Post #6: “Your a Sap Mr. Jap”

This animation is a Max Fleischer cartoon called Popeye the Sailor Man: Your a Sap Mr. Jap and it is part of the cartoon characters go to war segment in history. The cartoon itself was made in 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor which occurred on December 7, 1941. This cartoon as the title suggests is full of war propaganda and racist stereotypes of the Japanese. I feel that this cartoon and many others like it were used in order to unite the nation against a common enemy and give comic relief to a very tragic point in the history of the world.

In this animation the Japanese people are depicted as small skinny people in big baggy clothes with huge buck teeth and Coke bottle glasses fishing off of their dinky boat. These stereotypes were used in order to make the Japanese look foolish and make them appear to be less of a threat so that the American public would not fear them.

On top of these racist stereotypes the Japanese were shown trying to make peace with Popeye and when he wasn’t looking they would attack him in quick and cowardly ways. These attacks alluded to the bombing of Pearl Harbor which Americans felt to be under handed and cowardly, allowing the American people to remember why they were sacrificing for the war. As a reminder that we are Americans and will win the war, Popeye eats his spinach and instead of his famous muscles turning into their usual high-powered piece of machinery, his arm turns into a giant V for victory, a famous hand sign used at the time (later becoming the sign for peace).

The propaganda continues after Popeye starts dismantling their battleship. After going on a rampage on the Japanese ship Popeye leans on a post which causes the ship to fall apart revealing a made in japan sign. This was at a time when it was considered good to buy American made products and avoid the shotty products of our enemies. The final propaganda bit used is the attempted suicide of the Japanese captain. Instead of being captured the Japanese would commit suicide in order to protect the secrets of the Japanese military and protect the individual soldier’s honor by dying for their country. However, this animation reveals to the viewer in terrible broken English that the “actual” reason for the suicide is because the Japanese are cowards.

All in all this animation used a beloved trusted cartoon character to unite the American people during the trying times of war. The use of Popeye as the messenger not only gave the war some comic relief but also united people against the nations enemy. Over 60 years later you can still see the use of cartoons to further a war effort as shown in the Islamic cartoons following 9/11 depicting Muslims as terrorists. The only difference between now and then is that today we live in a more politically correct society.

I commented on Megan’s Blog and Chuck’s Blog.

Post #5: Stick Fight

This animation portrays the hero (blue stick figure) versus the army of bad stick figures (red).  The hero takes on hoards and hoards of enemy stick figures without missing a beat. Although he continues to kill them over and over again it does not get boring because he continues to find new and inventive ways to do it. This fight scene is able to take simplistic characters such as stick figures and turn it into an epic battle. I think that the use of camera angle,  sound track, and sound effects along with the running allusion to The Matrix (fight scene with Neo and thousands of Mr. Smiths) take this good fight scene and make it great without too much animation.

The sound track and sound effects work to take this fight to the next level. The sound track syncs up with the fighting growing in intensity and pausing to create moments of suspense. The sound effects work to give the actual fighting added impact as you can hear the slashing of the swords and the dull thuds of bodies dropping.

With the fight set to such great sound, the camera work adds even more to the fight. In some scenes the camera pans back and forth giving the viewer the feeling that the hero is surrounded. In one scene in particular, the camera zooms out in stages to reveal thousands of red stick figures bearing down on our hero.

Through out this entire animation there were small references to one of the greatest fight movies of all time, The Matrix. The scene where the hero jumps into the air and the camera spins around him is directly out of the movie. Also, there was a scene where the hero was facing off with the one red guy who did the “bring it on” hand gesture which is another cheesy part from The Matrix.

When looking at this animation one would expect it to be kind of boring and repetitive because of the use of stick figures. Through the use of sound, camera angles, and the allusion to The Matrix the creator of this animation was able to do the unexpected and make something entertaining, all while using stick figures and 2D animation.

eta: I commented on Megan’s Blog and Chuck’s Blog.

Post #4: The Gift of Music

The animation I have chosen for this weeks entry is The Piano by Aidan Gibbons which is about an old man and his love for music. Throughout this animation the old man is experiencing flashbacks. These flashbacks consisted of his deceased wife, a friend who died in his arms, and one of himself receiving a gift that he found dear. Throughout these happy and tragic memories he is able to play his music, comforting him and being the one ting he can enjoy. I think this animation shows that music is a gift that one can cherish their entire lives and it is necessary to share with future generations.

The man depicted in this animation obviously loves music and is able to express his emotions through it. In the end of the animation he is shown sharing his love of music with his grandson. At first I thought it was a teenage version of himself after he got tired of the wooden horse, but judging by the difference in clothes this is not the case. He is looking to pass on the joy that he has experienced with music in his life so that his grandson can experience the same joy.

As schools in impoverished areas continue to cut programs, I feel this animation is making a statement about the importance of music. Music can be used to convey emotions and be a source of joy and amusement for yourself and people around you. As music programs continue to be cut, children are missing out on the joy of music. This leaves them at a disadvantage and depriving them of a way to express themselves and something that could change their life forever.

*After watching this animation I was curious about the actual meaning and inspiration behind this animation so I looked up the creator after I made my interpretation. Here is a link to an interview with the creator Aidan Gibbons.

I commented on Megan’s Blog and Chuck’s Blog.

Post #3: Honda Animated Commercial

Honda’s recent promotion has been their new 2010 Crosstour. One ad in particular ran during the Super Bowl. This ad depicted a squirrel storing all sorts of things in a tree, comparing this amount of storage to the storage capacity of their new vehicle. I think the use of this animated squirrel along with the shadows in this commercial increase its effectiveness and draws the interest of the viewer. 

The commercial starts with the squirrel storing a nut to allow the viewer to see something expected. This draws the viewer in. Then the squirrel begins storing all sorts big and heavy things. The use of the squirrels movements and facial expressions allow the viewer to see the effort the squirrel is putting in, in order to get all of this stuff stored in its different places. Once the car trunk opens and the squirrel sees all the available space in one place, you can see the eureka moment in its face. This is very effective in getting the point across that the Crosstour has a lot of space, by using the master of storage (the squirrel) to showcase the storage capabilities.

In order to keep the viewer interested the animation uses shadow and a very warm color scheme. The squirrels movements are quick and squirrel like, but it is able to create facial expressions that are purely human. This increases the effectiveness of the squirrel because he is able to capture the cute squirrel like behavior, but is also able to show the soulful expressions of a human increasing his marketing range. This allows Honda to stick to the advertising criteria of using cute animals to sell merchandise, while being able to control every movement and expression of the animal by making it an animated character.

I commented on Megan’s and Chuck’s Blogs.