scholarly journals Comics in Action: A Reflection of the Dominant Narrative in World War II

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (Spring 2019) ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Gutierrez

In this paper, I argue that the propagandized use of comic books during World War II promoted views among Americans which contributed to antipathy towards Americans of Japanese and German descent. More generally, the goal of the essay is to highlight the importance of comic books as a reflection of the times – they simultaneously influence and are influenced by society’s dominant ideas – and promote the further study of such material. I examine the text and art from three comic book covers dated from 1942-1943. An analysis of these selections suggests that comic books depicted Axis soldiers as savage and animalistic, while Americans are portrayed as trustworthy heroes with whom the reader may easily identify. These conclusions are confirmed by various government sources, which claimed to have been teaching citizens about the war and the enemy, which in reality meant teaching citizens how to hate the enemy. Even more disturbing, comic books were read primarily by children, so these hateful ideas were spread to the most impressionable of all Americans. These very depictions, I argue, reflected and contributed to the general American sentiment towards the war, specifically in relation to the treatment of Japanese-Americans in internment camps and the use of atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Further, the proliferation of comic books and the sole fact that they were used as a propaganda arm by the U.S. Government demonstrates their importance during the period and suggests that they be studied more to further understand their importance to American society.

2012 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hirsch

During World War II, the U.S. government, through the Writers’ War Board (WWB), co-opted comic books as an essential means of disseminating race-based propaganda to adult Americans, including members of the armed forces. Working with comic creators, the WWB crafted narratives supporting two seemingly incompatible wartime policies: racializing America’s enemies as a justification for total war and simultaneously emphasizing the need for racial tolerance within American society. Initially, anti-German and anti-Japanese narratives depicted those enemies as racially defective but eminently beatable opponents. By late 1944, however, WWB members demanded increasingly vicious comic-book depictions of America’s opponents, portraying them as irredeemably violent. Still, the Board embraced racial and ethnic unity at home as essential to victory, promoting the contributions of Chinese, Jewish, and African Americans.


Author(s):  
Etsuko Takushi Crissey

Witnesses at the 2012 trial in Ohio of a former airman convicted of beating his Okinawan wife to death testified that he had often battered her. The case exemplified the isolation of wives who arrive with no acquaintances in the U.S. besides their husbands, and cannot overcome the language barrier to make other contacts. Isolation also results from the individualistic nature of American society. Interviewees accustomed to close relationships with relatives and neighbours typical in Okinawa were surprised that in the U.S. “neighbours don’t even speak to each other.” Many suffered from homesickness. However, one expressed her gratitude for the close friendship and support of an American woman next door who guided her to the supermarket and post office, teaching her the essentials for daily life. Several encountered racial discrimination in employment, marriage (before 1967), and the bullying of their children in school. Some women had been apprehensive about coming to the U.S. where Japanese Americans were interned during World War II and anti-Japanese hostility persisted afterwards. Those whose husbands were still in the military had free family health care and discount shopping, but had to endure their husbands’ long absences, and deployments to areas of conflict.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Nurina Aulia Haris

This article studied the accomplishment of Christian Dior during his business venture in American market by using his autobiography as the main source of the research and qualitative research used as the method of study. Graves’s thought on Consumer Behavior are used as the approach of study under the umbrella of Transnational American Studies.The success of Dior in the American market is not solely because of his dresses but there are other factors that support the success of his business especially the post-World War II situation where people need something new that can make them remember the times before the war, in addition, the promotion and assessment of fashion experts through fashion and lifestyle magazines also affect people's assessment of Dior's dresses and make them affected to own his collections. Based on the theory described by Graves, people tendency to imitate others is capable to influence one's expenses and this can be seen from the phenomena occurring in American society toward Dior’s works.Concisely, the result of this research shows that the success of Dior in American market happened because of 2 things. First is the nature of human being that loves beauty, neatness, and things which make them happy. Second is the timing of his debut which was post war era where people were researching the pride they lost during the war caused by the limitation applied by the government and the condition itself therefore when Dior came with his collections they saw it as if it was their way to get back their pride as by wearing Dior’s collection it can show their social status. Keywords: Christian Dior, Fashion, Societies, World War II


2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Roxworthy

In a dark footnote to a dark chapter in US history, Japanese Americans interned by their own government during World War II performed in blackface behind barbed wire. Exploring blackface performance in the camps raises questions regarding the potential resistance of racial impersonation and blackface's potential for triangulating race.


