ipl-logo

World War II: American Propaganda Cartoons

717 Words3 Pages

During World War II, American studios who wanted to do their part in the war effort started to make cartoons that directly addressed the war efforts. Other studios were taken over by the US government, including Warner Bros. and Disney, to specifically make cartoons so they can get support for the war, and some were produced specifically to be shown to soldiers overseas. Of the cartoons produced some were educational propaganda cartoons depicting a serious tone, they showed how the enemy operated and how life would be if the enemy took over the US. While others were typical cartoons, similar to cartoons you see today, and they were used in a humorous effect to get a laugh out of the audience. Although instead of the typical antagonists like …show more content…

Throughout the cartoon Bugs Bunny uses harebrained schemes to deal with the Japanese soldiers and ends up killing multiple soldiers. You’re a Sap, Mr. Jap is a Popeye cartoon that shows Popeye enlisted in the US Navy sailing on a warship, when he suddenly encounters Japanese soldiers sailing on a rickety boat ship. This is just a ruse, as the Japanese rickety boat is actually a huge warship and they try to take out Popeye. The rest of the cartoon is a typical Popeye cartoon, with Popeye eating his spinach to power up and take over the Japanese ship. It ends with an attempt by the captain to drink gasoline and fireworks to commit suicide by blowing up the ship. It doesn’t work at first and Popeye is able to escape before the ships blows up. Commando Duck deals with Donald Duck being deployed in an undisclosed area called F8, and is assigned to confront the Japanese soldiers and wipe them out. While flowing down the river, Japanese soldiers spot Donald and start shooting at him. Donald’s raft gets stuck on a rock while going down a waterfall, and the raft fills up with water to a ridiculous degree. Donald tries to run to a safe distance so he can pop the raft. When Donald pierces the raft with a large sharp piece of wood, the water floods the whole area and Donald takes out the whole Japanese army. The cartoon ends with Donald Duck writing a note, “Contacted Enemy, wiped washed out same. Donald

Show More
Related
907 Words | 4 Pages

They party and play around while together but when the time comes they’re always ready to do what needs to be done. At the end of 1942, his team is sent to complete a bombing run over Japan. The trip wasn’t easy as the plane barely makes it back.

Read More
558 Words | 3 Pages

Jeff coffin is an internationally recognized saxophonist, bandleader, composer and educator. He is a three time Grammy Award winner with Bela Fleck and the Fleckstones. He was born in August 5,1965. Futureman is an inventor, scientist, musician and a composer. He is a two time Grammy Award winning performer with Bela Fleck and the Fleckstones.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Source A is a propaganda and was created by Norma Lindsay for the Commonwealth Government of Australia in 1918. It was sourced by W.E Smith LTD. Sydney. This poster Depicts a group of armed German soldiers threatening a young man pinned against a water tank. The other victims in this scene include an elderly man in the foreground, who has been shot, an elderly woman on her knees pleading with their captors, and a young woman in a state of half-undress who is being restrained by two German soldiers in the background.

Read More
513 Words | 3 Pages

The raft became a source of conflict. After being shot at by a passing plane, the raft began to capsize. Thinking quickly, Zamperini patched the holes in the aft and pumped it back up with air. Unfortunately, Zamperini’s luck only became worse.

Read More
374 Words | 2 Pages

The late 19th century, also known as the Gilded Age, was notorious for the immense amount of corruption within the American government, which led to the publishment of many political cartoons that portrayed this corruption. Some believe that these cartoons had little to no impact on exposing the corruption; however, due to the their coherence, political cartoons played a huge role in exposing the problems with government officials and with capitalism. Therefore, the publishment of political cartoons made a huge impact on how Americans became conscious of this corruption. During this era, political cartoonists, such as Thomas Nast, depicted political figures, such as Boss Tweed, as imperialistic.

Read More
438 Words | 2 Pages

They sit in their canoe, hungry and tired. Then one night, they see a cabin as they are going by in the water. They sneak in through the window and go to sleep, since it is too dark to see anything. When they get up, they explore a dead body. Jim says, "It 's a dead man.

Read More
127 Words | 1 Pages

In my opinion President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the most positively perceived and supported by the American people in political cartoons of the day. His popularity was due to the fact that he was a decorated general during World War II and people respected his leadership. He "endeared himself to the American people with his plain talk, charming smile, and sense of confidence"(Pach, 2016) that popularity is reflected in the political cartoons. Most of the cartoons I studied were more or less a gentle poke at the presidency. Many of them portrayed him golfing such as the one with Sputnik flying overhead, or the one of him putting in the oval office.

