Noteworthy Cultural Changes during the Period of Post War - Essay Example

Advertising and Social Change Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Analysis of the Advertisements 4 3000-Year-Old Babylonian Tablet Requesting the Return of a Slave 4 2. History of You Vehicle 5 3. Aftermath of World War II 7 4. Suschitzkys Festival of Britain from 1951 Gives Exhibition Visitors a Glance at How the Government Tried to Boost British Morale after WWII 10 5. Rationing in the United Kingdom 12 Conclusion 14 References 16 Introduction Britain and other nations have witnessed noteworthy cultural changes during the period of post-WWII-1970s. One of such cultural changes is evident from the advertisements being portrayed that decipher cultural traditions. Advertisement industries have significantly evolved during the second half of the 20th century. In this regard, the prime aspect for the evolution of advertisement industry in Britain and other nations is ascertained to be the introduction of television (Goldman, 2005). Television industry has considerably penetrated Britain market during the post-world war II period. Besides the commercialisation of television, radio also become much commercialised during that period, which contributed in the rise of advertisement industry. However, advertisements through radio do not provide pictorial descriptions of the advertisements. Thus, radio has considerably lesser impact on the viewers as comparison with advertisements broadcasted on televisions (Goldman, 2005). Moreover, mass advertisements were notable through magazines, newspapers, hoardings, banners and other related instruments during the post-World War II period. Furthermore, advertisements in Britain have been considerably evolved in this period because of the introduction of cable televisions. Further evolution in advertisements took place through the introduction of internet (Bagdikian, 2004). During the post-World War II period, advertisements were largely influenced by the economic and political scenario of the world. This was equally notable in the advertisements printed and promoted in Britain. There were several advertisements in that period that were predominantly based on international conflicts (Goldman, 2005). There are evidences of advertisements that were largely based on the major events of World War II. These included the two atomic explosions in Japan and the aftermath of such devastating events. Moreover, advertisements in such period have also presented social losses in several nations including Britain (Bagdikian, 2004). With this concern, an attempt has been made to explore about how advertisements showed or demonstrated cultural change in the context of British advertising during the time period of Post-WWII-1970s. In terms of methodology, a qualitative research approach with due focus on various secondary sources including scholarly based journal articles and books among others has been engaged for dealing with the aforesaid issue. This issue is deemed to be appropriate, as it presents the evolution of cultural change which British advertising witnessed in post-WWII period. Analysis of the Advertisements 1. 3000-Year-Old Babylonian Tablet Requesting the Return of a Slave One of the most popular advertisements witnessed in the post World War II period is the ‘3000-Year-Old Babylonian Tablet Requesting the Return of a Slave.’ It is also considered as one of the oldest advertisements throughout the globe. This advertisement had been extremely popular in Britain during the post World War II period (Goldman, 2005). This was mainly because the advertisement demonstrated the cultural change of Britain during that period. Justifiably, the advertisement presented that there lays no difference between different castes of people in Britain and other nations. During the post-World War II period and even prior to this, there have been considerable social discriminations among the white and black complexion individuals. This social discrimination was not only identified within the societies in Britain, but also in the US and other nations as well. However, this advertisement has been considerably effective in depicting equality amid the people irrespective of skin complexion and other related attributes (Bagdikian, 2004). In relevance to the aforementioned advertisement, the article of OSullivan (1998) has a major contribution. This is mainly because the article highlighted that there were several people in Britain who realised social discrimination and exercise of slavery to be unethical and immoral. This largely influenced the people of Britain to prohibit the exercise of slavery. Thus, it is eminent that the aforementioned advertisement largely demonstrates cultural change in Britain during the post-World War II period in terms of ethical perspectives (Goldman, 2005). While analysing the aforesaid advertisement, evidence based research methodology has been used, which is qualitative in nature. This methodology of analysis is considered as highly effective in the current context because of the qualitative nature of the evidences. The issue discovered in this advertisement is highly relevant in the current day context. It is notable that there are numerous people in the UK and other nations in the world who are discriminated based on skin complexion and other societal factors such as age. Thus, it is to be affirmed that the contents in the advertisement largely display complete termination of social discrimination from the societies, which significantly implies the possible cultural change (Goldman, 2005). 