Examples Of Racism In Propaganda

Racism in Propaganda World War Two was a time of high tension in just about every country in the world. Families were sending their young men off to fight battles faraway lands not knowing if they would ever return, civilians were called upon to make unprecedented sacrifices in their daily lives to support the war effort, and entire towns were being leveled by bombs raining from the clouds. All of these factors dug out a deep hatred for enemy nations and their people. This was manifested in many ways such as the internment of a country's own citizens, and the defilement of basic human rights. This hatred burned so strongly that racially charged items appeared in artwork, cartoons, documentaries, children's books, songs, and almost every other …show more content…
Rides were shared to conserve fuel, rubber and metal objects were recycled to be reused in bullets and tires and factories worked overnight shifts to amp up production. Although many citizens understood the reasons for the changes being made to the way daily life was conducted, and believed that such changes were necessary to support the war effort, frustration and anger at the loss of comfort were common. The increase in factory hours in particular greatly reduced worker morale so both the United States government and the companies contracted by the military began to create racist pieces of propaganda to counteract a loss in efficiency. An entire series of propaganda posters created by the Douglas Aircraft Company, Tokyo Kid Say, contained a Japanese man with various sayings related to the war effort. One specific example contains the “Tokyo kid” drawn to look like a bloodthirsty savage. Pointed, pulled back ears, sharp teeth, and drool hanging from his mouth all give an animalistic impression, while his narrowly squinted eyes and traditional hat show that he is Japanese. He is holding a sign in one hand which has the words “Much waste of materials make so-o-o-o happy! Thank you” (Douglas Aircraft Company), written in blood, while he is holding a dripping dagger in the other. While the piece was created to reduce waste, it uses a highly stereotypical dialect of an English speaking Japanese soldier, and a barbaric image to create fear of the Japanese, essentially scaring workers away from even accidentally wasting precious materials used to create aircrafts. Similar to the example from the this is the enemy art contest entry, Attack on a Caucasian Woman, Tokyo Kid Say, uses a combination of racial and animal features to both demonize the enemy nations and create a motivating fear to increase