Viual Analysis - re-edit

"Do not forget the US imperialist wolves"

This is an image I found by googling  'propaganda'.  I found this along with several other drawings at http://calitreview.com/875, but the original source is North Korea.   I see two audiences for this image: the original North Korean audience, and the subsequent American audience that views it on the calitreview website (this image is also part of a book of North Korean Propaganda art that can be found here).  The context for both parties is the aftermath of the Korean war, (a proxy war of cold war ideology with the North aligning with the Soviets and the South with the US and UN) and each side has a different memory of the war. The North Koreans likely remember the thousands dead at the hands of the foreign Americans and their South Korean allies.  While for Americans who are viewing it now, the context is a war that has been labeled "The Forgotten War"(according to Wikipedia), and a war against a country that is lead by a man (Kim Jong Il) with dubious credibility.

This image evokes several universal emotions. Horror that anyone could taunt a mother with a dangling baby. Disgust at the soldier's satisfied grin, and at the thought of him actually dropping the infant. And pity for the woman who despite all her effort, is powerless to save her child.  This image asks the Korean audience to feel all the emotions just listed and to channel them into anger, and vengeance at the baby-murdering American soldiers who would commit such a heinous act. 

Most likely an American audience would doubt the validity of the image because, it would be unsettling to imagine an US soldier doing that unsettling deed, and the manipulative reputation of  the N. Korean government has earned.  The American most likely feels the same emotions as above, but for different reasons.They feel horror at the way Americans are portrayed. disgust for the people who would spread such lies. and pity for the people of the North who were helplessly brainwashed with this propaganda.   It's hard to imagine a situation where a soldier would dangle a baby over a well.   Additionally, Americans are disinclined to think their soldiers would do this. 
 
The quote at the bottom says exactly the message the N. Koreans are trying to get at: "Do not forget the US imperialist wolves."  It portrays the Americans as heartless baby murderers, and asks 3 things of the Korean people.

First, since the Americans are committing an act so evil, that 'someone needs to do something.'  It might as well say 'If only we had a hero.'  It calls the young to protect the defenseless mothers and children of Korea, and therefore encourages joining or supporting the military.

Second, The poster would hope to inspire a deep hatred and fear of all things American and to possibly justify future retaliation against the US. 

Third, the expressionless face of the soldier holding the mother back, combined with gleeful face of the soldier dangling the baby asks the N. Koreans to see the Americans and their way of life as evil. This could have the secondary effect of demonizing their S. Korean neighbors.

While they are not expressly shown in this image, the American militarily relationship with the S. Koreans has existed from the Korean war, to this day. For the North Koreans the threat is so serious they have recently threatened "nuclear war" against both parties, because of a joint military exercise (see this story).   The lure of a wealthier 'Americanized' life to the south seems to be a constant fear of the Orwellian N. Korean leadership. The demonetization of American soldiers reinforces the idea of the threatening 'other' which is so vital to the North Korean government's ability to control their people

For me, as an American, It adds further proof to the news that have long been perpetrated by the dictatorship. I am sad for the people who are force fed these lies. The unintended US population who sees this would  be sobered by knowledge of the oppressive North Korean state, and most likely dismiss it as propaganda.  Old Men who served in the Korean war, would hate the way they are presented, but the senselessness of the image would undermine any incredulity. For most though, the over the top portrayal undermines whatever credibility Americans would find in such a poster.

But for N. Koreans, whether or not this event did occur, it still resonates because of the memories of other American acts of war.  Those most likely affected are young men who would passionately desire to defend the women and children, and possibly wish to contribute and join the army.  It would inspire elderly men and women who lived through the Korean/American war to tell stories of the war.  The N. Korean government could only hope that the impassioned stories of the veterans would further inspire the youth to action.