Visual Rhetoric

The poster of Rosie the Riveter is a prime example of visual rhetoric. Rosie became an important character during the 1940’s because during the war many factories were in need of more workers and this poster was meant to encourage women to join the work force in order to support the war effort. The picture was printed on posters and magazine all throughout America during the war. The intended audience was obviously women in order to get them to go to work. At the time, most of the men that weren’t working in the factories were overseas fighting in the war so women were the ones who saw it. Having a female on the poster also drew attention from other females. In the picture the woman is showing of her muscles which help to persuade women to show their powerful side and it made it somewhat acceptable to be taking on the man’s role. She is also wearing the colors red, white, and blue. This helped represent her patriotism which would encourage other women to support the war effort. The choice of clothing shows that the women do not have to be properly dressed; they can wear normal work clothes and get down to business in these factory jobs. The main focus of the picture is the logo. The logo is written in such a way that it stands out and catches the readers eye. “We Can Do It!” strikes something within the women that they are capable of doing these jobs, and that they can help the war effort and their husbands overseas by doing the jobs. The word “We” in the logo also made the women feel like they were part of a whole and that they were not having to go at this alone. All of the women were in this together.