Read More
1752 Words | 8 Pages

An independent government agency known as The Committee on Public Information was formed as a way to influence the public’s opinion which they did by using propaganda. There are many different forms of propaganda and many of them were used in WWI which author Joseph Joe Kaminski further discusses in “World War I and Propaganda Poster Art: Comparing The United States and German Class”. The answer to getting the public’s attention was by using different tactics to intrigue citizens; “The use of propaganda art was essential in galvanizing opinions and reshaping ideas during WWI” (Kaminksi, 2).

Read More
1294 Words | 6 Pages

Both of these sources include the usage of both words and pictures. Political cartoons are certainly just one of many examples that oppose the idea of traditional thinking. The purpose of these cartoons is to send a message to the reader concerning an event that might have just occurred on the news. They also follow similar procedures as photographic essays and comic books. Everyone reads these cartoons.

Read More
752 Words | 4 Pages

Similarly, propaganda came in many forms, as the TV was starting to make itself known in the 1930s. These numerous forms include political cartoons, posters, novels, comic books, movies, and cartoons. Furthermore, propaganda could be very specific

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Showing real images that featured the outcomes of war would have caused Americans to become disheartened thus decreasing American morale. To insure victory, the government enforced the use of censorship throughout the nation. In one propaganda poster, the caption reads “Let’s Censor Our Conversation About the War” (“Censored”). The propaganda poster revealed the extent of which the government kept a eye and ear to all American citizens as an attempt to preserve American loyalty. The government was able to use its political power to its full extent by withholding valuable pieces of information, which revealed the extent of its influence.

Read More
562 Words | 3 Pages

Propaganda posters first appeared during WW1 (1914-18) when governments decided it was important to show their engagement with the public, it was also a method of enlisting men and selling war bonds in order to finance the military campaign. It was a time of war and this meant that advertising was used to attract war workers, volunteers and soldiers. One of the most notable posters was in 1914, which was an image of the Minister of War in the England with a steely gaze pointing his finger in an attempt to urge young men to enlist in the army. Every other country in the war then seemed to follow suite and use the exact same propaganda approach. In Germany a Reich soldier, pointing his finger patriotically or an Italian soldier doing the same.

Read More
1788 Words | 8 Pages

The political cartoon Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler was a lithograph published by Harper’s Weekly, a periodical that published columns, cartoons, and stories relating to current events (McCollister). John L. Magee, an artist and lithographer that created many satirical political illustrations created the cartoon in 1856 during a time when political tensions between the proslavery and antislavery movement was reaching its peak, a presidential election that could define the future of the expansion of slavery was at the political front, and the diving views between two halves of the country were setting the precedent for a civil war. The cartoon lays is an attack on the Democratic party as it depicts a bearded “freesoiler” being

Read More
278 Words | 2 Pages

With the help of propaganda posters, artists were able to motivate Americans, young and old, to contribute to the role of the United States in the war. Posters often contained children smiling and holding a war bond, with certain words like, “Buy a War Bond today”, or, “Support our troops by buying a War Bond”. However, they didn’t have to involve children. One famous example is “Uncle Sam”, used a propaganda poster to help persuade people to sign up for the draft, was originally published as the cover for the July 6, 1916, issue of Leslie's Weekly this portrait of "Uncle Sam" went on to become--according to its creator, James Montgomery Flagg--"the most famous poster in the world."

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

An example of ally propaganda is "Daffy-the Commando", which can be seen in the appendix as image reference three, a Looney Tunes character that was turned into a soldier. Daffy was a funny character that was never taken seriously by any of the other characters in Looney Tunes, and by taking a character such as Daffy invading Nazi territory with ease and mess around with a Nazi officer and soldiers. Following that, Daffy went flying out of a cannon and interrupted Hitler during a speech by hitting Hitler on the head with a wooden hammer. Once Hitler was hit by the hammer, Hitler started to cry like a baby, making a strong figure for the Nazis look so weak by getting hit and beginning to cry. The episode was released in 1943, so potentially the allies would view the cartoon as a morale booster or other significance seeing the enemy as

Read More

More about World War II: American Propaganda Cartoons

Related Topics

Open Document