| u0003_0004200_0000007 |
| Title | Sugar Means Ships |
| Creator | Earnest Fuhr |
| Date | 1917 |
| Format | 15.5 x 19 in |
| Description | Earnest Fuhr’s “Sugar Mean Ships” uses the visual metaphor of sucking supply ships through a straw to argue for reductions in domestic sugar consumption. The small supply ships carrying vital “arms,” “supplies,” and “soldiers” become trapped in the vortex created by the opulently dressed city-dweller. A soldier in the distance desperately calls for assistance as he moves toward the billowing smoke of “WAR,” and yet the large, young woman sits comfortably, staring into her drink with indifference. The visual metaphor is further supported by the statistic, “For your beverages 400 million lbs. of sugar were imported in Ships last year.” The woman’s apathetic attitude, as well as the inclusion of the word “your,” aims at persuading audiences to feel anger toward citizens unwilling to sacrifice luxury pleasures for the war effort, and especially shame for those selfish viewers participating in such indulgence. The United States Food Administration authored multiple campaigns to change American eating habits, and Fuhr’s poster exemplifies one strategy of getting Americans to rethink their behaviors by villainizing those continuing to consume sugar. |
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