Guilt & Shaming Men into Action
Britain employed the use of pathos, specifically appealing to shame and guilt, towards men in their war propaganda posters. These are intended to evoke a sense of embarrassment in men who did not enlist from the view of women, children, and the great nation overall.
The images of women and children were utilized as eyes of the nation watching men while the war rages on, pressuring them into action. The propaganda sold the idea that men had an inherent responsibility to serve in the military and if they refused to do so, they demonstrated cowardice, laziness, and flippancy.
The first of these posters is made up of entirely text speaking to British women calling them to demand their husbands enlist for the war.
It was common for propaganda posters to portray vulnerable individuals like children in devastating scenarios to evoke guilt, compassion, and rage to motivate men into enlisting.
This poster features a father with his children as one of them asks him what he contributed to the war and the expression on his face reads some humiliation due to the likely underwhelming answer.