So I was interested in seeing how the cartoons differed before the depression and during the depression and found the cartoon that accurately shows the difference
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (the most famous One)
This video right here is the episode The Fox Chase, made right before the depression(1928).
This carefree comedy is very carefree, and it is much like a Tom and Jerry cartoon where the main characters just beat each other up with traps and other tricks. The main character looks a lot like the character Mickey Mouse, yet his personality is more like a Jerry from Tom and Jerry, since Walt Disney created the cartoon. This comedy unlike its cartoons in the Great Depression marks a carefree time in Americans' lives, though that is about to change.
Great Depression:
The cartoons during this time marked a more negative time in the US economy's life time. It depicts the depression as a dark and cold demon to try to empathize with the viewers and their struggles.
The cartoon "Confidence" released in 1933 was supposed to bring Confidence back to the people of the United States. It portrayed FDR as a sort of messiah who could bring his people out of their suffering. This was one of the biggest most uplifting depression cartoon episode since it shows the main character bringing confidence to himself and the people.
The story: Oswald the lucky rabbit is a farmer, whose farm falls prey to the influence of the Great Depression. The Depression in the cartoon is portrayed as the dark shadowy, grim reaper type thing, above to really show hate of the depression. To defeat the shadowy figure and to get his farm back, he flies to Washington D.C. where he finds the president at the time FDR. FDR shows him how to beat the Depression, to have Confidence. In the end, he brings Confidence to the people in an effort to save them, and bring them out of their sadness.
Some of the cartoons that Oswald starred in during the depression didn't focus on the depression like this one below.
This cartoon has a story that does not tie into the political and economic times in the US, and it is much like the ones published before the depression.
I used :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_%281933_film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_%28film%29
http://www.openculture.com/2014/06/confidence-great-depression.html
Great post, Ankith! I really love how you included actual clips from the cartoon; it made me feel a lot more involved as a reader. I found it surprising that the cartoon portrayed FDR as the cause of "confidence" during the depression. From our studies on the depression, it seems to me like people at this time were very quick to blame FDR for the country's problems. I think it's really interesting that, in something as "carefree" as a cartoon, a more positive perspective of the president and all of his efforts was offered.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post, Ankith! :D The content and the cartoons you added were really interesting. I was wondering what other cartoons they had during the Great Depression and found that one of the most popular ones was this series called Betty Boop. I also realized that Mr. Stewarts made a reference to the series in class once, but I didn't pick up on it at first. It made its first appearance on August 9, 1930. She is a symbol of the Depression era and a reminder of the carefree Jazz Age flappers of the 1920s. "Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms." I was also interested in how cartoons portrayed President Hoover, but I couldn't find much on the internet.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Boop
Its very interesting to look at how cartoons reflect the ideas of a society. Our modern TV shows still do reflect society. I think the best way to see this is to look at the portrayal of homosexuality in modern cartoons. For example, The Simpsons were the first cartoon to dedicate an entire episode to same-sex marriage in 2005, and the show often contains positive portrayal of homosexual characters. Homer himself has kissed other male characters over 50 times.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/the-simpsons-gay-men-come-out_n_3533970.html
This is an excellent representation of how the media can show us much more about the time period than many other methods of deducing public opinion. Media is designed to play on public opinion as well as influence it, so this provides a great way to gain insights into a time period. Another form of media used during the great depression was the radio, an example of this president Roosevelts famous fireside chats. He would give this series of speeches to the general public addressing issues and giving hope to rectify them, discussing unemployment, the European war, and recovery programs. Roosevelt's use of media allowed him to be a strong leader when the country needed one.
ReplyDeletehttp://expansionofsocialmedia.blogspot.com/2011/04/media-during-great-depression.html
Very cool post Ankith; this cartoon, as well as the Betty Boop Mr. Stewart showed us are very stark contrasts to what media is being featured today directed towards children. Even though both cartoons are unrealistic in application, the realist idea of what was occurring during the depression, was very profound in these peaces. Animations today seem to try and redirect the attention of children towards a world which doesn't exist. This then brings me to a further question do you believe that animations should try and present political issues towards the younger audience or is it best that the children retain the innocence of youth?
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty funny how bland the cartoon seems, but I guess this was the best they had and it was new for them, whereas we grew up watching Tom and Jerry. But I'm not so sure if this was meant for kids anyway, considering TV's weren't really around yet, and cartoons, I imagine, must have been much harder to access.
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