ABSTRACT
In 1943, illustrator Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms series appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. Its warm, intimate scenes of American life concretely represented the abstract reasons President Roosevelt offered for the country’s involvement in the war. The United States, the president told the American public, was fighting to preserve at home and extend abroad the liberties Americans held most dear: freedom from fear, freedom of worship, freedom of speech, and freedom from want. The public immediately embraced the series of paintings, to such an extent that it seemed as if the paintings had inspired the themes they were intended to illustrate. 1 These paintings, reproduced by the millions, conveyed what was at stake for American families in this global battle against fascism. Freedom from Want, for example, gathers up images of domesticity and material plenty. An older man, presumably the patriarch of this extended, Euro-American family, sits at the head of the table, dressed in his Sunday best, and gazes down in obvious pleasure at the oversized, succulent turkey his aproned wife has placed in front of him. Other family members, seated on both sides of the table, eagerly await the feast. They smile broadly at each other; one even looks toward the viewer as if to invite her or him to join the festivities. The table is replete with all the trimmings. The room is warm and comfortably furnished. Yet Freedom from Want was controversial as well as popular. Some, particularly U.S. allies, found the lavishly dressed turkey an inappropriate symbol during a global war which left so many hungry and undernourished. 2 Most Americans, however, identified with the scene because of its familiarity and idealism. Freedom from Want seemed to embody the best of what the United States stood for—stable and extended families, abundant material wealth, familiar rituals, non-denominational and patriotic celebration.