2. History of You Vehicle Another advertisement, which was extensively popular during the post World War II period, specifically in 1970s in Britain, is the ‘History of You Vehicle.’ The advertisement depicted several images of vehicles from the period of Post-WWII to 1970s. The advertisement thus portrayed the Winsome ‘55 Flying Feather.’ Apart from this, the advertisement also presented the 1936 Toyoda, which demonstrates wheel cover (Leiss & et. al., 2013). The advertisement suggested that the two vehicles mentioned above were quite attractive and hence, the consumers liked those vehicles. The advertisement also depicted of ‘31 Cadillac V-16’, suggesting this to be one of the finest automobile vehicles built by Japan during 1970s (Leiss & et. al., 2013). It is worth mentioning that while analysing the above stated advertisement during the post- World War II period in Britain, evidence based research methodology is duly considered. This evidence is reckoned to be qualitative in nature. In this context, the analysis is prominently executed through pictorial descriptions (Leiss & et. al., 2013). Furthermore, a few of the cited sentences were also considered for effective analysis of the advertisement. In relation to the above context, the article of Judt (2006) is of significant relevance to the abovementioned advertisement. It suggests that during post World War II, prominently in 1970s, the automobile industry has grown in an extensive manner. This growth in the automobile industry was not only limited to the UK, but the same was also to be noted within the US, Japan and Germany among others (Leiss & et. al., 2013). This eventually led towards the development of automobile vehicles throughout the globe including the UK. Moreover, it is also eminent from the advertisement that during the post World War II period, there was a considerable development in car designs, which attracted the global customers at large (Leiss & et. al., 2013). This could be regarded as one of the evidences showing cultural change in British advertising in post-WWII period. The development in the automobile industry during the post-World War II period as depicted in the advertisement was mainly because of wider cultural changes. These changes could be determined in the form of considering various significant aspects including exchange of knowledge and evolution of technology among others. It is evident that the automobile vehicles produced in one nation were distributed to several nations during that period (Meaker, n.d.). Moreover, in the post-World War II period, there were evidences of outsourcing of automobile parts from different nations. These facts signify the prevalence of effective international relationship among different nations of the world during the post- World War II period. During World War II and years prior to the same, international conflicts can be witnessed that considerably affected international trade (Meaker, n.d.). However, during the post-World War II period, the conflicts among different nations have resolved gradually, making wider cultural changes (Leiss & et. al., 2013). The growth in the global automobile industry, as implied from the abovementioned advertisement, also suggested that there had been a considerable cultural change in terms of rapid technological evolution. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the respective governments of the UK, the US, Japan and Germany among others have made deliberate efforts towards improvising international trade (Meaker, n.d.). Therefore, during the post World War II period, international conflicts were narrowed down gradually. This implies greater cultural changes to be prevailed amid the practices adopted by the respective governments of such nations. This aspect of cultural change is more prominent during 1970s and thereafter. It is also important to note that cultural changes are not only observed among the governments of different nations, but also amid the societies prevalent in such nations (Meaker, n.d.). In relation to the above context, it is to be affirmed that the advertisement concerning the history of You Vehicle had demonstrated the cultural change in British advertising in post-WWII period by the acceptance of foreign vehicles that were manufactured in Britain during that particular time (Leiss & et. al., 2013). 3. Aftermath of World War II Another advertisement, which had been extremely popular in the UK during the post-World War II, was the ‘Aftermath of World War II.’ This advertisement was found to be appealing to the people of Britain by a considerable degree. This particular advertisement showcased the consequences or the aftermath of World War II. The advertisement reflected that several individuals have lost their life due to the devastating war (Meaker, n.d.). The war witnessed the death of several soldiers those who participated in the same. Thus, it implies of considerable social loss, which Britain witnessed. The advertisement also reflects the extensive use of weapons that had been highly destructive (Meaker, n.d.). With the objective of analysing the aforementioned advertisement, evidence based analysis method had been used. This approach is qualitative in nature, as the analysis of the advertisement content does not possess any sort of numeric value. More importantly, analysis is largely being conducted through the observation of the advertisement contents (Meaker, n.d.). The reason behind the selection of evidence-based methodology for effective analysis of the advertisement is the data obtained being qualitative in nature. Besides the above stated aspects, in order to analyse the aforesaid advertisement in a comprehensive manner, relevant data from different other sources had been duly considered (Lee, 1998). In similar notion to the above advertisement, Lowe (2012) made certain justifiable arguments. In this regard, it is notable that the aftermath of World War II had been highly devastating. The UK lost a major number of their arm force during the war (Meaker, n.d.). This eventually made the nation to face greater amount of loss to the nation. In this similar concern, it was estimated that the UK had lost one fourth of its national wealth during the World War II. During the post-World War II period, the nation had witnessed drop in Gross Domestic Production (GDP). This GDP fall largely affected the economy of the nation. Moreover, the nation also witnessed fall in the rate of GDP per capita. More importantly, Lowe (2012) conveyed that the nation had involved huge figure of labour force in the stated war. The death of such labour forces in the war certainly affected the economy of the UK, which resulted in triggering the need for making greater level of cultural changes. In addition, the advertisement also suggested of the national debt that have considerably risen during the post-WWII period due to incurring excessive level of expenditures (Meaker, n.d.). The devastating aftermath scenario of World War II, as demonstrated by the abovementioned advertisement, represented the fact that domestic political conflicts were raised immensely. During the immediate period after World War II, the Labour Party had withdrawn from the coalition government. This was largely because of the mass participation of labour force in the war (Meaker, n.d.). However, this resulted into the conduct of a general election, wherein the Labour party had witnessed landslide victory against the House of Commons. The victory of the labour party was largely because the citizens of Britain perceived that the inclusion of labour force in the war was unfair and the consequent death of various individuals was unbearable (Lowe, 2012). Thus, this sort of cultural change, which portrayed by the advertisement, showed the wider cultural changes that witnessed by Britain in post-WWII period. From the above analysis, it can be ascertained that the death of labour and armed force individuals with the common civilians widely affected the societal culture of the UK in the form of making broader cultural changes within the nation (Meaker, n.d.). The nation prior to World War II intended to capitalise the weaker and poorer nations of the world. This certainly influenced the nation to create own territories that were commonly known as British colonies. However, in the post World War II period, the perceptions of the nation had considerably changed. This change in the perceptions of the nation largely implies greater cultural transformations that took place through the aftermath of World War II in Britain (Lowe, 2012). 4. Suschitzkys Festival of Britain from 1951 Gives Exhibition Visitors a Glance at How the Government Tried to Boost British Morale after WWII The advertisement “Suschitzkys Festival of Britain from 1951 Gives Exhibition Visitors a Glance at How the Government Tried to Boost British Morale after WWII” had also been highly popular in the UK during the post World War II period (Weingartner, 2012). The advertisement attempted to portray the method through which the Britain Government had attempted to enrich the morale of the civilians during the stated period. It was apparently recognised that during the post World War II period, the civilians of Britain had been considerably de-motivated. This was largely because of the economic and social loss experienced by the economy of the nation during the conduct of the war. The World War II had largely affected business and trade. Thus, the objective behind the advertisement was to increase the morale of the de-motivated civilians of the nations, who were affected due to the devastating World War II (Weingartner, 2012). In order to analyse the advertisement effectively, evidence based methodology has been duly considered. Moreover, qualitative approach is also considered in this section of the study, similar to the analysis made in other advertisements (Weingartner, 2012). The reason behind this is that the data collected for the analysis is based on observations of the contents revealed in the pictorial representations. For