Cold War Civil Rights: A Visual Analysis of Soviet Propaganda Posters

This study aims to interpret Soviet propaganda posters published in the 1960s and 1970s using a selection of multidisciplinary analytical tools. More specifically this selection of eight Soviet posters are inspired by America's race relations, the Civil Rights era and the Cold War, with a particular focus on the USSR’s symbolic depictions of the state of African American civil rights during this time. To this end, the research questions is as follows: What can be interpreted from the state of African American civil rights as depicted in the Soviet Union’s propaganda posters from the 1960s and 1970s? The research question is answered through interpretation that is guided through the selection of academic research that looks at content analysis as well as the use of logical inference, such as the close analysis of visual ideology and linguistic meaning. This paper hopes to demonstrate one way in which the Soviet Union wished to contradict America’s democratic, free and liberal façade....Show moreThis study aims to interpret Soviet propaganda posters published in the 1960s and 1970s using a selection of multidisciplinary analytical tools. More specifically this selection of eight Soviet posters are inspired by America's race relations, the Civil Rights era and the Cold War, with a particular focus on the USSR’s symbolic depictions of the state of African American civil rights during this time. To this end, the research questions is as follows: What can be interpreted from the state of African American civil rights as depicted in the Soviet Union’s propaganda posters from the 1960s and 1970s? The research question is answered through interpretation that is guided through the selection of academic research that looks at content analysis as well as the use of logical inference, such as the close analysis of visual ideology and linguistic meaning. This paper hopes to demonstrate one way in which the Soviet Union wished to contradict America’s democratic, free and liberal façade. Furthermore, it will exhibit how the Soviet Union worked to present their ideological enemy as a capitalist hypocrite in order to win the hearts and minds of its domestic audience, during a war that focused on a battle of political propaganda. On this basis, it can be interpreted that the intentions of the Soviet Union were to undermine the United States of America shown through the selection of these eight posters, although I do recognise that this in no way a definitive representation of all Soviet propaganda posters that depicted African Americans. Future research and the analysis of a wider pool of propaganda material published within a greater time frame, that targets an international audience would reveal other lines of ideological criticism, symbolic messages and would therefore draw broader conclusions.Show less

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Cold War Civil Rights: A Visual Analysis of Soviet Propaganda Posters