In a book review in the 2005 issue of "Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies," Robert Frye discusses the importance of parody as a viable propaganda format.  The subject of his review is "Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939-1945" by Michael S. Shull and David E. Wilt. (McFarland, 2004. 246 pages), a study of Hollywood films during World War II.  Frye writes how the book provides additional information about America's attitudes toward World War II and the responses from Hollywood to such feelings, especially how these changing attitudes shaped production of animated films during World War II.  An example he points out is how advancements made by Allied Forces on Germany and in the Pacific Theater against Japan were coupled by a decline in the number of cartoons produced.  The authors conclude that the sense of impatience for a prolonged war and optimism for a better life post war contributed to the decline of the animated short.

Just as propaganda films such as the “Private Snafu” series were born of wartime sentiments, their ending was also correlated with war time events in real time.  As people yearned for more positivism as the War dragged on, there was less of a demand for propaganda film that centered around the war effort.  Indeed, film often represents a cultural and societal dialogue not just between the studios of the film industry with the government but also with the people who serve as audience and consumers of the film product.  In this way, control of films is restored in part to the people from the government’s film office.

The author claims that World War I was the “first total war” and the use of propaganda was an important aspect. He says that the First World War was “waged not only against the enemy’s armies, but also against the civilian population” because it was also a war of ideologies. He discusses how censorship suppressed information and how propaganda became influential. According to the article, German leaders felt that “only an effective propaganda campaign could re-establish confidence” in Germany. The author goes on to explain that cartoonists were “bound by the restrictions of military censorship and obliged to observe the propaganda guidelines laid down by the press bureaus.” The role of cartoonists changed significantly, as “before the war they were social critics,” but after the war broke out they needed to “behave as good patriots.” The author describes the situation in Germany, but states that many countries experienced “similar developments.” He claims that cartoons “took on a new function: its task was to mobilize the population both morally and intellectually for the war, explain setbacks, confirm belief in the superiority of the fatherland and proclaim the hope of final victory.”   
    This article is important because it shows how propaganda was used during World War I. Obviously, this lead to new developments and influenced the way propaganda was utilized for World War II. It also explains the role that cartoonists had during the Second World War and how cartoons were transformed into propaganda carriers. Though the article focuses on Germany, the author claims that many nations used propaganda similarly, so the article is still applicable to my thesis, which investigates propaganda in the United States.

This article goes into the history of the cartoon and how it was developed. The author argues that cartoons can be used to show historians the attitudes of the societies that produced them and he explains that there are two types of cartoons: joke cartoons and cartoons of opinion. He chooses to focus on cartoons of opinion, which are defined to be “visual means of communicating opinions and attitudes or of ‘summing up’ situations.” They deal with “domestic politics, social themes, and foreign affairs.” Kemnitz does discuss a few joke cartoons however, “such as William Mauldin’s great World War II cartoon.” Regardless of type, the author claims that cartoons are more effective than other mediums in communicating because they convey messages “quickly and pungently.” He also acknowledges that the “cartoon too frequently has been employed as a propaganda tool.” He believes that cartoons were used in the First World War “to whip up hatred and thereby sustain the civilian enthusiasm which made the sacrifices of total war tolerable.”
    This article is important because it defines cartoons, which my thesis discusses. It also explains how propaganda was first used in cartoons, which is important because it is likely that cartoonists at the Disney Company watched these cartoons and used them as a reference when making cartoons for the Second World War. Additionally, it says that cartoons are the most effective form of propaganda, so the second part of my thesis is addressed. According to Nelson, it is probable that Disney cartoons had a significant impact on public opinion in America during World War II.

This article primarily focuses on the music industry and the influences of file sharing on the advancement of sales. This introspective look on one particular facet of file sharing also promotes further analysis of future complications that may result from the passing of the ACTA. Author Alejandro Zentner claims that music sales have fallen substantially over the past four years. To support this theory, the author uses modeling techniques with country-level data to determine particular facets of the industry that are most heavily influenced and effected. Zentner’s studies showed that countries with higher internet usage and broadband penetration suffered the highest drops in music sales, suggesting that illegal music downloading explains the reduction in sales. Within this model, the author further extrapolates that file sharing may explain the change in the composition of music sales over the past four years. The conclusion Zentner comes to states that "strong intellectual property rights create monopoly distortions, but weak property rights may lead to low creation of artistic work. The development of faster connections and methods of accessing information more efficiently will severely impact the sales of goods." As a result, intellectual property rights are compromised over the mass dissemination of music, and other goods, through illegal downloading.

This article provides a particularly nice vantage point from which to look at the effects of file sharing on the economy. Zentner’s analysis examines these effects in a quantitative manner and links reasons for the ACTA’s birth over the past few years. Though focusing more on the drop in music sales over the past few years, this article looks at the effects of file sharing on the shape of sales, a strong influence on my argument about the future of file sharing.

    The World Bank provides financial assistance and aid to developing countries. Financing from the World Bank aids developing countries with funds to develop the IT communications infrastructure of these countries.

    According to the World Bank, “The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. We are not a bank in the common sense. We are made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.”

    There are several institutions that are closely related to the affairs of the World Bank. Among these institutions are the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

    According to the Website, “The World Bank is like a cooperative, where its 185 member countries are shareholders. The shareholders are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policy makers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries' ministers of finance or ministers of development. They meet once a year at the Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the Group and the International Monetary Fund.”

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