Tasks

=Supporting a stereotype=

ï»¿Text: 'A Call from the Dardanelles' (Enlistment Poster)
Enlistment posters such as these were common during World War I in Australia. The stereotypes they depict had the main purpose of attracting men to enlist in the army to fight in the trenches. The stereotype portrayed was the idea that fighting was victorious, valour and patriotism that was successfully conveyed using a variety of techniques that were combined using composition. The first stereotype presented by the artist was the glory of fighting in a war. A technique that was used was the proportion of the subject to the rest of the poster. In the poster, the subject, the soldier was the largest element of the poster taking one third of the entire poster. It was completely out of proportion as shown by his position straddling across two land masses. This out of proportion posture represented the victory that is associated with the war by showing that the subject has already conquered the land. By portraying the subject in a manner that is out of proportion, the artist was able to convey a stereotype of the glory associated with war, therefore, achieving the purpose of the text. This same technique of manipulation of proportion was also used to represent the second stereotype of valour. In the background, a mass of smoke shows the smoke from bombings which represent the confusion and danger of warfare. The subject which rose out of proportion clearly shows that he rose out of the danger; therefore, he conveyed valour from battles. The third stereotype presented was patriotism that was expressed by a distinctly Australian culture of mateship. The main text that the viewer's eyes were drawn to reads 'Coo-ee- won't you come?'. Coo-ee was a distinctly Australian term to call people over long distances, especially in the bush. There were two significance purposes of the use of the text. Firstly, it orients the reader to understand the word and to recognize that they are Australian. Therefore, they would feel connected to Australian, therefore feeling obliged to fight on her behalf. Secondly, as mentioned before, coo-ee relates directly to the bush myth where the call is used to find people who are your mates. Therefore, relating the reader as being a mate to those who were fighting, therefore, in a way peer pressuring them into enlisting. They all were expressed as a form of patriotism for Australia and would serve the purpose of the text. These stereotypes were all contained within the visual text and they were successfully combined together so that viewers were exposed to all of them. The important elements of the poster, i.e. the texts, 'A call from the Dardanelles,' Coo-ee-won't you come?' and 'enlist now', form a 'Z' which began from 'A call...' and ended in 'Enlist now', with the soldier's feet straddling the land also on the path of the 'Z'. Studies show that viewers read in a 'Z' layout when viewing visuals, such as posters. Therefore, the artist through composition of important elements of the poster in a 'Z' shape effectively conveys its implied meaning to the viewer in a short amount of time. This poster strongly conveys a stereotype of Australians in war of glory, valour and patriotism through employed of the major techniques of text choices, proportion and composition.