effective analysis of the advertisement, different other relevant articles are considered (Leiss & et. al., 2013). The advertisement revealed that there are several individuals, who had participated in the Suschitzkys festival in Britain. The festival started from the year 1951 and thus continued thereafter on annual basis. From the advertisement, it is evident that a considerable figure of people had participated in the festival. This depicts the interest among the people in the nation regarding the contribution of the government made towards delivering significant benefits to the citizens (Weingartner, 2012). The advertisement also revealed of the superior infrastructure created by the organiser of the festive event. This also reflects the interest among the organiser regarding the event. This event reflects the cultural change among the people of Britain during the post World War II period (Goldman, 2005). The above-mentioned advisement that depicted and promoted Britain’s Suschitzky Festival signified the cultural change among the people of the nation. In this regard, it is important to note that Britain’s people prior to the event were highly de-motivated due to the social and economic loss from World War II (Weingartner, 2012). However, during the post World War II period, the cultural change among the people of the nation had considerably influenced to motivate its citizens, those who got affected from the war. In this regard, it was identified that the government of the nation had considerably contributed in developing the living standards of its citizens during the post World War II period. Justifiably, the respective government in the post World War II period executed certain strategies that encouraged the investors to develop industrial growth within the nation. Apart from this, the government also undertaken effective strategies and implemented the same for reaping social benefits. These had been portrayed through the advertisement of Suschitzkys festival. Thus, the festival reflects the cultural change in British advertising that took place during the post World War II period (Weingartner, 2012). In relation to the above context, the article of Rowan (n.d.) has been taken into concern for the analysis of the selected advertisement. In this regard, the article suggested that the Britain Government had considered several attempts to boost the morale of the citizens of the nation, who were affected in the World War II (Wilt, 1990). The government had not only attempted to boost the morale of the common civilians of the nation by conducting Suschitzkys festival, but also intended to develop the confidence of the armies who participated in the war. Thus, the advertisement witnessed a significant cultural change, wherein the government prior to the World War II engaged labour force in the war. However, in the post World War II, the government attempted to boost the morale of that of arm and labour forces as well (Wilt, 1990). 5. Rationing in the United Kingdom Another advertisement, which became extremely popular and gained attention during the post World War II period, was the Rationing in the United Kingdom. The advertisement depicts the introduction of rationing system in the nation during the stated period. The advertisement revealed the presence of several food products and other basis amenities that are required for living a normal life (Wilt, 1990). However, it is important to note that the advertisement designed and portrayed a poster, which showed lack of bananas in a ration shop. This implied that the bananas are not included in the rations that are provided to the people by the UK government (Bagdikian, 2004). Similar analysis method is also used in the current advertisement with relevance to the analysis of other advertisements. This method is ascertained to be the evidence-based analysis approach, which involves qualitative approach (Bagdikian, 2004). This is mainly because of the qualitative nature of the data obtained from the advertisement through observation. Apart from this, other similar approach of analysis of the advertisement is also executed in the study. This is the use of relevant articles in effectively evaluating the contents of the advertisement (Hutching, 1999). In order to evaluate and analyse the aforesaid advertisement, it is important to go through one of the relevant articles, which showed cultural change in British advertising in post-WWII period. In this regard, it can be argued that the book written by Aaron & Schwartz (2005) is duly considered to be highly relevant in alignment with the current advertisement of rationing in the UK. Specially mentioning at the end of the World War II, there had been extreme financial crisis in the UK. This largely affected the poor people of the nation. During the post World War II, there had also been extreme rise in product process, which led to the situation of inflation. This high inflation was considerably noted in food products that are deemed to be the fundamental requirements of an individual. In order to resolve such issue, the UK government had introduced the rationing system within the nation that would provide food and other basic-necessities at