. I found it disturbing that they not only Americanized him by placing a Mars Bar in his hand but also making it seem as if him and the American soldier were friends when reality he was one of America's main enemies when this was started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiVkdVPGoY