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The iconic “Rosie the Riveter” image was created in 1942 by the artist J. Howard Miller. The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company asked Miller to create an advertisement for their company. He created the image to represent the increase in female workers during World War II and women’s civil rights. Since men were off fighting at war, the woman had to take their jobs. At first, it was only indented for the private use for the company. It wasn’t until the 1970s-1980s that the poster became popular. The name Rosie represents many females with a first name of “Rose” or “Rosie” that stood out from the hardworking women in America. A “Riveter” is someone who operates a riveting gun, a necessary tool in the manufacturing industry.
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It shows that no only men can do “men” jobs, and that woman can be just as strong as men. It represents how much work the women had to do during the war, and that they are capable. The “We Can Do It” bubble above the woman is a very strong statement. It means that woman are more than just “maids” but they are strong in mind and in body. It represents the majority of woman during World War II that were working and the propaganda campaign the women were supporting.
Symbols are important because they show a theme that anyone can interpret. With a symbol, you can show an icon of anything and can represent many things and words wouldn’t be needed to explain a certain concept. It is also influential to individuals, communities, and nations because it is a simple way to show what one person or a whole nation represents in one symbol.
Symbols can reveal multiple things about an individual or nations’ values and beliefs. For example, the symbol of the cross represents Christianity but it also has a story behind it. Different symbols can be more profound that the overall theme or representation of it. Therefore, the symbol of the woman flexing her muscle in the image represent the values of women’s civil rights and a story behind the hardworking women during World War
This interpretation of Rosie was firmly entrenched in the concept of women entering the workforce as their patriotic duty. In the painting you can see that Rosie is stomping on a copy of Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s 1925 autobiography and political manifesto. The message was clear; although men did the physical fighting on the frontlines, women were also doing their part to defeat the enemy (Hawkes). The war industry during WWII gave women the opportunity to earn their own living and contribute to the war effort. The imagery of “Riveters” we are accustomed to serve as an allegory; the war propaganda used “Rosie” as a metaphorical representation of the millions of women (of all colors and socio-economic classes) who took action during war time when patriarchal order was relaxed. These women joined the work force in order to help their country, to gain the benefits of employment, and to improve their quality of life
In the beginning, symbolism was used for a means of communication. The reason for this was because during this time most Native American’s were Illiterate. Instead of using letter’s in the alphabet, as we do today , they used pictures (Douglas 42). This came to become what we call symbolism.
Symbolism is also important because it is an object that is given that we can elaborate more on which has a different meaning than the usual. One of the symbols that is given is a fence. A fence is something that surrounds, for example, your home and additional things that need to be secure. In Fences, the fence is a symbol because they want the fence to be built because they want to keep the love ones inside the gate along with, keeping the enemies out.
American women in World War II brought significant changes which although people expectation that life would go back to normal they modify their lifestyle making women free of society pressure and norms, because the war changed the traditional way to see a woman and their roles leading to a new society where women were allowed to study and work in the same way than men. Creating a legacy with the principles of today’s society.
A symbol is a unique term because it can represent almost anything such as people, beliefs, and values. Symbols are like masks that people put on to describe their true self. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author uses Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley to represent a mockingbird which illustrates the theme of innocence by presenting these characters as two harmless citizens that do not pose a threat to Maycomb.
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States whom represented the women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom produced military equipment and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The symbol of feminism and women's economic power was often amplified through Rosie the Riveter. "Rosie the Riveter" was a popular phrase first used in 1942 in a song of the same name written by Redd Evans. Auto factories were converted to build airplanes, shipyards were expanded, and new factories were built, and all these facilities needed workers. While the men were busy fighting in war, women were dominant in assistance. Companies took the idea of hiring women seriously. Eventually, women were needed because companies were signing large, lucrative contracts with the government just as all the men were leaving for the service. The various elements or figures of Rosie was based on a group of women, most of whom were named Rose. Many of these women named "Rose" varied in class, ethnicity, geography, and background diversity. One specially, who's had the biggest impact of all Rosie's was Rose Will Monroe. Rose Will Monroe, the most influential "Rosie" at the time, represented women during World War II by working most of her time in a Michigan factory.
The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women.
They took on responsibilities traditionally associated with men. For a time, they were the ones at the heads of families, managing land and businesses. They were the ones using intellect to manage finances and physical strength in both the farm fields and battlefields. At times they weren’t being portrayed as the “weaker sex,” and even when they were, they used it to their advantage to obtain key information needed to win battles. These women were determined and dependable, assisting in countless ways, many even risked their own lives in doing their “patriotic
Koussoudji, Sherrie A. and Laura J. Dresser. “Working class Rosies: Women Industrial Workers During World War II” The Journal of Economic History 51.2 (June 1992): 431-446
One such propaganda poster that was spread across Great Britain features a female factory worker with her arms spread wide that reads: “Women of Britain come into the factories”. This particular poster targeted an audience of women and was used to persuade woman to become more involved in the workforce. By showing the young woman wearing a factory uniform while posing in a victorious manner, the poster has the effect of giving future female factory workers the impression that woman participating in factory work will lead to a victory for Great Britain and its Allies in the war.
Signs and symbols are two very important parts of a society because a society is deeply rooted on the various signs and symbols that people come across on daily basis.
The pay rate for a female minority is still approximately fifty percent. The war on the gender gap is still very much on. Regardless of that, Rosie the Riveter, female service members, and female munitions workers forever changed the way the world looks at women and war. And their spirits live on in all working women today, especially my sisters of the Armed Forces.
The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their duties were fulfilling the patriotic and feminine role. After the war the government and media had changed their message as women were to resume the role of the housewife, maid and mother to stay out of the way of returning soldiers. Thus the patriotic and feminine role was nothing but a mystified tactic the government used to maintain the American economic structure during the world war period. It is the contention of this paper to explore how several groups of women were treated as mindless individuals that could be controlled and disposed of through the government arranging social institutions, media manipulation and propaganda, and assumptions behind women’s tendencies which forced “Rosie the Riveter” to become a male dominated concept.
During the war, men were off fighting for America, and the women were left behind to take over their jobs in the factories. Women proved that they can do almost all of the same jobs as men. Rosie the Riveter, a picture of a woman flexing with a caption of “We Can Do It,” became the symbol for women all across the nation. After the war, years later, women began to receive equal pay for the same jobs that the men were doing. Many other minority groups, such as African Americans, played a huge
This factor caused numerous migrants to leave their homeland, to break free from the authorities' clutches. Generally, symbolism is an object representing another to give it a uniquely distinct meaning that is much profound and more significant.