In this particular section of the book, Brechin focuses on the role of the Union Iron Works company and its contributions to the San Francisco military contado. The Pears's Soap advertisement represents these ideas along with the more daunting themes of impending war, racial discrimination in San Francisco, the power of American imperialism, and the concept of femininity in the early 1900s.
In the passage leading up to this advertisement, Brechin discusses the Great White Fleet and the multiple purposes of this display of naval power. Among many reasons for this cruise, President Roosevelt "...wanted Japan, in particular, to understand American strength and resolve" (Brechin 162). In the advertisement, this idea is definitely conveyed through the battleships. Because of the proportions and angles of the ad, the ships seem to go on far beyond the horizon, as if there are hundreds of them. The apparent size of the fleet in the ad suggests that the United States is prepared and well-equipped for anything, including war and imperial domination. The smoke from the ships darkens the white clouds in the advertisement and the decks are crowded with sailors, adding to the intimidation factor of these ships. It is as if they are ready to do battle right there in the San Francisco Bay. Finally, the battleship in the foreground charges through the ocean with power and gives the viewers of the ad an idea of the size of these massive ships as it comes closer to the woman on the soap stack. All of these details portray America and its military as a force to be reckoned with in a time of political uncertainty and the increasing threat of war.
Although the battleships clearly communicate imperialism and war in the ad, the central and more bizarre focus is placed on the woman and the soap in the ad. The woman embodies another of Roosevelt's ideas behind the cruise: "Roosevelt also hoped that the visit of the fleet to San Francisco would equally impress its citizens, popularizing his beloved navy and mollifying Californians for his interference in the recent school board affair" (162). The woman clearly appears to be impressed by the display of battleships. Her wistful facial expression and body language suggest that she is completely adoring of the fleet. She appears fragile and pure in her modest white gown as she waves her handkerchief at the ships, as if she needs their protection. The focus of the ad is on her, which makes the statement that a woman's role during this time period was to be indirectly supportive of the troops. To do this, she must be a symbol of innocence that is worth protecting. This suggests that the women need protecting from "yellow peril", or the belief that the culture and territory of the United States would be "imminently inva[ded]" by Asia, Japan specifically (157). This is where is seemingly inadequate link between battleships and soap comes in.
The text in the ad states, "Two of the world's most useful and valued necessities to protect our women and keep them happy." This is a strange advertisement slogan at first glance. How could soap "protect" women? This goes back to one of Roosevelt's main reasons for sending the fleet to San Francisco. When San Francisco made the decision to segregate Japanese-Americans from whites and other races, Roosevelt strongly opposed it, calling the decision a "wicked absurdity" (158). Given the prominence of the soap and the fact that it is placed right in the middle of the Great White Fleet, one cannot help but make the association that the artist of the ad casts the soap in a double role. It keeps women happy by cleaning their bodies and protects them from the "imminent invasion" of the Japanese-Americans in San Francisco. The soap keeps them clean from the spoiling of the American population, which was so highly propagandized during the early 1900s. Further, The Overland Monthly, the widely read and racially intolerant paper this ad appeared in, supported the idea of segregation and was highly influential in the minds of San Franciscans. Like the Great White Fleet, this ad serves to boost pro-American morale, but on a darker note, it also propels anti-Japanese sentiment that was already raging in San Francisco.
Question: How do you think Americans would react to a paper like the Overland Monthly today?
1 comment:
H...bravo! This is a sharp and nuanced reading of the ad; your analysis really highlights the bizarreness of the messages being communicated! The blending of issues related to military/war, nation, race, and gender is astounding - really, how many groups can we address/stereotype in a single ad?? They all combine to form a single story - a highly crafted one, which seemed highly logical at the time - and the ad depends a lot on understanding groups in very particular ways. All of which you describe nicely. It's really interesting to try and think about how such arbitrary/strange forms of logic gain status as "normal", even though they're long stretches (yes, "how could soap 'protect' women"??)...how does this happen?
Some others from our section community have pointed out some other strange connections - the fact that the soap is British, for instance, even though the U.S. has at other times, tried to separate itself from the British. I'm always struck by the contrasts between white and black, and between blank space and detail...the naval ships are wedged between the white clouds and the woman's white dress . What's that all about? Fantastic reading.
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