America's Appeal to Logic

The propaganda put out by Americans in the 1960's came in various forms.  It used different methods and appeals to get its message across.  This piece in particular, depicting Americans armed with machine guns crushing a Soviet flag and helmet while planting an American flag on the moon, is a mouthful to describe and can appeal to ones logic, or logos.  The poster calls for America to "Clean the Communist Filth off the Moon."  The astronauts are powerfully depicted and are almost intimidating in nature.  It's almost as if they're trying to scare you into joining the space race to help America.  What's the logical decision when three heavily armed men ask you to do something?  Exactly! You do what they say.  This is in stark contrast to that of the Soviet poster, which encourages kids to use their imagination and become the next generation of astronauts.

The American astronauts are also planting a large American flag on the moon, claiming it as their own.  It's human nature to defend what's ours so the logical thing to do in this situation would be "clean" the Soviets off the moon.  Also, since the American flag is much larger than the tattered Soviet one, it leads the audience(Americans) to believe that America is the more powerful nation and that in order to succeed, you must follow them.  Otherwise you run the risk of being crushed by a burly astronaut.

A subtle thing done by the author of this piece was the earth in the background.  Initially, it appears to be there to add perspective to the drawing.  Upon further inspection, you can see that the planet is centered on North America.  This creates subliminal messages, causing one to believe that America is the center of power, without them realizing it or.

Pathos of American Propaganda

The American propaganda poster depicts a group of American astronauts dominating the moon by stomping on a Soviet flag and helmet, with the caption "Clean the Communist filth off the moon, Join the US Space Marines today". The depiction of the American astronauts crushing the Soviet flag while holding machine guns clearly evokes aggressive connotations, compared to the optimism and fulfillment evoked by the Soviet propaganda. Thus, this causes the viewer to feel a bit overwhelmed and fearful of the American campaign to overtake the Soviets' advances in space travel. Furthermore, the depiction of the disproportionally large American flag further demonstrates the superiority Americans feel and want to cultivate against other nations, specifically the Soviet Union. This appeal to pathos causes the viewer to feel a bit disturbed by the image, as it evokes concepts such as conflict and domination. However, the most potent appeal to pathos is the straightforward and shameless caption "Clean the Communist filth off the moon, Join the US Space Marines today". This declaration  refers to the Soviet advancements as "Communist filth", clearly making the Space Race solely a political conversation, whereas the Soviet propaganda depicted the Space Race as a celebration of their nation's achievements. While the caption appeals to the viewer to take a stand, it also causes the viewer to feel turned off to the view that Americans should go to space solely to beat the Soviets, instead of for the sake of catalyzing our nation's milestones in space travel and technology. Therefore, while the American propaganda tries to instill patriotism through aggressive means, the Soviet propaganda creates an aura of optimism and celebration, thus successfully fostering Soviet unity.    

Pathos of Soviet Propaganda

The Soviet propaganda poster depicts a young boy full of hopes and scientific aspirations gazing up at the star-filled sky, with the caption "From student's models to spaceships!". This image not only makes the viewer feel optimistic about the Soviet's progress in space travel, but also causes the viewer to feel a sense of fulfillment in the Soviet's achievements, as the image appeals to the evocative power of children. Children typically portray innocence, hope and humanitarianism, which all cause the viewer of the image to connect with the message that the Soviet Union views the space race as an opportunity for growth and exploration in their scientific fields. Furthermore, the top half of the poster, a night sky full of stars and satellites, represents the boundless opportunities of the Soviet Union's space program. This author's appeal to pathos causes the viewer to further feel optimism about the Soviet Union's future in space exploration. Additionally, the lower half of the image which depicts children throwing model planes with their families, depicts a sense of unity and community. This portion of the image causes the viewer to feel further fulfilled as the progress of the Soviet nation is embraced equally by all its' citizens. Thus, by portraying a child, a boundless night sky and a children interacting with their families, the Soviets make the Space Race less of an international competition between world superpowers, and instead, a celebration of the innovation of their nation. While the American propaganda appeals to more aggressive, over-powering emotions towards the Space Race, the Soviets appeal to more tranquil yet satisfied emotions towards the Space Race.