Mark McClellan

Obamaganda

This is something I have been meaning to post for a while now but have been reluctant to do so given the ugliness that Election 2008 has brought out of the American people. At this point, I am sure that come November 4th, Senator Barack Obama will become President-elect Obama and while I am not really happy about this, I can honestly say that I hope his presidency does not live up to the pessimistic predictions I have for it in my head.

That said, I wanted to put up some side-by-side comparisons of Obama’s campaign artwork and some classic communist propaganda posters. Obama can laugh off the notion that his policies amount to socialism and I do not care to argue that here. I am posting this to critique something that I do know a little about which is art, style, and particularly design. In my mind, there is no question that Obama is using a style similar to the communists of yesteryear, a style I have dubbed “Obamaganda.” The real question that absolutely fascinates me is why Obama, being a left-of-center politician running for the highest political position in a nation that has had such a major anti-socialist/communist past would be comfortable using this Obamaganda style.

So how did this all start? I believe this image of Obama (right of Lenin, above) is what set it all off. According to legend, an L.A. street artist named Shepard Fairey created this image for an unauthorized poster. I have seen other samples of Fairey’s artwork and it is amazing. Again, I tend to admire his style and design prowess but not so much the messages his designs convey. The Obama campaign also seems to have admired and even latched onto that style and from there it has grown.

The main reason that I am so interested in Obama’s use of propaganda styles is that I kind of collect digital images of old, communist propaganda. I do this because as a designer myself, I appreciate the aesthetic, the techniques, and the power of this simple style used almost across the board by the most famous of the commies. My favorites are the bold-but-minimal Russian posters primarily from the Lenin era with the Chinese Mao woodcuts a close second. Make no mistake, I despise the messages being conveyed by the propaganda. However, design is about communication and whether you love them or you hate them, the commies really knew how to communicate effectively. Perhaps this is what Obama’s camp was thinking in adopting this style.

A very common element in propaganda is the sunburst effect. This was particularly a favorite othe Mao. What does this convey? A simple burst of sunlight signaling a bright, new day? Yeah, that is the essence of a revolution right there. This Obama poster next to a smiling Mao (Mao tends to smile a lot, most other commies did not) has a single word: BELIEVE. The sunburst says the rest. Believe it’s going to be nothing but sunshine and glory, baby! This is a great example of the beauty of simplicity in design.

Another smiling Mao next to a unique Obama. This is the only example I had of Obama looking directly ahead (if this were a photo, he would be looking directly at the camera). Almost without fail, Obama is depicted looking upward and to one side. Looking upward conveys optimism, hope, confidence, and coupled with the looking to one side, it is almost as if he is looking around some obstacles, sort of a ready-to-take-on-what-is-up-ahead look. As a matter of personal taste I do not like this Obama poster as much as the one above it. At first glance you see the word “Dream” but then there’s the word “the” above that, plus the “Hope” button and the hokey use of “E PLURIBUS UNIM” above that. Couple all that with the sunburst and my opinion is that this designer went too far and simplicity was lost.

I was able to snap some pictures of what appeared to be low-fidelity, even homemade Obama posters, including the one on the right up above, while I was in San Francisco a few months back attending UX Week. There were slogans like “Power to the People!” and “The Time is Now!”, very simple-yet-action-oriented posters. Given that I was at the very liberal intersection of Haight & Ashbury this was not so shocking to me. The single color, black and white image makes for an easily reproduced flyer. Very spartan, quite effective. Similar in style and pose to that of the Lenin image on the left.

Obama vs. Fidel. A pretty tight crop on Obama’s face but very simple, minimal colors with the mouth open as if delivering one of those famous Obama speeches. Text on the Obama poster reads “The New Hope” which brings an almost religious fervor to the whole thing.

Some interesting similarities between Castro and Obama here. Both posters use a colored block background to set the main idea off (10 de Mayo for Castro, Hope for Obama). Castro has more descriptive text because this is for a specific event whereas Obama is merely trying to convey hope. Both are looking more sideways than usual, almost more of a profile shot. 

The ubiquitous Che picture and a somewhat similar image of Obama side-by-side. No words, just dead-serious.

It would appear that Hillary tried to jump on the bandwagon late in her bid for the Democratic nomination. The turtleneck just does not have the same effect as a military uniform or power suit. Probably all part of her game plan. She did not want to appear to enjoy power too much. I bet she would hate how I put her next to Lenin down below, her eyes appearing to gaze adoringly at the former Soviet leader.

As I said at the beginning, it is with reluctance that I make this post. Frankly, I do not trust people to behave properly. I will be using an iron fist and an itchy delete finger to moderate any comments on this post, you know, like that guy from Venezuela that Hollywood seems to adore so much. Well, assuming I get the word out and people actually start reading my blog, or should the search engines pick me up and bring in readers from outside my normal sphere of influence. If you are reading this and you see it as a knock to your dear leader, Obama, then you have missed the point entirely. I am actually admiring his choice of style and if that was what I based my vote on, he would have it, hands down.