Jack Mayberry
Dr. Stephanie Brown
ENG306
29 September 2016
Rhetoric of the
Vietnam Protests
In
the mid to late nineteen sixties, amidst the excessive drug usage and psychedelic
imagery, was a conflict brewing in southeast Asia, and a growing fear of the
threat of communism. This conflict soon became the Vietnam War and the rising
fear of the communist party plaguing the United States, produced a nation of red-blooded
Americans with hearts beating for capitalism. Those who opposed the fear, and
eventually the war, became what we now know as the cultural entity of
"Hippies." These sandal-wearing, peace-loving individuals formed
their own identifier; one of disapproval and discontentment, united through a
common goal for world peace. Although hippies were spread out all over the
globe, the ones who called themselves Americans held a particular opposition to
the idea of US troops in Vietnam and government (The Man) in general, and would
go on to stage protests of epic proportions.
The
Vietnam War protests boast some of the most influential iconography in History.
From John Lennon's, "Give Peace a Chance", to The March Against the
Vietnam War, a Washington DC anti-war demonstration with, according to THE
LEARNING NETWORK at the NY Times, the most attendance in US history, the
Vietnam War protests were significantly important in shaping America as a
nation and in attributing to collective identities that are still relevant to
this day. A poster printed with the words "Leave the Fear of Red to Horned
Beasts" is a particular piece of artwork that strikes resonance in anyone
familiar with the country's history. This anti-war poster, unveiled originally
in 1968, was designed by a group of students from the Rhode Island School of Design
as part of a campaign to protest the Vietnam War in the northeastern United
States. A collection of these posters, as well as similar pieces of artwork
inspired by the Vietnam War, are currently held in the Library of Congress. (Vietnam
protest poster 3) The protest drawn up by the students at Rhode Island is as
clever as it is powerful and is a prime example of youth activism in both the
Vietnam war era and in US history.
The
quote "Leave the fear of red to horned beasts" is a perfect summation
of US involvement in the southeast Asia conflict and how opposing Americans
felt about the war in general. It blatantly calls out Americans as a whole for
their fear of communism and almost insults them in a way that is also
enlightening. In referring to its audience as "Horned beasts", the
poster is attempting to show the people their lack of logic and inability to
see reason as a beast without conscious would. One could even argue that the
poster has some religious connotations and that horned beasts could be
referring to the Christian image of the devil. A religious poster at the time
would an appropriate use of rhetoric since Americans in the 1960's
predominately practiced some form of Christianity; meaning the only thing they
feared more than communism, at the time, was Satan. In addition, being that the
animal depicted is a bull, and that bulls are traditionally violent creatures well-known
to attack anything displaying the color red, the text uses a witty play on
words to infer that the American people are demonstrating essentially the same
behavior as the horned animal. The red, however, in this case is communism. And
since the color red is symbolic of the astral emblem of communism (Which
America was fighting at the time), it was the perfect association to tie the
two ideas together.
Aside
from the word choice for the poster, the imagery and fonts used also show
semblances catered to their designated audience. The lettering, in all caps, is
meant to show emphasis; as the context for capitalized words often stands for words
of great importance or give an impression of sternness and shouting. The font
chosen by the Rhode Island students is both crude and off-putting. It doesn't
demonstrate order or peace, but chaos and confusion. This can be interpreted as
if the bull or "horned beast" itself is idiosyncratically represented
within the words. This notion is further exemplified when a hoof, from the
animal depicted above, appears in the lettering right before the word fear. Bulls
have a reputation for being violent and angry animals most likely due to the
sport of bull-fighting in Spain. The animal's infamous legacy appears on the
poster in the shape of the top half a bull charging at nothing. Although there
is no clear expression of emotion drawn on the creature's face, one can tell
just by looking at the poster that it is meant to seem angry and intimidating.
What's more is that because the bull is shown charging at nothing, it shows the
audience the color red (Communism) is an irrational fear that should be
displayed only in the behavior of animals.
Traditionally in protest,
there is a concrete and comprehensible audience which is revealed through a
series of tactical and deliberate rhetorical strategies. The anti-war
poster, in this case, uses primarily pathos tactics to affect its audience but
presents examples of logic as well to allow the American people see reason. Americans,
in the time of the Vietnam War were in a near-constant state of panic and could
be easily influenced by any form of propaganda; especially if the threat in
question went against traditional American values such as capitalism.
Consequently, the audience for poster was the Americans who had been affected
by the fear of communism and were thus for US involvement in southeast Asia. The
depiction of the beast on the poster is meant to be a fear-provoking image of
how the protestors view Americans who fear the spread of communism. The poster
is using the rhetoric of pathos; holding up a mirror to the American people and
hoping that the people will not like what they see. Through the art piece, the
creators are speaking directly to the frightened Americans and essentially
telling them their fears are irrational and unwarranted. "Leave the
fear" is a direct plea to the audience to disregard their fears of
communism appealing to logos in that the audiences' current behavior defies
logic and reason. "Horned beasts", one could argue, is referring to a
Satan-like concept; appealing to the religious community since there is nothing
Catholics would hate to be associated with more than the devil.
Although
the Vietnam War ended in 1975, identities formed from the protests are still
observable and relevant to this day. Hippie ideals and lifestyles from the
anti-war generation are still fairly prevalent in western culture today but
have different motivations for global activism. Vietnam war protestors have
turned into social activists; organizing marches and taking to social media on
behalf of Syrian refugees and #BlackLivesMatter. While the rhetoric may be
different, the ideas and inspirations of today's protests show defining
glimpses from posters and rallies in the 1960's as well as the people who
organized them.
Works
Cited
Aitken, Jan. "Vietnam Protest
Poster 3." Firefly House. © Copyright Firefly House 2016, Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"Nov. 15, 1969 | Anti-Vietnam
War Demonstration Held." The New York Times. Ed. THE LEARNING NETWORK. The New York
Times, 14 Nov. 2011.
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