--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is important to record that the ‘Keep…" description: "\"“It is important to record that the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster was never mass-produced until 2008. It is a historical object of a very peculiar so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/owen-hatherley-56237_battle-of-britain_it-is-important-to-record-that-the-keep_2398165.jpg" --- # It is important to record that the ‘Keep Calm and Carry… ![“It is important to record that the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster was never mass-produced until 2008. It is a historical object of a very peculiar sort. By 2009, when it had first become hugely popular, it seemed to respond to a particularly English malaise, one connected directly with the way…” quote by Owen Hatherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/owen-hatherley-56237_battle-of-britain_it-is-important-to-record-that-the-keep_2398165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/owen-hatherley-56237_battle-of-britain_it-is-important-to-record-that-the-keep_2398165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d9/owen-hatherley-56237_battle-of-britain_it-is-important-to-record-that-the-keep_2398165.jpg) > ““It is important to record that the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster was never mass-produced until 2008. It is a historical object of a very peculiar sort. By 2009, when it had first become hugely popular, it seemed to respond to a particularly English malaise, one connected directly with the way Britain reacted to the credit crunch and the banking crash. From this moment of crisis, it tapped into an already established narrative about Britain’s ‘finest hour’ – the aerial Battle of Britain in 1940–41 – when it was the only country left fighting the Third Reich. This was a moment of entirely indisputable – and apparently uncomplicated – national heroism, one which Britain has clung to through thick and thin. Even during the height of the boom, as the critical theorist Paul Gilroy spotted in his 2004 book After Empire, the Blitz and the Victory were frequently invoked, made necessary by ‘the need to get back to the place or moment before the country lost its moral and cultural bearings’. ‘1940’ and ‘1945’ were ‘obsessive repetitions’, ‘anxious and melancholic’, morbid fetishes, clung to as a means of not thinking about other aspects of recent British history – most obviously, its Empire. This has only intensified since the financial crisis began. The ‘Blitz spirit’ has been exploited by politicians largely since 1979. When Thatcherites and Blairites spoke of ‘hard choices’ and ‘muddling through’, they often evoked the memories of 1941. It served to legitimate regimes which constantly argued that, despite appearances to the contrary, resources were scarce and there wasn’t enough money to go around; the most persuasive way of explaining why someone (else) was inevitably going to suffer. Ironically, however, this rhetoric of sacrifice was often combined with a demand that the consumers enrich themselves – buy their house, get a new car, make something of themselves, ‘aspire’.”” [Owen Hatherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-hatherley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He traces the poster’s modern popularity, linking it to British nostalgia and political rhetoric post‑crisis. **In simple terms:** The poster became a symbol of British resilience used for political ends. Key Takeaway Recognize how symbols are repurposed for power. Themes nostalgia politics media national identity crisis response Mood reflective critical analytical Type historical political cultural When to use this quote - political speeches - advertising campaigns - public morale initiatives Key Concepts cultural memory propaganda social psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do symbols shape collective memory? - When does nostalgia become manipulation? A Different Perspective Symbolic usage can oversimplify complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battle of britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle-of-britain/) [Financial crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial-crisis/) [New car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-car/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [During the Battle of Britain the question "fighter or fighter-bomber?" had been decided once and for all: The fighter can only be used as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-galland/during-the-battle-of-britain-the-question-fighter-or-fighter-bomber/) [Adolf Galland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-galland/) > [Dover's cliffs call to mind the Roman invasion; the Battle of Britain; our proximity to, yet difference from, mainland Europe; and international trade and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/dover-s-cliffs-call-to-mind-the-roman-invasion-the-battle-of-britain/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. 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Upon this battle depends the future of Christian civilisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-battle-of-france-is-over-the-battle-of-britain-is-about-to-begin-2/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the future of Christian civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-battle-of-france-is-over-the-battle-of-britain-is-about-to-begin/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The British Union of Fascists, Oswald Mosley's group, the black shirts, they were banned in Britain in 1940. And Max Mosley's dad, Sir Oswald…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-british-union-of-fascists-oswald-mosley-s-group-the-black-shirts/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. 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Apple > [A short, glorious life in service of a greater good - say, the life of the Spartans at Thermopylae, or the pilots in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/a-short-glorious-life-in-service-of-a-greater-good-say-the-life-of/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [What is our policy? ... to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/what-is-our-policy-to-wage-war-against-a-monstrous-tyranny-never/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [And there were sort of three toys for boys and three toys for girls. 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Apple > [A short, glorious life in service of a greater good - say, the life of the Spartans at Thermopylae, or the pilots in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/a-short-glorious-life-in-service-of-a-greater-good-say-the-life-of/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [Dover's cliffs call to mind the Roman invasion; the Battle of Britain; our proximity to, yet difference from, mainland Europe; and international trade and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/dover-s-cliffs-call-to-mind-the-roman-invasion-the-battle-of-britain/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [What is our policy? ... to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/what-is-our-policy-to-wage-war-against-a-monstrous-tyranny-never/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [During the Battle of Britain the question "fighter or fighter-bomber?" had been decided once and for all: The fighter can only be used as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-galland/during-the-battle-of-britain-the-question-fighter-or-fighter-bomber/) [Adolf Galland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-galland/) [Browse all 13 Battle of britain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle-of-britain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is important to record that the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster was never mass-produced until 2008. 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