DAY 20

SOCIAL & POLITICAL COMMENTARY

Uncle Sam Wants You

VIEWING THE SOLDIER

Uncle Sam is a personification of the U.S. Government. The phrase “Uncle Sam Wants You” began its life as a military recruiting slogan just prior to World War I and again during World War II.¹ The political power behind the image of the soldier has shifted many times during the last 100 to 150 years. Falling out of favor during the later part of the 1960s and through the 1970s and 1980s, the soldier returned to favor once again during the Gulf War and again with the onset of the Iraq War.

Each generation requires a new image of the soldier, and photography puts a spin on how the soldier is communicated to the public. The image of the soldier is often used to boost nationalism.

Now, the tables have begun to turn. Soldiers take pictures of each other, of their daily activities outside their jobs on the battlefield, and provide an intimate, human side to the age-old job of soldiering. This type of photograph makes the job of war more real to the general public—bringing a new angle on gaining political power through the image of the soldier. —MLR