My group had the U.S. Homefront during World War II. I found it interesting that Disney and Warner Brothers created cartoons that helped out a lot during the war. These cartoons were one of many sources of propaganda. These cartoons were very entertaining, but also hit on the important things that people needed to do during this hard time such as growing victory gardens. Warner Brothers created several cartoons that made fun of some of the Axis Power’s leaders. Hitler was particularly the aim of the cartoons mockery. Private Snafu was a cartoon about training for the war. It showed how important it was to use the training that they received on the battlefield. The Yankee Doodle Mouse used the characters of Tom and Jerry. Jerry was a member of the Allies and Tom was a member of the Axis Powers.
Disney created cartoons that lifted spirits but also showed how important the people in the United States were to the war effort. The beginning of all of the Disney cartoons would show one of the main characters, such as Mickey Mouse, wearing a Navy or Army hat. Disney also made a documentary that was called Education for Death that showed all the bad things that Adolf Hitler was doing. Der Fuehrer's Face was another thing that showed what Hitler was doing. It showed Daffy endure the terrible things that were happening in Germany. Disney also made another story of The Three Little Pigs. The house built out of bricks was made of war bonds and the Wolf had a Swastika on its fur. Warner Brothers and Disney also had certain characters be mascots for certain squadrons.
I learned that even cartoons were being active with U.S. propaganda. I thought it was weird that even though the cartoons had such a serious message that they could still be funny and humorous. It was a good idea to use characters that the audience would already know. I think that the Three Little Pigs film was very good. All in all I think that this form of propaganda really showed people in a simple way the terrible things that were happening in Germany and the rest of the world.
Sources_
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_home_front_during_World_War_II#Propaganda_and_culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney's_World_War_II_propaganda_production
Comments
Well done!