Rhetoric of the Vietnam War Protests

Rhetoric of the Vietnam War 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 that 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 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. The poster 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.