Waiting for the End What if you were there… Anzac Cove, July 1915. It’s a good view, leaning against the dusty bank watching the sun on the sea. The wind's blowing from Australia. I can smell the dead and hear the roosters and dogs in the Turkish villages. My sister's taken the news badly and I sit on her letter so it doesn't blow away. It's the only letter I've got since I've been here but it would've been better if she hadn't written. I don't want to think about home. I only wrote to tell her about Mick being killed and to let Dad know that I was a crack shot, that I'd come third in Egypt in a shooting competition. Corpse flies cover the handle of the bayonet I've driven into the dirt, crawl over my lips and skin. I've given up trying to brush them away. But, in its own way, Gallipoli's a beautiful place. IT's strange that I can't do it. Seems pretty stupid, with the days being so hot and most of the others having cut the legs off their pants. Some men aren't even wearing tops anymore, but I can't do it. I held off in days hotter than this. I still remember how good it felt when I looked in a mirror and saw myself in my uniform. I looked strong, and people, even good-looking ladies, looked at me when I walked down the street. Even my mum seemed to like it. "What's going on Pete? Have we won the bloody war?" It's Davo the Ox, soaked with sweat and struggling just to stand let along carry the two kero tins he's got slung over his shoulder. He's lost weight, looks as skinny as the stick insects you see in museums. I'm meant to be on fatigues as well, but it's too beaut a day to get too carried away. "Sit down before you stop one." "Ah, it doesn't hurt much anyways," he says, as the full tins thud to the ground. He slumps next to me and I know I'll be the one who's got to get him to his feet again. Davo hot shot through the arm in the first week, then got a couple more holes from Beachy Bill as he made his way back to the beach. The stupid bastard couldn't wait to get back especially now his brother's gone. We sit there and smoke rollies and I think about nothing. Davo squeezes pus from his leg sores and wipes it on the dirt near my bayonet. "You finally cutting shorts?" "Not after seeing your bloody legs." My pants are torn and threadbare as it is but I don't want to look like Davo when my number's up. I want to be buried in my uniform. I want the others to remember me that way. I rest against the bank and stare at the sky as I take a long drag. It really is a beautiful day. "Less room for the lice," he says, then adds cheekily, "no one's gonna mind your white pins." "You heard the latest furphy?" "What? The one about English generals asking an Australian private how to win the war." "Austria's surrendered," I say, laughing at his joke. It'll be good when the war's over and we can get home but it doesn't seem it'll be happening any day soon. I can't take the flies no more. A couple of shrapnel shells explode close by. I hear a soft thud and look at Davo with his lit fag handing from his lips. "You alright?" He kind grins and I lie back down and close my eyes and ignore the flies as the sun burns my face.. One of the water tins must've been hit 'cos my elbow's wet. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; margin: 0pt 0pt 7pt;">"You've got a hole in one of your tins, Davo. Looks like you'll be making another trip." <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; margin: 0pt 0pt 7pt;">He doesn't reply and I know he'd dead even though he's still sitting up. He was always talking about how he was gonna buy a tractor for his father with his pay. His hands are clasped like he's praying but he's no religious. I grab the water tins and swear all the way up to Tasmania Post. I'll come back with the padre and his mates and we'll bury him with the others. Private Pete Walden = Waiting for the end = By Leon Davidson Waiting for the end is a short story by Leon Davidson placed in a book called Scarecrow Army to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Gallipoli. Davidson’s perspective emphasized the detachment and loss of human emotions regarding death. However, he chose to shown the Anzacs as being strong. Firstly, the character was portrayed as being detached and lacking human emotions. Davidson tried portray a more realistic perspective of the Anzacs. They are not all heroic and above the average human, but as humans who losses emotions to protect themselves. A major technique that the writer used to convey this idea was to use sentence length and structure. The short and simple sentences relay a feeling of distance and loss of emotion. The character who narrates writes ‘I can smell the dead and hear the rosters ad dogs in the Turkish villages. My sister’s taken the news badly…’ These sentences are simple in structure and short. They only use the senses, not conveying emotion from the writer. Therefore, they give a sense of the loss of emotion and detachment. Plot was also used to illustrate the idea of detachment. Davo was killed. But the narrator merely writes ‘…I know he’d dead…and we’ll bury him with the others.’ Even though, the narrator describes the aspiration of the dead man, he does not show particular emotion to his death and loss. This proves the character’s loss of emotion at seeing too much death. Davidson also used a metaphor that was prevalent throughout the whole story to illustrate this point. The ‘flies’ in the story first are described as ‘corpse flies’. This is an unusual description. It describes the ‘flies’ as being related to death thus the word ‘corpse’. Therefore, when the character has ‘given up trying to brush them[flies] away’, the implied meaning was the character does not feel afraid of death. He has accepted it and feels detached from it. Davidson portrayed detachment of the soldiers. Therefore showing them as humans. The same metaphor was used in portraying strength at the same time. The strength of the character was the strength of perseverance and determination bordering on stubbornness. He does not cave in to natural obstacles. The writer mentions that the days are hot and ‘most of the others having cut the legs off their pants.’ But the character ‘can’t do this.’ The small action of not ‘cutting the legs off their pants’ is a metaphor illustrates the character’s perseverance. It also says the character ‘looked strong’, therefore, it illustrates that the character wishes to remain strong. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude the idea of strength of the Anzacs.