Comments on: Comics and the World War II Home Front http://www.hyperborea.org/journal/2007/05/ww2-slogans/ Sci-fi, comics, humor, photos...it's all fair game. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:01:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Kelson http://www.hyperborea.org/journal/2007/05/ww2-slogans/#comment-22320 Kelson Tue, 29 May 2007 23:56:02 +0000 http://www.hyperborea.org/journal/archives/2007/05/28/ww2-slogans/#comment-22320 Back in college, a guy in my dorm brought up a discussion he had in class on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Someone suggested that racism was a factor, on the theory that the racist Americans spared the Germans the horrors of nuclear weapons because while they were enemies, hey, at least they were white. Apparently the class was ignoring the fact that the Germans had already surrendered by the time the US had a working bomb. Anyway, his response was that <em>of course</em> racism was a factor, because one of the first things you do in war is demonize the enemy. Make them seem less human, more evil, and it's easier to justify killing them. And boy, did the US demonize the Japanese. Back to this issue, it's actually pretty tame for a war-era comic book, compared to some of the (by modern, peacetime standards) horribly offensive caricatures and slogans that graced some covers. <a href="http://www.superdickery.com/">Superdickery</a> has a section they call Propaganda Extravaganza, much of which is taken up by WWII-era covers. (Probably NSFW, due to political incorrectness.) Back in college, a guy in my dorm brought up a discussion he had in class on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Someone suggested that racism was a factor, on the theory that the racist Americans spared the Germans the horrors of nuclear weapons because while they were enemies, hey, at least they were white. Apparently the class was ignoring the fact that the Germans had already surrendered by the time the US had a working bomb.

Anyway, his response was that of course racism was a factor, because one of the first things you do in war is demonize the enemy. Make them seem less human, more evil, and it’s easier to justify killing them. And boy, did the US demonize the Japanese.

Back to this issue, it’s actually pretty tame for a war-era comic book, compared to some of the (by modern, peacetime standards) horribly offensive caricatures and slogans that graced some covers. Superdickery has a section they call Propaganda Extravaganza, much of which is taken up by WWII-era covers. (Probably NSFW, due to political incorrectness.)

]]> By: aeryncrichton http://www.hyperborea.org/journal/2007/05/ww2-slogans/#comment-22303 aeryncrichton Tue, 29 May 2007 14:40:41 +0000 http://www.hyperborea.org/journal/archives/2007/05/28/ww2-slogans/#comment-22303 I imagine there was a thriving black market in rationed goods, and of course anything that was being diverted to the black market wasn't going to the war effort, so that makes sense to me. So, sadly, does the "racial slur." When you have an all-out war effort, it "helps" to demonize the enemy, and it was certainly done on all fronts and all sides -- Japs, Huns, you name it. It's not something you hear these days, which is a very good thing (at least, I'm not seeing any slurs cast on Iraqis, for example, the war machine isn't trying to whip us up to that kind of frenzy), but even in the Viet Nam era, the Viet Cong were called "gooks," and you heard it everywhere.... I imagine there was a thriving black market in rationed goods, and of course anything that was being diverted to the black market wasn’t going to the war effort, so that makes sense to me. So, sadly, does the “racial slur.” When you have an all-out war effort, it “helps” to demonize the enemy, and it was certainly done on all fronts and all sides — Japs, Huns, you name it. It’s not something you hear these days, which is a very good thing (at least, I’m not seeing any slurs cast on Iraqis, for example, the war machine isn’t trying to whip us up to that kind of frenzy), but even in the Viet Nam era, the Viet Cong were called “gooks,” and you heard it everywhere….

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