a comparatively less price to the people. Aaron & Schwartz (2005) also suggested certain food products that were commonly donated by the UK government during the post World War II. These included bacon, ham, meat, sweets, cheese, butter, margarine, loose tea and lard among others. In addition, the Britain government also provided certain non-food rations to its citizens at a comparatively lesser costs. These included soap, clothing and fuel for cooking which entailed coal. It also included papers comprising of newspapers and books. A few of the non-food rationing items encompassed razor blades, frying pans, baby clothes, pots for holding water and other related necessary items (Syrett, 2007). From the above analysis, it can be affirmed that the portrayal of the advertisement concerning rationing to the citizens of Britain is duly considered to be a cultural change specifically in the context of British advertising in post-WWII period. During the pre World War II period, the UK government did not provided extensive level of importance to rationing (Bagdikian, 2004). Although there are evidences of rationing prior to the World War II, the rationing amount was considerably less. However, during the post World War II, the rationing amount had considerably increased. This also implied the initiative took by the government of Britain in paying utmost attention about rationing. It is also evident that the respective government of the nation had been more conscious in providing rations to its citizens in comparison with the objective of capitalizing its foreign territories (Bagdikian, 2004). This reflects cultural change within Britain during the post World War II period. This cultural change became much apparent in the 1970s, by when the nation had freed most of its territories. During 1970s, Britain was more conscious in improving the living standards of its citizens, which when portrayed under advertisement, the cultural change in British advertising could be witnessed (Chris & Robert, 2003). Conclusion From the course of the study regarding the analysis of five advisements that were extremely popular in the UK during the post World War II, a comprehensive understanding regarding the cultural change in British advertising in post-WWII period could be made prevailing. The above discussed five advertisements that were extremely popular in the UK during 1970s suggest that Britain had considerably witnessed of cultural changes. This cultural change within the nation in the post World War II period, especially in 1970s, was perceived from three particular dimensions. These cultural dimensions were identified to be based on political, economical and sociological changes. While exploring about how the selected five advertisements have demonstrated the cultural change in British advertising in post-WWII period, the political, financial as well as societal conditions that prevailed during that time within the UK could be ascertained. It will be vital to mention in this similar concern that the change in the political conditions eventually reflect the change in the policies introduced by the respective government. The overall findings of the study revealed that Britain experienced considerable fall in its economy due to turmoil financial conditions that eventually led towards unemployment and high inflation during the period of post-WWII-1970s. Furthermore, the study also reflected that the selected advertisements had portrayed significant sociological changes that took place within the nation. During the post world War II period, majority of the citizens of the nation had lost their family members due to war. Thus, in conclusion, it can be affirmed that the government attempted to provide complete support to its citizens in order to recover from the aftermath of the war and make the people to enhance their living standard as per the desired level. This signified socio-cultural changes during the post World War II period, which usually showed or demonstrated cultural change in British advertising in the form of portraying such implications on the selected five advertisements. References Aaron, H. J. & Schwartz, W. B., 2005. Can We Say No?: The Challenge of Rationing Health Care. Brookings Institution Press. Bagdikian, B., 2004. Dr Brandreth has gone to Harvard in The Media Monopoly Beacon Publishers. Third World Traveller. [Online] Available at: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Bagdikian/DrBrandreth_Harvard_TNMM.html [Accessed April 14, 2015]. Chris, H. & Robert, G., 2003. 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Love as the Foundation of Moral Education and Character Development: A Latin American Contribution for the 21st Century. CRVP. Rowan, T., No Date. World War II Goes to the Movies & Television Guide Volume II L-Z. Lulu.com. Syrett, K., 2007. Law, Legitimacy and the Rationing of Health Care: A Contextual and Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press. Weingartner, J., 2012. The Arts as a Weapon of War: Britain and the Shaping of National Morale in World War II. I.B.Tauris. Wilt, A. F., 1990. War from the Top: German and British Military Decision Making during World War II. Indiana University Press. Read More