Influence Of Cartoons

David Brooker
April 7, 2012
SSC 162
Influence of Cartoons
Can you imagine a world where our childrens favorite TV shows depicted racial stereotypes on a daily basis? Cartoons have al manners been a way to influence the youths minds and sometimes even fill up them with political propaganda. During WWII this was not uncommon. Some studios began making their characters into American state of war heroes, and making the Nazis into animated villains. These heroes like Bugs Bunny or Daffy prorogue would tell the kids that basically Democracy was good, and communism was bad. Aside from scarce childrens cartoons, adults not only saw these, however besides read the many political cartoons which influenced much of how the war and the ordinary saw our enemies.
Racial tension during WWII was high in the states, thither was much stereotyping going on towards the Germans, Italians, Japanese and even African Americans. Much of these stereotypes where depicted in childrens cartoons by important characters we know today. They were portrayed as the Communists were the villains facing off against our popular heroes. thither was a huge discrimination against the Japanese at this time not only because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but because the fact they were Communist.



In one cartoon we see an American hero played by Bugs Bunny. He lands on an island and it is pacifistic and almost serene, then out of nowhere it rents bombed and out comes a Japanese soldier. This is where things get weird. The soldier starts yelling gibberish and chasing Bugs around. There was still the funny antics of the cartoons we know today just with a mix of racial targeting. The Japanese in this were shown to be stupid, crazy, and at one point Bugs even says things like, Slant eyed, or, Monkey Face. They were as well as depicted in other cartoons as spies and thats wherefore during this time in America we had Japanese Americans Contained. The American Heroes in these cartoons where a huge depiction of good and...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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