Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Anarchists in 20th Century



Origin: Melbourne, 1919, Charles Nuttall, newspaper

Purpose: To connect the Spanish flu that killed millions to the Anarchists in Spain in the early 20th century.

Value: To question the influence of the Anarchists in Spain through portraying them as similar to the flu. The image portrays the flu as extremely contagious and dangerous, indicating the same was true of the Anarchists.

Limitations: This illustration leaves much up for interpretation. It is unclear whether the illustrator is suggesting that the Anarchists were unable to be distinguished from other people, or that they were spreading their values to others similar to how the flu spread. The message does not seem completely clear to me.



Why do you think the flu and the Anarchists are linked in this cartoon? Would you agree with this interpretation based off of what was discussed in class about the Anarchists?

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