Emac44
Staff Sergeant
I was having a bit of a surf through YouTube and I came across WW2 Black and White and Colour video Clips of Cartoons from WW2. Such cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny Elmer Fudd Daffy Duck Porky Pig Superman Mickey Mouse Donald Duck Goofy Buck Rodgers Batman etc etc. Cartoons were used as just as much as a propoganda tool as were documentary films training films and films to raise war loans and bonds.
If you cast a cynical eye over said cartoons as some have done and gauging by the response by some You Tubers they think the cartoons are Politicaly Incorrect. I have to admit those cartoons do sterotype in some degree. But most have no real knowledge at the time when these cartoons were released and what they represented. I believe most of the You Tuber who have made comments are either very young or just out of university or college etc. They do not realise that ideologically speaking there was no such thing as Political Incorrectness during a War and to place such idealism on these cartoons is not only misplaced giving the circumstances when the cartoons were released originally during WW2 but totally out of place and context. Maybe its just me but I feel some are trying to put a different light on history to tie in with their own value system. But to do so I believe one has to examine all values from WW2 before making comments about even cartoons from WW2 used as propaganda tools at the time. Why would for example Bugs Bunny would make disparging remarks about Hitler and the Nazi Party for example. Simple they were the enemy and the first rule of a propaganda war is to deminish or dehumanize the enemy. We have not changed all that much for example after 9/11 there was comedy sketches and musical pieces dehumanizing the Talibhan and Alqaeda etc. Will for example some one 60 years from now finding those musical pieces and comedy sketches say that it was politically incorrect? Possibley yes I would think so.
Some of the early Tommy and Jerry cartoons from WW2 have a negro woman as one of the characters in the cartoon. By todays standard one would think that was racist as she appears none to bright overweight and definitely a maid or house cleaner for some one. But so do some Warner Brother Cartoons have similar characters as does Disney Cartoons. But is it racism or poltically incorrectness or are some putting to much emphasis on these cartoons from a long ago past and World War some 65 to 70 years ago. But my own kids have watched those cartoons and so have I growing up as children. We didn't question whys or what fors just enjoyed the cartoon for the sake it was a cartoon and it made us laugh. And definitely I can imagine so did the generations from WW2. But also was said that the cartoons were very violent. Maybe so. but please explain to me the difference between violent Cartoons like Bugs Bunny for example to what appears to me as demonic cartoons like Digimon or Pokemon or even the dark emphasis of Batman Cartoons of today? Or the sexual context of the Bratz Girls Cartoon figurines aimed at young girls who haven't reach puberty yet? It appears we have to discourage violence but encourage demonic forces and sexuality to children below Pubety ages and thats if we do it in a cartoon fashion? I don't seem to believe serves our children well by doing that.
However. Getting back to the so called Politically Incorrectness in cartoons from WW2 I wonder if others have noticed that coming through today in such medias as You Tube for example and some trying to distort or place a political emphasis on something that occured 60 to 70 years ago? Your ideas gentlemen and ladies on this subject
If you cast a cynical eye over said cartoons as some have done and gauging by the response by some You Tubers they think the cartoons are Politicaly Incorrect. I have to admit those cartoons do sterotype in some degree. But most have no real knowledge at the time when these cartoons were released and what they represented. I believe most of the You Tuber who have made comments are either very young or just out of university or college etc. They do not realise that ideologically speaking there was no such thing as Political Incorrectness during a War and to place such idealism on these cartoons is not only misplaced giving the circumstances when the cartoons were released originally during WW2 but totally out of place and context. Maybe its just me but I feel some are trying to put a different light on history to tie in with their own value system. But to do so I believe one has to examine all values from WW2 before making comments about even cartoons from WW2 used as propaganda tools at the time. Why would for example Bugs Bunny would make disparging remarks about Hitler and the Nazi Party for example. Simple they were the enemy and the first rule of a propaganda war is to deminish or dehumanize the enemy. We have not changed all that much for example after 9/11 there was comedy sketches and musical pieces dehumanizing the Talibhan and Alqaeda etc. Will for example some one 60 years from now finding those musical pieces and comedy sketches say that it was politically incorrect? Possibley yes I would think so.
Some of the early Tommy and Jerry cartoons from WW2 have a negro woman as one of the characters in the cartoon. By todays standard one would think that was racist as she appears none to bright overweight and definitely a maid or house cleaner for some one. But so do some Warner Brother Cartoons have similar characters as does Disney Cartoons. But is it racism or poltically incorrectness or are some putting to much emphasis on these cartoons from a long ago past and World War some 65 to 70 years ago. But my own kids have watched those cartoons and so have I growing up as children. We didn't question whys or what fors just enjoyed the cartoon for the sake it was a cartoon and it made us laugh. And definitely I can imagine so did the generations from WW2. But also was said that the cartoons were very violent. Maybe so. but please explain to me the difference between violent Cartoons like Bugs Bunny for example to what appears to me as demonic cartoons like Digimon or Pokemon or even the dark emphasis of Batman Cartoons of today? Or the sexual context of the Bratz Girls Cartoon figurines aimed at young girls who haven't reach puberty yet? It appears we have to discourage violence but encourage demonic forces and sexuality to children below Pubety ages and thats if we do it in a cartoon fashion? I don't seem to believe serves our children well by doing that.
However. Getting back to the so called Politically Incorrectness in cartoons from WW2 I wonder if others have noticed that coming through today in such medias as You Tube for example and some trying to distort or place a political emphasis on something that occured 60 to 70 years ago? Your ideas gentlemen and ladies on this subject
