Hitler is depicted as a giant monster. He is caged by a much smaller "American" bird. He looks almost drugged—docile. This cartoon—made by Dr. Seuss—implores Americans to "buy more savings bonds and stamps" because "cages cost money", implying that if only more people would contribute (or if people would contribute more) then Hitler could be locked away just like this, very quickly and easily. It is not that he cannot be chained and taken away—it is that there isn't enough money to buy chains. This propaganda is different from WWI propaganda in that it is a satirical take on the news. Some propaganda posters of WWI were depicting the war as an easy victory—a non-bloody battle. Others used rhetoric such as "Are you a man or a mouse?" to aggravate citizens' pride and force them to support the war effort in order to keep it intact. Dr. Seuss uses a similar tactic in this cartoon. By implying that it only takes a little more support from the home front to win the war and put away who Americans saw as the villain of the situation forever, he is making people feel obligated to donate their money to the cause. Each person feels as if they will make all the difference. However, because Dr. Seuss—being a political cartoonist—has drawn an obviously a comical view on the situation, it is also mocking of the public being drawn in by propaganda. Dr. Seuss shows in his cartoon a warped version of what everyone was hoping—deep down—would happen. Maybe, they thought, if I do what this poster says then the war will be over. By casting a giant horned beast as Hitler and a long-beaked bird with a gun as America, Dr. Seuss mocked this common dream.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Propaganda During WWII
Hitler is depicted as a giant monster. He is caged by a much smaller "American" bird. He looks almost drugged—docile. This cartoon—made by Dr. Seuss—implores Americans to "buy more savings bonds and stamps" because "cages cost money", implying that if only more people would contribute (or if people would contribute more) then Hitler could be locked away just like this, very quickly and easily. It is not that he cannot be chained and taken away—it is that there isn't enough money to buy chains. This propaganda is different from WWI propaganda in that it is a satirical take on the news. Some propaganda posters of WWI were depicting the war as an easy victory—a non-bloody battle. Others used rhetoric such as "Are you a man or a mouse?" to aggravate citizens' pride and force them to support the war effort in order to keep it intact. Dr. Seuss uses a similar tactic in this cartoon. By implying that it only takes a little more support from the home front to win the war and put away who Americans saw as the villain of the situation forever, he is making people feel obligated to donate their money to the cause. Each person feels as if they will make all the difference. However, because Dr. Seuss—being a political cartoonist—has drawn an obviously a comical view on the situation, it is also mocking of the public being drawn in by propaganda. Dr. Seuss shows in his cartoon a warped version of what everyone was hoping—deep down—would happen. Maybe, they thought, if I do what this poster says then the war will be over. By casting a giant horned beast as Hitler and a long-beaked bird with a gun as America, Dr. Seuss mocked this common dream.
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This is an insightful piece on a intereseting image of propaganda. I didn't know that Dr. Seuss drew political drawings outside of his cartoons for children.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I was a little confused and uncomfortable when I saw Dr. Seuss's cartoons regarding political matter that was saturated with so many dark aspects. I liked the way you analyzed the picture and were able to classify the beast as Hitler, rather than Nazi's as a whole.
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