WWII anti-Japan Superman cartoon

[Quigley Brown]

Certainly 'politically incorrect' by today's standards....but then it was 1942. This comes from a very interesting website to view obscure films (features, shorts and animation) from the 30s - 50s.


www.archive.org/stream/japoteurs/japoteurs_256kb.mp4 (http://www.archive.org/stream/japoteurs/japoteurs_256kb.mp4)

[Ken]

I bought these on VHS as a kid - there are very much of their time but still good fun

Ken

[Mycroft]

Its good, but not PC.

[Andykev]

I cant get it to play, What is up?

[Doctor Strange]

There's another of the wartime Superman cartoons that I find far more disturbing than "The Japoteurs" - "The Eleventh Hour".

Clark and Lois are on assignment in Japan (were American reporters actually allowed to visit Japan at that time?!?), and each night at 11PM, Superman sneaks out of their guarded hotel and performs major acts of sabotage. There's a high body count, and the cartoon is grim and humorless, utterly lacking the elan that typically marks the Fleischer Supermans (and the majority of the "Famous Studio" ones produced later in the run along with this one).

I know that this cartoon was made in 1942 when the allies were still *losing* and morale was very low, but it is awfully hard to watch it now. I only pull it out to show it to friends who still have morbid curiosity after I tell them about it...

Nice page on the forties Superman cartoons:

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=m-fleis

[Quigley Brown]

Judge for yourself.

The Eleventh Hour (http://movies12.archive.org/1/movies/eleventh_hour/eleventh_hour_256kb.mp4)

[Ken]

I think as a kid a lot of it washes over you

[IndyBlues]

Those are some great old cartoons. I bought the complete series on DVD a year or so ago. They were in the bargain bin, for about $5.00 a piece. I believe they can still be found in the cheap section of most dvd outlets.
Great stuff,
'Blues

[gandydancer]

I never did belive in Superman. I mean, who ever hear of a mild mannered reporter?

[Mycroft]

I never did belive in Superman. I mean, who ever hear of a mild mannered reporter?

Yea, and one who can quote you correctly!! :rage:

[SappySwami]

I agree with Dr. Strange, that is a pretty disturbing cartoon (the 11th hour, didn't watch the other one yet.) I hate when a popular character is used like this. Superman is supposed to be strong enough that he doesn't have to hurt people, yet in that short it looks like he's blown up half of Japan. But in the end, the cartoon is a victim of it's time. One can't go to war without have some clear, generalized image of the "enemy."

[jamespowers]

I agree with Dr. Strange, that is a pretty disturbing cartoon (the 11th hour, didn't watch the other one yet.) I hate when a popular character is used like this. Superman is supposed to be strong enough that he doesn't have to hurt people, yet in that short it looks like he's blown up half of Japan. But in the end, the cartoon is a victim of it's time. One can't go to war without have some clear, generalized image of the "enemy."

Wait a minute here. Superman has always been a figure designed to promote big government. His whole character is the epitome of the "don't worry government will save you" crowd. Superman being used as a war hero is actually the opposite of what he was normally used for. I find this refreshing.
Do a search on google and find out what Superman really is a representative of. Fleischer was a big liberal and a staunch New Dealer---let's face it.
If you want to look at a character who was not part of the mainstream then look to Batman. He is the epitome of individualism. His adventures prove that each individual must must make a difference because government is insufficient and not up to the task of fighting things that are bigger than them. This is not a guy with super powers or anything like that. He is just a man protecting the innocent when no one else will. He is a symbol of every man who must make the choice of doing the right thing in any given situation.
There is a modern comicbook clash between Superman and Batman(probably about ten years ago--I will have to look for the book). The government sends Superman to get Batman. By this time, Batman is older, bald and a shadow of his former self. Even as such, he still manages to win against Superman and kick the snot out of him. He leaves Superman laid out like a cod---Once again man, as an individual, beats the tyranny of big government sent out to get him. Chalk one up to the powerless and those without superpowers. ;)

Regards to all,

J

[Wild Root]

Well boys and girls, that’s the way it was in 1942. I’m sure most of us would feel the same way about things if we were living in the US in 1941 to 1945. It’s sad to look at in some ways today, but look how many cartoons today have valance! Yes, it’s not the US against the Japanese for say but still valance is valance.

