Post 11–A Slip of the Tongue
We had a discussion, in class about how cartoons were used for propaganda. Most of the cartoons were asking the people, who were not fighting to support the army and the war by purchasing certain items. In the United States, cartoons were used to promote: War Bonds, giving up rubber and stockings would help the boys win the war, and come home sooner. The major use of animation was used to prevent army officials from “slipping” the tongue to enemy spies.
As we watched in class, specific animated films, like Private SNAFU-Spies. As we watched this episode we saw how every enemy spy was going after Private SNAFU. The one person who Private SNAFU, spilled secrets to was a WOMAN spy. Maybe, this implies that a woman in a provacative outfit can’t be trusted, I don’t know. Or, it simple means that EVERYONE can be a spy–this includes women and babies.
The main reason for this film, was to tell soldier to be aware of EVERYONE they come in contact and that “Loose Lips Sinks Ships”
Recently, I found a Ducktales cartoon, that covers this particular subject. The episode is called Spies in Their Eyes. In this episode, Donald Duck is a sailor and is working in the navy. The navy is creating a secret submarine with the help of Uncle Scrooge. Donald is the target of the enemy spy. As you will see, when you watch the episode, the spy who hypnotized Donald is a woman–with an accent. This episode has a happy ending (which is a common trait for Disney) and Donald is redeemed, and the spies are caught.
Why is animation, so effective, when it comes to propaganda?
I commented on David Dinnison’s Blog and Chuck Soo-Hoo’s Blog
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I think that the warning of woman spies was to demonstrate that everyone could potentially be dangerous, and not just someone who was blatantly foreign or treasonous. I remember seeing a World War II era poster that said something to the effect of “she may be pretty, but she could be a spy”. Of course, the country’s enemies know that a spy with a German accent would attract attention during World War II, so it would be much more advantageous to recruit someone more conspicuous like an attractive woman. The basic message behind these cartoons is to keep secrets and give information only on a ‘need to know’ basis.
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Post #11 – Limited Animation « David Dinnison's Blog said this on April 11, 2010 at 6:18 pm |