Constructing Representations of Germs in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

The development of germ theories of disease was reliant on the exchange of representations and descriptions of microorganisms. Visual properties were critical in establishing a shared understanding of agents of disease and their causal role. However, historians have yet to explore in detail the representation of microorganisms aimed at audiences beyond specialists. The public visual culture of germs offers a new window through which to understand health campaigns, their motivations, and intended audiences. We argue that still and moving images of germs made visible social anxieties surrounding health, race, class, and national security in ways not yet recognised.

Children’s conceptions of coronavirus

“…Visual images about the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus 1 have been powerful objectification means in public communication and meaning-creation during the pandemic, as has been the case in previous crises or threatening circumstances (Alcibar, 2018; Höijer, 2010; Stark and Stones, 2019). Such images are especially useful in representing invisible entities.…”

Fostering nursing innovation to prevent and control antimicrobial resistance using approaches from the arts and humanities

“…The final group of images tended to put personal feelings such as fear and frustration at the forefront, often expressed through metaphor: As a professional working in that field I do feel that often I’m bashing my head off a brick wall trying to get the message across, and experience quite a lot of frustration, hence the brick wall (IPC consultant nurse, hospital group). A staff nurse’s depiction of a disappointed antibiotic superhero facing victorious germ protagonists can be seen as part of visual genre with extensive historical roots ( Stark and Stones, 2019 ) and it is notable that affect or ‘embodied emotional response’ is often used within visual mass media interventions to promote increased AMS amongst the public ( Langdridge et al., 2018 ).…”

“…https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/antimicrobial-resistance-amr-systems-map A staff nurse's depiction of a disappointed antibiotic superhero facing victorious germ protagonists can be seen as part of visual genre with extensive historical roots (Stark and Stones 2019) and it is notable that affect or "embodied emotional response" is often used within visual mass media interventions to increase antimicrobial stewardship amongst the public (Langdridge et al 2018).…”

The visual representation of germs: a typology of popular germ depictions

“…In the UK, most notably during the Second World War, germ representations in public circulation embodied the notion of the military enemy. For example, germs were represented as German troops in Philip Mendoza's (c. 1940) 'Germs love a open wound' poster (see Stark & Stones (2019) for detailed elaboration). A series of posters dating from 1939 to 1945 represented the germ as an easily identifiable military enemy, drawing on earlier expressions of conflict between the body and germs.…”

“…However, a systematic examination of the full variety of germ tropes evident in popular culture has not yet been undertaken. Our previous work (Stark & Stones, 2019) examined germ representations broadly in terms of the historical landscape of early to mid-twentieth century British popular culture. Moving beyond the methodology of case studies to a visual typology, in the research presented here, allows us to effectively identify persistent design practices and to conduct nuanced analysis of the identified tropes.…”