Patriotism and Anger Essay Example

German, which reinforces the mocking tone aimed at Germans.

The Mirror has emphasized the importance of World War II in relation to the football championship. It wants the English side to consider the championship as significant as the wars that have been waged globally, including between Germany and England. Hence, the connection to World War II appears to be of greater significance than the game itself. The text contains several allusions and puns. One of note is "who do you think you're kidding Mr. Hitman".

The German football team manager was mocked with the phrase 'do you really think we believe you' in reference to Klinsmann's injury. This not only deceived him but also applied intertexuality, as the statement reminded readers of other texts. Personally, I subconsciously connected this to war as it resembled the war comedy 'Dads Army's' opening theme. Additionally, 'Gazza' and Stuart Pearce were featured on the front page in a play on words 'Pearce in our time'. This echoed Neville Chamberlain's pre-war speech leading Britain into war.

In a different context but with a similar purpose as Chamberlain's speech, the play on words in the text emphasizes Pearce leading England into battle with Germany. The repetition of "Hans up" on page four creates an image of Germany surrendering and becoming prisoners to the English side. This further highlights connections to a war situation.

Semantic Field Of War And Visual Images: The majority of articles in the paper are connected to the Second World War. The Mirror's intention is twofold; firstly, to rekindle the patriotic sentiments that were prevalent at the time of the war, and secondly, to instill a similar fervor for victory

in present-day England. The front page resembles a war poster, complete with a pair of scissors and a dotted line framing the poster, indicating that readers should cut it out and display it in a prominent location for maximum visibility.

The poster features Stuart Pearce and Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne, two famous England football players, dressed as soldiers with standard World War II helmets. Their aggressive poses could be intimidating to the opposing side. This imagery is used to connect with the play on words 'Pearce in our time' and to conjure up feelings of patriotism. The Germans are portrayed as violent and bloodthirsty through language such as 'Trigger-happy guards', 'savage', and 'rapid fire'. The use of quotations creates the impression of a gun and reinforces the Nazi image of Germans being willing to murder innocent people. Additionally, the language used in page two adds to the sense of realism, with references to 'calling London' and 'Agent'.

'My spies tell me', 'connected with spying' and 'constructed images of bravery and courage' were all evoked in my mind when reading the paper, due to their association with espionage.

The Mirror's reporter is portrayed as being in a more perilous situation than it really is. The Visual images of the secret agent on page three are powerful as they reference the Cold War, which began after World War II when Germany was divided into three zones controlled by Russia, America, and Britain. The Berlin Wall was constructed to separate East and West Germany, dividing the wealthy West from the impoverished East.

Checkpoint Charlie was necessary to cross between the two sides, as shown by the "secret agent" in the first

image. The Mirror uses these pictures to reaffirm that Germany lacks control over its people while England remains in control. In the second image, Secret Agent Dunn is seen beside an ordinary (German) vehicle which appears to be fit for the road.

The aim of this image series is to suggest that the featured cars represent the best that Germany has to offer. The implication is that if the cars are of such high quality, the country must be equally prosperous. However, this message is somewhat undermined by the presence of a sleek sports car parked behind Agent Dunn. The third image seems designed to provoke German anger and make Agent Dunn appear all the braver. Finally, in the fourth image, Agent Dunn nonchalantly walks past two seemingly unthreatening German police officers, further emphasizing their supposed inferiority to him.

The officers in the picture appear to be chatting happily without noticing a highly suspicious character walking past them. The ominous tone brought out by the setting of this picture is linked to 'A close call...' which portrays Agent Dunn as braver. The fifth illustration mainly gives instructions to both Germans and English.

The message is clear: Germans should surrender. The English are informed where to hang their posters. Overall, the various images depicted in The Daily Mirror suggest a shift of power from Germany to England over the course of 57 years. The newspaper has utilized various stereotypes to depict Germany throughout this time period.

Despite being viewed negatively, Germany has been labeled as criminals. The Mirror's article "Jurgen throws in the towel" reinforces this stereotype. The article discusses Klinsmann Jurgen's calf injury, which means he will

not be able to play against England in the championship semi-finals.

The mirror has distorted the perception of the England and Germany teams by using the quote '... surrenders yesterday at the prospect of facing the mighty English heroes', portraying the Germans as weak and the English as invincible.

The article has effectively implicated that Germany has been insulted once again through constant stereotypes. The dramatic effect of the headline, which uses ellipsis, reinforces this.

The quote "mirror captures their sun loungers" has two meanings. Firstly, the Mirror could have done it to bother the Germans. Secondly, it could be an attempt to depict Germans as lazy and capable of living without their precious sun loungers. Therefore, this becomes a strategic and intelligent move for England. The Mirror taunted the Germans by using adjectives like "funny sausages" instead of "it's not just their sausages." This might indicate that the sausages have illegal substances in them, making them "funny" and reinforcing the image of Germans as criminals. Adjectives have a significant influence on sentence meaning; if they simply described the Germans as "sour krauts," it would be negative.

Despite being described as the sourest of sour krauts, making them seem like the worst of the worst, The Mirror's write-up of Euro '96 effectively reminded the English of the hatred concocted by Nazi Germany and the fact that revenge had not yet been taken. This was the editorial's purpose. However, The Mirror also displayed a problematic mix of patriotism and racism by mimicking the speech of Germans in their coverage of Euro '96.

According to this report, stereotypes were used to portray certain parts of Germany

as 'Tatty'. However, it should be noted that not all of Germany fits this description, just as there are similar areas of England. The intention behind this report on Euro '96 was to recreate the animosity of World War II and drum up support for the English team in what was dubbed as a 'soccer war'.

Overall, the newspaper produced by The Mirror effectively covers news but with the use of different techniques that would've respected the German nation more. There is a semantic field of war and visual images dominating most articles, particularly related to World War II. The Mirror's intention was to revive feelings of patriotism and stir up the English's hunger for victory, similar to how they felt during World War II. The front page resembles a war poster, complete with a dotted line framing and a small pair of scissors, prompting readers to cut it out and display it in a prominent place.

In the poster, soldiers appearing to head into war are actually famous English football players (Stuart Pearce and Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne). They wear standard World War II helmets and have screaming expressions on their faces, which could be intimidating to the enemy. This image is chosen for two reasons: firstly, it connects with the play on words 'Pearce In Our Time,' which contradicts the image itself; secondly, it is one of many images that evoke feelings of patriotism.