Thesis: How did Walt Disneys cartoons incorporate propaganda for WWII and what was the effect on Americans? I was intrigued by the cartoons that Professor Decherney showed us in class and after speaking to him decided to examine them more closely for this project. Conclusion: After reading these sources, I have developed an opinion that answers my thesis. I believe that we do have preconceived notions that are instilled in us by our parents and teachers as we grow up. It seems as though propaganda films are used to confirm ideas that we already have. One reason that I think that these movies were so effective is because when people saw these films they were with their friends and family. Since they viewed the films with people they trusted, it was easier to believe and agree with the ideas being presented since the people they were with were going along with it also. This goes along with the idea that a comedy seems funnier when you watch it with other people. Additionally, many Americans saw Disneys cartoons, so I would argue that his propaganda was effective in shaping American public opinion.

This book gives a timeline of the Disney Studio beginning in 1901, a historical context of how Walt Disney created his company, and an explanation of how the Disney Company was able to rise. It compares the Disney Company to other studios and explains how Disney became involved in making films for the government. It mentions that “Disney cartoons took on wartime themes” in 1942 and that there were “a number of films, produced for the government which were to meant to entertain and educate,” such as Food Will Win the War and Out of the Frying Pan into the Firing Line. Also, it discusses the impact The New Spirit had on Americans. “Donald Duck was chosen to star in the film, and a vast percentage of Americans testified that it encouraged them to pay their taxes promptly.” This helped the American government because the film was made “to try to persuade Americans to pay their income taxes on time as the money was so necessary for the war effort.”
    This source addresses both parts of my thesis. First, it provides a historical context for the Disney Company from its beginning to the present and discusses how Disney cartoons were made. Yet, it is also valuable to the second part of my thesis because it provides an actual example of a Disney propaganda cartoon affecting the way Americans acted.

This book analyzes Walt Disney’s character and gives a long and detailed history of the Disney Company. It investigates the birth of Mickey Mouse and the majority of Disney’s films. There is a section dedicated to discussing Disney’s influence during the Second World War. It starts saying that “Disney received a call from the Navy, offering him a contract to produced a series of films,” and goes on to talk about several of Disney’s war films like Der Fuhrer’s Face.
    Schickel’s book gives a detailed account of the Disney Company. Looking at the way Walt Disney’s Company functioned is essential because it allows one to see how and why Disney cartoons were created. Though Richard Shale, the author of another source in this bibliography, provides analysis of Disney’s cartoons in his book, this source also examines some of Disney’s films. This is important because it is necessary to gain multiple viewpoints on each aspect of my thesis.

The author analyzes the function of Disney characters, why they were created and what purpose they serve focusing on Donald Duck’s character. In the introduction, David Kunzle says, this “book studies the Disney productions and their effects on the world. It cannot be a coincidence that much of what they observe in the relationships between the Disney characters can also be found, and maybe, even explained, in the organization of work within the Disney industry.” He goes into detail saying that none of the Disney characters seem to have parents. Characters have cousins, nephews, uncles, and aunts, but there do not seem to be any sons or daughters. He also claims that Disney’s cartoons are used to manipulate children. He says that Donald Duck represents unemployment. “The bourgeois concept of entertainment, and the specific manner in which it is expounded in the world of Disney, is the super structural manifestation of the dislocations and tensions of an advance capitalist historical base. It is altogether normal for readers experiencing the conflicts of their age from within the perspective of the imperialist system, to see their own daily life, and projected future, reflected in the Disney system.”
    This source is valuable to my thesis as it goes into depth describing how Disney characters were constructed. To understand how Disney propaganda was used, it is necessary to analyze the characters, which made Disney cartoons possible. The book also examines how Disney cartoons could affect people suggesting that viewers could identify with the characters.

This book shows how Mickey Mouse’s character affected America. Disney himself is said to have “perceived Mickey as a powerful and important symbol in American culture.” He had previously been used to help “people escape from their Depression anxieties.” This is one reason why Disney films were popular, but this source investigates why Disney cartoons were so well liked and finds that “Disney combined the myth-making medium of film with his perception of American popular taste.” The author claims “Mickey’s creation of a fantasy world is an accurate reflection of the cultural mood in 1944. After three years of war, Americans were tired of propaganda, and beyond ‘those glorious days of 1942, when audiences cheered the American flag on the screen.’” Uelmen goes on to explain that the Disney studio offered an escape to the war by providing audiences with a fantasy world. Disney “played an important role in projecting images of wartime unity.” Unity was defined as the civilian war effort and “how Mickey perceives cultural difference in America is a reflection of both the wartime consolidation of public opinion and Disney’s unique way of seeing the culture.” For example, Minnie says that in San Francisco the sun sets in the perfect place, but in Chinatown she says that she cannot read any of the signs in stores. Disney may “have been making a subtle reference to the power of Western resources to defeat the ‘Asian monster.’
    This source is very useful as it answers both parts of my thesis suggesting that Mickey Mouse’s character allowed Disney propaganda films to be successful. Uelmen discusses the background of Mickey Mouse and shows that his character was a precedent for why Disney cartoons were effective. Mickey’s character was used to help people deal with the Depression, so Americans were able to bond with his character. Therefore, they would be more inclined to trust and agree with the ideas presented in Disney cartoons later on even if the beliefs were pro-war.