Disney WWII Propaganda - The Spirit of '43 (2119 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.32 on 21 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by professor fuckface (View user info) at 2004-12-21 21:21:05 EST
Short of watching paint dry, there is nothing more boring than having to endure Disney cartoons. I mean, I haven't seen more than a minute of anything Disney and animated in over a decade, but even as a kid those things are a shit to watch.
There is, however, one saving grace of the Disney franchise. Out of all the over-exposed merchandise, films, theme parks and every other aspect of the giant empire of shit there shines that collection of classic WWII propaganda cartoons. With the amount of bad publicity Joseph Goebbels gave the technique there is no way any mainstream US animation studio is going to turn around and make blatant propaganda films like Walt Disney did in the '40s, so for the moment Disney has pretty much cornered the market with theirs.
One of the best Disney propaganda animations was 'The Spirit of '43', which is what this post is based on. According to the cartoon, employees were not taxed on each pay, rather they were given the whole paycheck then it would be up to them to save whatever tax they owed on that amount. Every three months they would need to visit the IRS and give them a big chunk of money for three months arrears tax.
Basically, the cartoon explains that if you don't pay your taxes, some soldier out on the field is going to run out of bullets and pretty soon the Hun and assorted Samurai will be knocking on your door to ask if they may please loot your house and rape your women. Tax evasion when there is a war going on is some serious shit, and don't think the invaders will thank you for your personal effort to bring down the system from the inside when they arrive.
In this cartoon Donald Duck plays the part of a draft dodger or something who decided to sit the war out. Instead of fighting for his country he's back home doing his part as a factory worker, a job that millions of women were sufficiently able and lined up to do. Donald gets paid, then the narrator briefly explains the duality of the common factory worker duck. On one side of his conscience there is a pimp wanting him to spend his tax money on moonshine or some era-dated activity, while on the other side there is Scrooge McDuck telling him to save his money for his tax bill.
Here is the script for the six minute animation in its entirety:
NARRATOR: Yes, payday. Millions of dollars pouring into the hands of the American worker. Now in the mind of the average worker live two separate personalities. One, the thrifty:
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Wait a bit, laddie. You're going to save a bit of that are, aren't you?
DONALD DUCK: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure.
NARRATOR: Often times, idle money burns a hole in your pocket, which brings out the other personality: the spend-thrift.
SPENDTHRIFT ZOOT-SUIT WEARING PIMP: Hi big shot, come on with me. I'll show you how to spend your dough.
DONALD DUCK: Oh boy, oh boy.
PIMP: I got us a couple of good dates *makes hand movements to signify the body shape of a fine French woman*
SCROOGE MCDUCK: But laddie, I've got some better dates.
NARRATOR: Important ones too. When every American should pay his or her income tax, gladly and proudly. This year, thanks to Hitler and Hirohito, taxes are higher than ever before. Will you have enough money on hand to meet your payments when they fall due?
PIMP: Ah, we'll take care of that later. Forget it, forget it.
SCROOGE MCDUCK: But you donwanto forget our fighting men, do ye?
DONALD DUCK: Yeah sure.
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Then you'll have to start saving right away to meet your tax payments.
DONALD DUCK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
PIMP: Listen, chum. Speeeend it. It's your dough.
DONALD DUCK: Yeeeeeeeeah. It's my dough.
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Ay laddie, it's your dough. But it's your war too. You must save for victory.
PIMP: What's money for? Spend it. Shoot the works. (?)
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Nay, nay. You must save it.
*At this point, scrooge and pimp both start pulling on Donald's arms.*
PIMP: Spend
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Save
PIMP: Spend
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Save
PIMP: Spend
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Save
PIMP: Spend
SCROOGE MCDUCK: Save
*Scrooge tear's donald's sailor outfit with his cane, and the pimp falls into a saloon. The saloon doors make the shape of a swastika. Scrooge hits a wall exposing the red brick underneath the wall's paint, and stars spin around his head. The stars step into place with the redbrick to form the US flag*
NARRATOR: Well, now what are you going to do? Spend, for the Axis? Or save, for taxes? Just remember, every dollar you spend for something you don't need is a dollar spent to help the Axis.
