Around the time of World War 2, American society developed very strong images of how the typical male and female should behave and the place they should assume in the community. It was believed that men should be focused on their family, the breadwinners of the household, and in control of their emotions. If men did not fit into this mold, they were seen as weak or incompetent. Women on the other hand were believed to be less intelligent and weak. Therefore, women needed a man to thrive in society and should continuously seek after men until one decided to marry her. They were looked at as emotionally unstable at times and meant to stay at home to tend to the children and the house. However, when the men went away to fight in World War 2, women …show more content…
In fact, a majority of viewers would agree with this since they sit and watch the cartoon one time. Maybe they will see it multiple times if there are reruns, but they are not sitting and analyzing the cartoon’s obvious and underlying details. To the naked eye, Pepe le Pew is just a lonesome skunk in search of love. To a certain extent that idea is correct; however, he is rather overwhelmed by his emotions. Men at the time were meant to be very in control of their feelings; Pepe contradicts this by making it a comical point. For example, when his character first catches sight of the cat with the white stripe down her back, he goes on and on about his feelings for her. At one point he says, “It is an affair that we love each other madly” while smothering the cat in unwanted kisses. The entire time she is trying to get away and that makes the scene humorous. We laugh because we can’t help but think Pepe’s actions are ridiculous. Men were not supposed to be the ones chasing after and wooing women, and by doing so Pepe would make an incompetent husband in the eyes of America. So while people are not completely wrong that these cartoons focus on humor, we cannot overlook the underlying meaning of Pepe’s actions and