I liked it my self. It’s a true product of home front moral boosting. Most kids in the 40’s loved Superman and they really hated the fact that some of their Dad’s were over there going through hell because of the Axis forces. Ever since that attack on Peal Harbor the US citizens were very hostel to the Japanese. All they thought about was how sneaky it was to bomb practically US soil and catch the pride of the US fleet wile it was just barely getting out of bed. And on a Sunday even! If I lived in that time sure, I would be outraged! I’m sure most of you would agree.

It’s history and we learn from it. It can not be changed and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it. It was a war that HAD to be fought if we liked it or not! Remember, the US was a neutral country before the US entered WWII. Yes, the government wanted to enter the war because of several reasons that I’ll not go into at the moment but the people as a whole didn’t want any thing to do with the bloody war. We were happy driving our new cars and buying such nice things and enjoying life as we were getting out of the Great Depression.

So, there you have it. The whole picture to look at before any one goes off on Superman for sinking unmanned, pre-launched battleships. I have to say, Superman pulling a battleship into the water by the anchor chain was pretty cool.

Root.

[Chamorro]

There is a modern comicbook clash between Superman and Batman(probably about ten years ago--I will have to look for the book). The government sends Superman to get Batman. By this time, Batman is older, bald and a shadow of his former self. Even as such, he still manages to win against Superman and kick the snot out of him. He leaves Superman laid out like a cod---Once again man, as an individual, beats the tyranny of big government sent out to get him.

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Excellent book.

[Mycroft]

I'll have to pick it up.

[jamespowers]

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Excellent book.

That is it! Obviously another connoisseur of fine comics. I am going to read it again. ;)

Regards to all,

J

[MDFrench]

Umm... Well, I am a mild-mannered reporter here in journalism school. In fact, my professors continually get onto me because they say I am not "aggressive" enough.

I always reply - "It's not about being aggressive. It's the difference between being an insensitive and unscrupulous jerk versus being a decent human being. If people want to talk, I'm here to ask and listen. If they want to be left alone, I'm not going to disrespect them. At the end of the day, I have to look myself in the mirror and I want to like what I see."

I may be the only mild-mannered reporter left...

Mike

[Doctor Strange]

A couple of points:

The Superman comic only began in 1938, and the radio show a couple of years later. When the Fleischer cartoons began in late 1941, the character was definitely a big success (and the cause of the superhero explosion in comics), but was not yet the "icon" that he was to become. And a close look at these cartoons shows just how embryonic Superman was - he was still leaping more than flying, and the level of his powers in general is certainly far less than they'd be a few years later. (And each cartoon features an Apparent Disaster when it looks like he'll fail about two minutes before the end - equivalent to the moment in the Fleischer Popeye cartoons before the can of spinach appears!) Stuff that we consider central to the Superman mythos - his boyhood in Smallville with the Kents, Kryptonite, his major villains - had not yet come on the scene.

One of the things I like best about the Fleischer cartoons is that they present this early, not yet fully formed version of Superman. It's a refreshingly simple portrayal of the character before he was locked into so much detail and backstory.

Of course, these wartime cartoons have to be looked at in the context of the other Hollywood product of the time. They are of a piece with other cartoons of the period (has anyone here suffered through watching "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips"?!?), not to mention the countless live-action films that featured leering, apelike "Japs" and bestial, diabolical, monacle-wearing Nazis. Wartime propaganda is an ugly thing... And I wish it weren't the general misguided PC policy of modern times to try and pretend that it never happened here. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it...

On a different note, if we're talking great comics stories from recent years, has anybody read "Kingdom Come", the graphic novel painted by the remarkable Alex Ross? This story, set 30 or 40 years in the future - about the disastrous consequences of the next generation of superheros running amok - features brilliant character extrapolations of Batman and Superman, highlighting their differences as they find themselves on opposing sides. It's a stunning piece of work, essential reading if you (like me) have a lifelong fascination with these modern myth characters...

