The image I will be analyzing is an anti-Obama poster currently being sold on Zazzle.com under the category of “Anti-Obama posters and prints.” The poster reads, “We’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got” and depicts a curled hand reaching towards the audience; just below, Obama’s face is etched in a star. The target audience is conservatives who oppose Obama’s political ideology and policies. While it includes both young and old, the ad’s emotional appeals resonate more with an audience old enough to remember the Cold War. The artist goes by Maksim and, according to his personal website, sympathizes with the Tea Party, which is a recent conservative political movement that advocates for limited government and Constitutional principles. Tea Party activists have a reputation of presenting extreme characterizations of Obama at rallies and protests (e.g. Obama as the Joker, Hitler). Similarly, Maksim has painted an insidious portrait of Obama by connecting him to an ideology and form of government once greatly feared in the United States. The poster’s style and symbolism invite the audience to associate Obama with communism, with the intent of inspiring fear and motivating them to adopt more of a hard-line stance against his policies and presidency.
The communist symbolism and imagery paint a threatening picture of Obama. The star located at the bottom of the poster mirrors the star on the flag of the former Soviet Union. An impression of Obama’s face appears in the middle of it, implying that Obama’s policies are centered in communist theory. Just above, a hand reaches out, encroaching upon the viewer’s space, looking as if it wants to grab you or snatch your possessions. While the hand is fearful in itself, it’s also a communist symbol. “The working class” or proletariat is the backbone of Marxist theory. Farmers, factory workers, industrial laborers-- these professions were featured prominently in Soviet art, with the subjects’ hands accentuated. Also a symbol in socialist theory-- the hand represented the five “classes” of a socialist utopia-- workers, farmers, intellectuals, soldiers, and youth.
The poster’s style and coloring reflect that of Soviet propaganda posters. Most of the poster is red, the primary color on the flags of both the Soviet Union and China. The bold lines-- also representative of Soviet art-- give the art an artificial quality, evoking conformity, and the loss of individuality. The artist plays with another Soviet symbol-- the rising sun, which is depicted at the center of the Soviet crest. The rays beam upward, symbolizing hope and a new day. Contrastingly, on the poster a black triangular band glares downward, bringing darkness instead of light. Lastly, the artist places a series of trigger words (“liberal,” “progressive,” “communist,” “statism.”) in the background to reinforce the fear seen in the visual elements. The font of these words is very similar to that seen in soviet art such as this one; it also furthers the theme of conformity, as each letter is barely distinguishable from the next.
The communist symbolism and imagery paint a threatening picture of Obama. The star located at the bottom of the poster mirrors the star on the flag of the former Soviet Union. An impression of Obama’s face appears in the middle of it, implying that Obama’s policies are centered in communist theory. Just above, a hand reaches out, encroaching upon the viewer’s space, looking as if it wants to grab you or snatch your possessions. While the hand is fearful in itself, it’s also a communist symbol. “The working class” or proletariat is the backbone of Marxist theory. Farmers, factory workers, industrial laborers-- these professions were featured prominently in Soviet art, with the subjects’ hands accentuated. Also a symbol in socialist theory-- the hand represented the five “classes” of a socialist utopia-- workers, farmers, intellectuals, soldiers, and youth.
The poster’s style and coloring reflect that of Soviet propaganda posters. Most of the poster is red, the primary color on the flags of both the Soviet Union and China. The bold lines-- also representative of Soviet art-- give the art an artificial quality, evoking conformity, and the loss of individuality. The artist plays with another Soviet symbol-- the rising sun, which is depicted at the center of the Soviet crest. The rays beam upward, symbolizing hope and a new day. Contrastingly, on the poster a black triangular band glares downward, bringing darkness instead of light. Lastly, the artist places a series of trigger words (“liberal,” “progressive,” “communist,” “statism.”) in the background to reinforce the fear seen in the visual elements. The font of these words is very similar to that seen in soviet art such as this one; it also furthers the theme of conformity, as each letter is barely distinguishable from the next.
One of the subtlest visual elements of the poster is the depiction of Obama’s face within the star, which Maksim has drawn to resemble the famous “Obey Giant.” In 1989 Stephen Fairey created an abstract picture of Andre the Giant with the phrase “obey” written under it as part of a viral art campaign. Since then, the Giant has become a worldwide phenomenon, appearing as street art in cities around the world. Despite the artist’s innocent-- even playful-- intentions, the Giant’s meaning becomes more sinister in this context. The audience might imagine Obama commanding them to “obey,” causing them to conceptualize him as an authoritarian leader such as Joseph Stalin (in keeping with the communist theme). Fairey also created the famous “Hope” poster for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. This piece of knowledge adds another layer of meaning to Maksim’s poster. By using Fairey’s earlier image, the artist drives home the notion that Obama is not the hopeful inspirational leader seen in his campaign poster, but an intimidating authoritarian who wants you to “obey.”
The audience for this poster is already predisposed to have an unfavorable view of Obama. What the artist seeks to do is elevate the audience’s pessimism to fear by associating him with communism-- more specifically, the Soviet Union-- with the hope that they will be motivated to oppose Obama more vocally or join the Tea Party cause. A viewer’s interpretation might be something like; “Obama will turn this nation into a communist one if I don’t do anything to stop him.” Maksim’s older audience will remember the fear that infected the American public during the Cold War-- the fear of communism, of the Soviet Union, of state control. He not only revives these fears, but places their source within the U.S. Communism is here, the Soviet Union is here, state control is here--in the form of Barack Obama.
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