Reading Analysis #11 "Propaganda Posters" (11/19/2011)

A)
This week's reading assignment consisted of 4 propaganda images that sent messages to the American public about WW2, slaves, and the economy. When looking at the images in the context of supply and demand, we can say that:
   1.) For the first image, the demand for (war) resources is obviously very high and so the image associates wasting resources to essentially aiding the opposition. Based on the message the image is sending, the supply is relatively low, so the prices for these resources are likely low as well.  
   2.) Virtually the same message is seen in the second piece of propaganda. The picture suggests that by driving your car alone, you are riding with Hitler, or, you're "teaming up" with Hitler. The message here is to conserve gasoline and materials to make cars by sharing cars, so it's assumed that the demand for these resources is again very high and the supply is low.
   3.) The third image consists of a slave family that is being whipped or at least abused by their slave master. The family is shown in the light while the slave master is shown in the dark, specifically inside a cast shadow that shows a picture of someone holding a whip. The slave family is in a position of helplessness and the slave master in a position of power. The propaganda wants a change in society where no slaves exist and everyone is free. The demand for freedom is high but the supply is low and since a change is favorable it is a shift towards a higher supply and lower demand of freedom.
   4.) The fourth image shows a picture of a woman who makes a pledge to only pay for goods that are reasonably priced and to stop settling for rationed goods. The demand curve has experienced a shift to the right as the prices are higher than they were before for the same quantity demanded. The hope for the U.S. Dept. of Economic Stabilization is to get back to the point where the quantity demanded is at a lower price (shift back to the left). The same goes for the supply curve except the shift occurs in the opposite direction.

B.) 

1. What determines whether a propaganda poster is effective or not other than the response it administers?
2. What events do you think would produce the biggest shift in the supply/demand curve?
3. What was the process of coming up with a propaganda image like?

C.)
      This assignment was assigned because it is an application of the theories of supply and demand in the U.S. economy, particularly during times of hardship. The images demonstrate the dramatic effects that these events had on supply and demand.