Come Join the Army!

While I was contemplating writing something on the military expenditure vs social spending, I realized it requires some research and during this I got interested in the different army recruitment posters across the world. I looked at  the limited set I had access through Google, it seemed quite interesting.
Starting with the one during the world war II, this one compares Germany with a brute and the world (or democracy) with a damsel in distress and asks the citizens to enlist to save her. Quite a sexist poster I would say. One can get references of the "mother" land and the idea that a nation is to be protected by its militant sons. The same idea is seen in a lot of patriotic songs on India where the nation is compared to the mother who is supposed to be protected by its sons. The point to be noted is that both the narratives of nationalism and patriarchy go hand in hand. It is inevitably the "sons" of the soil who are to protect the "helpless" mother.
Follow the same narrative, this poster represent the U.S.A as a woman and the flag as her robe. It states "It's up to you. Protect the nation's honor". The representation indicates that it is the responsibility of the man to protect the honor (protect her from being disrobed) of the lady who represents the U.S.A. Again the patriarchy is clearly evident. This is a poster for the recruitment of women's army but still keeps her as a stereotypical image of beauty. 
One of the more recent posters which reaches the epitome of misogyny. It has picture of lady in military clothes and says "Now don't you want to join?" There could be two interpretations of it; one which says even a woman has joined now why are you still behind or that now you have more "incentives" to join the army. 
Here is one calling out everyone to do his bit for the country. A board on the side says why are you not in khaki? You'll be wanted. Enlist at once. The backdrop is that of pictures of different army personnel. A kind of representation of greatness. One noticeable bit across all posters is the representation of a military man as a perfect model of a male, as the righteous one standing up for the duty and a sensible man who is sensitive towards the friends. The following poster also represents army as a symbol of a perfect man. A patriarchal  definition of a dream man-tall, dark, handsome and most importantly chivalrous i.e., one who "takes care" of the woman and the family. A protector. If a simile is drawn between a family and the country, an army man is what a protector of the family is. 
Army always has been defined as an epitome of strength. A salute and a dispassionate expression has been a trade mark of an army personnel. Army men/ women are said to be tough, so tough that they cannot be vulnerable to any emotions. A salute is a representation of the dedication to the job. Also if we contrast the poster above, which is also a part of the same campaign. An army man is also a good family man but if a woman has to be in the army she has to raise above her family and prove that she is not "vulnerable"Apart from the virulent and manly ways of recruiting there were also some interesting ways in which it recruited. Here army is presented as an opportunity to see the world. Another interesting observation is that it is the middle eastern countries that are shown in the backdrop. The following poster is a call to invest in the war bonds. It shows a Nazi symbol cast in the shadow and asks the citizens to invest in the war bonds to protect their children from the Nazis. The emotional appeal is created through the kid holding an american flag. Here are a few posters of the Indian Army RecruitmentThis one promises honor, prestige, education at no cost, earnings. It is interesting to observe that the appeal is more at a practical level than emotional level. 
To end with, this funny one. ( I'm not too sure if it is a genuine ad) 
Disclaimer: The photographs have been taken from the internet and have been used only for the purpose of critique. No rights reserved