Yup, when I think of the word 'future', there's nothing that embodies that concept quite like working in an oil field.
It's playing into the MAGA thing by harkening back to the Glorious Past and saying let's return to that state of glory. Which the microscope one is maybe '70s? Early '80s? But the others look maybe '40s - early '60s I'd say.
Umberto Eco's 14 Characteristics of Fascism
- The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
- The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
- The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
- Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
- Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
- Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
- The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
- The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
- Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
- Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
- Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
- Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
- Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
- Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”
It's not exactly in here but I remember hearing a characteristic of this kind of ideology/imagery is a cult of physical strength and fitness.
Definition of 'Fascism'
A system of government that flourished in Europe from the 1920s to the end of World War II. Germany under Adolf Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, and Spain under Franco were all fascist states. As a rule, fascist governments are dominated by a dictator, who usually possesses a magnetic personality, wears a showy uniform, and rallies his followers by mass parades; appeals to strident nationalism; and promotes suspicion or hatred of both foreigners and “impure” people within his own nation, such as the Jews (see also Jews) in Germany. Although both communism and fascism are forms of totalitarianism, fascism does not demand state ownership of the means of production, nor is fascism committed to the achievement of economic equality. In theory, communism opposes the identification of government with a single charismatic leader (the “cult of personality”), which is the cornerstone of fascism. Whereas communists are considered left-wing, fascists are usually described as right-wing.
My Comments
As usual I have limited free time and energy and am not an expert on mid-20th century art. But I think this is called Socialist Realism. Showing everyday people in semi-heroic roles, propelling society towards Sunlit Uplands, with an implicit Party Narrator. As I said
Young
Attractive
Fit
White
Clean-cut
The microscope one is a bit of an exception but the other AI models are engaged in primary and secondary production and project masculine physicality, but not in the vulgar/lumpen context it tends to be portrayed today, but a respectable and decorous one.
The centre of gravity culturally in these images has shifted from somewhere in the middle class to the upper-working class. Again '80s science guy spreads the cone a little wider, there's room for some more spiffy intellectual types.
An interesting development, I wonder if the US Government will persist with this kind of imagery. I definitely prefer it to this kind of thing