A Rhetorical Analysis of World War II Celebration

Western Washington University Western CEDAR

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May 18th, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Capturing the Moment: A Rhetorical Analysis of World War II Celebration

Kylie Wagar Western Washington University

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Wagar, Kylie, "Capturing the Moment: A Rhetorical Analysis of World War II Celebration" (2017). Scholars Week. 13. https://cedar.wwu.edu/scholwk/2017/Day_two/13

This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences and Events at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholars Week by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT CAPTURING THE The iconic image V-J Day in Times Square is na- tionally remembered for the celebration of the end of World War II. Focusing on the archival collection Victory and Peace from the National MOMENT: Archives, this research demonstrates a discon- nect in American perceptions and the reality of - A RHETORICAL vestigate the extent to which images from the 1940sculture romanticized, through iconic celebrated images. Specifically and replicated I in ANALYSIS OF WORLD thein reflection true events of remembrancein 1945, but rather of the the World idea War that manyII era. wouldThese replicationslike to take away do not from properly this era. reflect The images I refer to throughout this research re- WAR II CELEBRATION garding a sudden kiss contributes to this gener- To what extent are images from the 1940s romanticized, ation’s nostalgia that comes from World War II celebrated and replicated in reflection of remembrance of phenomena. The relevance that this paper has the World War II era? to this contemporary moment contributes to the ideas of sexism, dominant American culture By: Kylie Wagar, Communication Studies and the freedom of expression.

Figure 1, Victor Jorgensen, National Archves “Victory and Peace.” World War II Records. (n.d.) Nation- Figure 2, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Time Magazine. Retreived January 22, 2017, from http://100photos. al Archives. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/photos. time.com/photos/kiss-v-j-day-times-square-alfred-eisenstaedt World War II.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT LITERATURE REVIEW METHODS

World War II was one of the deadliest wars that our nation has been involved in (His- “At a simple denotational level, however, there are questions about Franklin’s Ground The analysis for the images of Victory and Peace will derive from the comparison of tory). At this time, the U.S. economy was failing, unemployment was at an all-time Zero Spirit that cannot be answered without association to Rosenthal’s photograph 1940s images with replications produced in the 21st century. I am choosing to com- high, and countries all over the world were in the midst of war (“National WWII Mu- from Iwo Jima. For example, abstracting ourselves from immediate history, how do we pare V-J Day in Times Square with the images from the National Archives and the seum”). World War II took the lives of over 35 million people altogether with some image V-J Day in Times Square in popular culture, and how those contribute to the War II”). World War II created a divide in nations with Germany and Japan represent- thatknow, one on image the basis cannot of the exist photograph without the alone, other, that therefore the three giving firefighters it the iconic are raising and mem the - overallreplication nostalgia through of thestatues, World internet War II era.findings I conduct and poster a close sales read and of both production V-J Day ofin the ingdeaths the notAxis recorded, powers and making America it one and of Britainthe largest comprising conflicts the across Allied seas powers ever (“World(“Nation - orableflag?” (Helmers quality. Edwards and Hill, also 9). This indulges passage in the from way Hills that and these Helmer images references contribute the to fact the al WWII Museum”). One of the most popular images to come from the 1940s was the of each photo will involve taking what is seen within the image and translate that into image of the sailor and the nurse embraced in a passionate kiss. Alfred Eisenstaedt aTimes visual Square rhetoric and perspective New York Cityrather Celebrating than using the these Surrender photos ofin Japan.history, The but close as history read was a German-American photojournalist. His work granted him a staff position for overall national memory of patriotism. “The resonance of a news photo showing fire (Finnegan, 199). Life Magazine and is praised for his skill of “candid” photography. “Then suddenly, fighters raising a flag over the ruins of the World Trade Center in 2002 is due, at least ofin collectivepart, to a thematiceffort and resemblance victory over to threat, the image with ofthe a 2002flag being photo raised obviously over thebuilding scene on of around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse” (Nemerov, 5). thea protracted established and rhetorical difficult battle framework in the ofwar its with 1945 Japan. predecessor” Both photographs (Edwards, evoke 179). values in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed,” Eisenstaedt recounted. “I turned CLOSE READ UNCONDITONAL SURRENDER DISCUSSION

The familiarity of the image can be related to today’s relevant popular culture. Most referred to as Figure 2, viewers can feel a sense of romanticism and joy produced by people have seen this photo, whether it be in poster form or online. The replication images reminds viewers that there are still ways to improve thoughts on representing theAt the two first people glance in theof the photo. un-archival At second image, glance, V-J theDay lines in Times of the Square, nurse’s from body here give on an of this image is strong not only in modern media outlets, but also through the stat- thoseThe identification of color and ofother gender gender identity preferences, and the continuouswhile addressing circulation ideas ofof thesexual analyzed assault. artistic feel to the image, dragging the eyes up to the passionate kiss between two - people. Figure 1, on the other hand, is at an awkward angle. Eisenstaedt’s image is a replication of Eisenstaedt’s iconic image. Seward Johnson sculpted this statue in copyrighted and Jorgenson’s was taken while he was on the job, contributing to the 2005,ue that but stands it isn’t in certainSan Diego, whether California. or not Titled it is based Unconditional off Eisenstaedt’s Surrender, or Jorgensen’s the statue is “If the relationship between a signifier and its signified is the result of a system of so greater success of Eisenstaedt’s image. The perfect “pop” of the leg in Figure 2 might image. Depending on the angle one is standing, both replications of images are pres- arecial alwaysconventions subject specific to change, to each both society from oneand culturalto specific context historical and frommoments, one period then all to lead one to believe that the woman is enjoying the kiss. In Figure 1, the woman’s face ent. For many families, mine included, family photos are taken next to this iconic duo. another.meanings There are produced is thus no within single, history unchanging, and culture. universal They ‘true can meaning’” never be finally (Hall, 17).fixed This but is hidden by the sailor’s hand, hiding her facial expression from the camera. The im- Without knowledge of the actual time period or the fact that these two people didn’t ages are framed as if these two people are the only two people in the whole city. No know each other, the romantic qualities of the image-turned-statue leave can leave century. The progression of feminine and masculine ideals and the rise of LGBTQ+ cul- one around them is focusing on the kiss, making it appear as normalized. viewers in awe. turescentury’s have ideology un-silenced of rape this culture “sudden is kiss”significantly that is referred different to than in this those context. of the twentieth

Citations - : Biesecker, B. A. (2002). “Remembering World War II: The rhetoric and politics of national commemoration at the turn of the 21st century.” Edwards, J. L. (2004). Echoes of Camelot: How images construct cultural memory through rhetorical framing. Helmers, M. (2013).& Hill, C. Wartime A. Defining kiss: Visual Visions Rhetorics. of the moment Mahwah, in Newthe 1940s. Jersey: Princeton, Lawrence NJ:Erlbaum Princeton Associates. University Finnegan, Press. C. (2004). Rhetorical history of the visual. Hall, S. (1997). The Work of Representation. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. National World War II Museum. [On line version, http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/overview.html] Photos. Category: World War II. (n.d.). World War II. (n.d.). History. Retrieved January 22, 2017, from http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii Nemerov, A.