Author(s):  
Joseph T. Glatthaar

Technology alone does not transform warfare. “Technology, mechanization and the world wars” demonstrates that it needs to be paired with organization and sound doctrine. The two world wars saw advances in military aviation and naval warfare. During World War II, resources were divided between two theaters: the European and the Pacific. American society was transformed, with a booming economy and more opportunities in defense and the military. Not everyone benefited; hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans were interned. Conventional bombings and blockades diminished in effectiveness throughout World War II, which ended with the unprecedented decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.


2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 737-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Rosser ◽  
Céline Mavrot

By comparing the French and the U.S. controversies on the appropriate position of public administration within the constitutional order of the state after World War II, this article aims to contribute to the historical clarification of the politics–administration dichotomy as one of the key ideas of administrative research and theory. The article underscores that the same phenomenon—the rejection of the dichotomy—has led to different conclusions among administrative scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, the dichotomy was rejected in favor of a reinforcement of the legislature and the judiciary as well as a more representative administration to preserve the plurality of interests of American society. In contrast, the French rejection was aimed toward strengthening the executive and the administrative elite as guardians of the general interest. The article illustrates how ideas and values about public administration change according to different spatiotemporal contexts. If these contexts are disregarded, understanding remains fragmentary at best, if not misleading.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 311-318
Author(s):  
Lingpo Zhang

The Naked and the Dead, as Norman Mailer’s first and representative work, is not only the most classical war fiction, but also the most controversial work since World War II. The war is used as a background to explore various problems emerging in American society. Throughout history, violence has always played an important part in human development, and promoted the development of human society. War as the extreme manifestation of violence causes great significance on human history. During the time of World War Two, people lives under the shadow of totalitarianism, the situation is especially serious in the U.S. Army. Some of the soldiers are transformed to war machines with neither personal will nor identity. In Mailer’s mind, violence and creativity have a twin-like relation, if we cut all the violence out of society, we also cut out all the creativity, and violence becomes the resolution which people employ with to regain their humanity, so as to have self-redemption. Croft’s failure of conquering Mount Anaka fully revels there is still possibility that human can be redeemed.


2020 ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
Burhanettin Duran

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the domestic and foreign policy agendas of all countries have been turned upside down. The pandemic has brought new problems and competition areas to states and to the international system. While the pandemic politically calls to mind the post-World War II era, it can also be compared with the 2008 crisis due to its economic effects such as unemployment and the disruption of global supply chains. A debate immediately began for a new international system; however, it seems that the current international system will be affected, but will not experience a radical change. That is, a new international order is not expected, while disorder is most likely in the post-pandemic period. In an atmosphere of global instability where debates on the U.S.-led international system have been worn for a while, in the post-pandemic period states will invest in self-sufficiency and redefine their strategic areas, especially in health security. The decline of U.S. leadership, the challenging policies of China, the effects of Chinese policies on the U.S.-China relations and the EU’s deepening crisis are going to be the main discussion topics that will determine the future of the international system.


2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Fleischman ◽  
R. Penny Marquette

The impact of World War II on cost accountancy in the U.S. may be viewed as a double-edged sword. Its most positive effect was engendering greater cost awareness, particularly among companies that served as military contractors and, thus, had to make full representation to contracting agencies for reimbursement. On the negative side, the dislocations of war, especially shortages in the factors of production and capacity constraints, meant that such “scientific management” techniques as existed (standard costing, time-study, specific detailing of task routines) fell by the wayside. This paper utilizes the archive of the Sperry Corporation, a leading governmental contractor, to chart the firm's accounting during World War II. It is concluded that any techniques that had developed from Taylorite principles were suspended, while methods similar to contemporary performance management, such as subcontracting, emphasis on the design phase of products, and substantial expenditure on research and development, flourished.


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