[Doctor Strange]

That's a very even-handed piece on a very difficult issue. An issue that I have very personal experience with.

I have owned a 16mm print of "Coal Black" for about 30 years, and have shown it to many different audiences, usually with a substantial disclaimer first in which I explain that the film was not maliciously intended, and that the racial stereotypes in it are just exaggerated examples of the common shorthand of American entertainment at the time. (I also point out the "cheap" Scots, bombastic operatic Italians, drunken Irish, avarcious Jews, upper-class English twits, etc., that are to be found throughout other cartoons, films, radio shows, etc., of those years.) If "Coal Black" is taking aim against anyone, it's Walt Disney, for making faux-European fairytales instead of putting them in America's own unique, thrilling language.

Of course, the film *is* Bob Clampett's masterpiece, with the most densely packed gags and references of any WB toon up until then, and it is completely hilarious and electrifying. It's loaded with wartime humor (a neon sign on the side of "Murder, Incorpulated"'s car says "We rub anybody out - $1. Midgets - Half-price. Japs - FREE!"; the mean old queen's riches includes large stashes of coffee, sugar, and rubber tires) and a magnificent swing jazz soundtrack.

With the proper intro, I have *never* had anyone I've shown the cartoon to (including African-Americans) complain that it's "racist". It's quite clear that the folks who made this film were entirely in love with the culture and music that suffuses it, and weren't trying to demean anybody. And it encapsulates the desperate energy of the early war years very potently.

But, alas, we live in a PC age where this film will never be widely distributed, 'cause the powers that be think that pretending things never happened is a better course than admitting to them. In the case of "Coal Black" this is tragic, 'cause this cartoon is both a particularly brilliant example of the Termite Terrace crew at their peak, and a stunning eye-opener to America in 1942.

[Winkydink]

while it is difficult to attribute intent to the cartoon, we need to realize that in the united states of the late 1930's and 1940's racism was a pervasive part of our culture. "coal" was just one in a library of many cartoons which have, for the lack of a better word, racist imagery and themes. i do think that they should be more readily available for viewing. i have a 3 DVD set with probably 40 or more, most of which do not represent the best in american animation.

winky

[Doctor Strange]

Alas, it's true that for every brilliant "Coal Black" or "Tin Pan Alley Cats" (another amazing Clampett-directed cartoon of the same period) there are many more weaker films, some of which are indeed maliciously racist. And there were plenty of members of the audience in those years (and alas, even relatively recently) that thought they were a total hoot... and accurate.

As much as those of us here may revere the past, there were a lot of deep-rooted inequities and prejudices that are hard to reconcile with American ideology, and they turn up all over the culture. But they should not be swept under the rug, but instead be shown and understood for what they were. If you don't know the full truth about your past, you're on shaky ground.

Banning films, etc., that are rife this stuff is no solution: creating a Disneyland Main Street image of an impossibly simpler and kinder America does the folks who lived through those years, warts and all, a great disservice. And unique films like "Coal Black" deserve to be shown and known...

Which is why, in my own small way, whenever I have taught cartoon appreciation, run film festivals, or just brought some films to a friend's party, I have made a point of showing it. And ironically, the gutless cowardice of venues like Cartoon Network, who won't show it even in the middle of the night with a Leonard Maltin or Jerry Beck explaining it, have made it one of the rare jewels of my film collection!

[Merlin]

For those interested in WWII propaganda cartoons, I recommend picking up a copy of "Dr. Seuss Goes to War." It's a book of Dr. Seuss' WWII political cartoons, and for those of you out there who only know him as the benevolent wordsmith behind "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in the Hat", it will likely prove quite surprising. His depiction of the Japanese, Germans, and anyone who was a member of the isolationist movement is far from charitable and even shockingly racist at times. (for example, the Japanese are always portrayed as squinty-eyed, buck-toothed midgets!) Still, it's quite funny in spots and is, if nothing else, a fascinating slice of history.

[Lincsong]

Interesting