"The Sowers" Propaganda Poster

This WWII propaganda poster, starkly titled 'The Sowers,' thrusts Japanese soldiers into monstrous caricature—hulking barbarians hurling human skulls with savage glee. Smithsonian exhibit panels condemn its racism, igniting veterans' fury. Toby brandishes its details in the White House conference room, eyes locked on curators Evan Woodkirk and Mary Kline as controversy erupts, skulls' grim toss mirroring the exhibit's explosive backlash.

2 appearances

Purpose

Depict Japanese forces as barbaric enemies to rally American wartime sentiment

Significance

Ignites veterans' boycott of Smithsonian's Pearl Harbor exhibit; Toby hammers curators on its racist label, thrusting White House into crossfire between historical candor and patriotic reverence, crises mounting as Leo bursts in.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E8 · The Women of Qumar

Toby Grills Smithsonian Curators on Veterans' Pearl Harbor Boycott

Mary Kline vividly invokes 'The Sowers' propaganda poster—depicting Japanese as hulking barbarians hurling human skulls—to exemplify the exhibit's commentary on WWII posters' racism, fueling Toby's probe into veterans' ire and crystallizing the history-vs-reverence fault line at the meeting's core.

Before: Displayed in Smithsonian Pearl Harbor exhibit with contextual labels

After: Remains in exhibit; now heightened as flashpoint in White House discourse

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S3E8 · The Women of Qumar

Leo Interrupts Toby's Smithsonian Meeting with Mad Cow Crisis Alert

Toby implicitly references 'The Sowers' propaganda poster through prior dialogue echo as he presses on exhibit racism, its monstrous imagery of skull-tossing barbarians fueling the veterans' ire and serving as flashpoint in Toby's interrogation of curators.

Before: Featured in Smithsonian exhibit panels

After: Remains central to unresolved controversy

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