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.
These cartoons were horrible back then, not only Popeye but several loved cartoons used propaganda in their shows. I remember watching Donald Duck being a Nazi and Superman fighting The Ku Klux Klan. These were definitely used in order to entertain the audience by making the enemy look cowardly. We do live in a more politically correct world today but there is still an undertone of racism under it.
I agree with your post, I think that cartoons have come a long way since then trying to be more politically correct. I do recall from my younger years cartoons that had racist undertones, but being so young I didn’t understand. I think that it was just the way of thinking back then. I think that the racist undertones are very little today compared to back then.
This is a great find Mike! You’re spot on with this assessment and I actually cannot believe how obvious this cartoon is with it’s racism. You do not have to look hard at all to pick up on the themes of this video. The fake treaty of peace is really disturbing and a very clear shot at the Japanese people. Besides their clothing, teeth, glasses, and general goofy appearance, their language is also mocked in a very stereotypical way.
Good post. I always thought it was really interested that these blatantly racist cartoons were actually shown on television, I was familiar with the mildly offensive cartoons or ones that used stereotypes, but seeing ones like these always fascinate me. There is absolutely no doubt as to the tone of this cartoon, and I think it’s so interesting to see propaganda like this in cartoons.
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