*Donald walks up to the pimp and sucker punches him in the face, smashing the Nazi saloon doors which fall into a symbolic formation which I don't understand. There are screenshots attached so you can work it out yourself. Donald and Scrooge then go to pay Donald's taxes*
NARRATOR: That's right. And every dollar you sock away for taxes is another dollar to sock the Axis. For it is your taxes, my taxes, our taxes that run the factories. American factories, working day and night. Factories making guns, machine guns, anti-tank guns, long range guns, guns, guns, all kinds of guns. *Shows GUNS destroying a Japanese warship* To blast the aggressors from the seas. Taxes for American factories. Working full-blast, making planes: bombers, dive bombers, flying fortresses, interceptors. Stalk the birds of prey that fly by night. *What looks like an AA gun destroying a German bomber*. Taxes to bury the axis. Taxes, taxes for ships, battleships, battle cruisers, destroyers, all kinds of battle wagons. *German submarine surfacing and being destroyed.* Taxes to sink the axis.
Taxes to keep them flying. *Carpet bombing run*. Taxes to keep them rolling. Taxes to keep them coming. Taxes to beat to earth the evil destroyer of freedom and peace. This is our fight, the fight for freedom. Speedom of speech, or worship, freedom of want and fear. Taxes will keep democracy on the march.
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Real fucking nice, Mr Disney. Too bad you were a fucking Nazi yourself and only started making this shit after you turned FBI informant and sold out all your buddies from your little Nazi meetings.
Anyway, The Spirit of '43 is one of the most interesting cartoons I've ever seen in my life. It is a piece of history, and I'm sure that it will be remembered longer than any cartoon on TV today. Or maybe not, but it is still my favorite cartoon that was made before the '90s, and when I die I want my head in a freezer in close proximity to Walt Disney's.
User Reviews
Submitted by nw15062 (user info) at 2005-02-04 07:58:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
The V in the image is to symbolise god looking down on man if it was pointing up it would mean man opposing god, the dashes below the V is morse code it is infact morse code for V, during WWII morse code was very popular and everyoen knows Walter was not a NAZIS sympathiser he was a free Mason of a high degree the symbol you see is the basic for masonry symbology. You wrote you didnt reckognize what the broken gate meant well theres your answer!
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2004-12-22 17:55:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:33:31 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by K.M (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:26:56 (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
***
Holy shit... K.M.'s back.
On the Disney thing I think the doors fall into a V for victory.
________
yep, that's a 'V for Victory' thing, for sure.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2004-12-22 12:23:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Interesting stuff, especially when you think of today's events. Are there blatant pieces of propaganda floating around now that we don't even think about?
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2004-12-22 10:52:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Agree with Burns.
Rate the post, not the person.
This was pretty decent.
Submitted by Kent_Weirdo (user info) at 2004-12-22 06:58:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Seen it before, along with the short about the young Nazi-raised child and other such shit.
They were actually rather chilling.
Submitted by Impassive-Digressive (user info) at 2004-12-22 03:31:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Wow. I wonder if we had anything like that in Australia. Blinky Bill pushing war bonds or something...
Submitted by Sideburns (user info) at 2004-12-22 01:10:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Rate the post, not the user.
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:40:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
disney is an evil fucking corporation
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:33:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by K.M (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:26:56 (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
***
Holy shit... K.M.'s back.
On the Disney thing I think the doors fall into a V for victory.
Submitted by Ingsoc (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:24:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I have this on VHS, along with a handful of other vintage Disney shorts.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:24:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:18:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't understand what you are saying. This isn't a debate, so why the fuck do you care what my stance on Walt Disney is? And who the fuck is Guilbert Godfrey? Who gives a fuck about Aladdin, or cartoons for that matter? What is my stand on Disney? Their cartoons are shit and only faggots (""Aladdin" (1993) had Guilbert Godfrey and therefore ruled" - faggot, Dec. 2004) enjoy them. I am talking about their propagandic values, not their goddamn entertainment value.
Submitted by Arm_The_Homeless (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:16:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
For the Goebbels reference. The rest is good too.
Submitted by thundercracker (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:08:18 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Wow, all that lackluster work for nothing. I don't even know what your point was or where you stand on Disney. For the Record:
"Aladdin" (1993) had Guilbert Godfrey and therefore ruled, so fuck you.
Submitted by kai070169 (user info) at 2004-12-21 22:01:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by toddska (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:42:50 (#)
Ranking: 2
Uncle Scrooge is Shylock.
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Submitted by toddska (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:42:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Uncle Scrooge is Shylock.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:40:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn Nazis.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:40:09 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Donald Duck told me to tell you to go fuck yourself.
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:34:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Well, he's a tight-assed Scotsman, but then again Donald Duck is the only character named in the cartoon, so I guess you could call him whatever you want.
Submitted by Zoidberg (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:31:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
interesting take on it all, but Uncle Scrooge wasn't created by Carl Barks until 1947 in "Christmas on Bear Mountain"
I have little doubt Barks drew his inspiration from this guy, but all the same, its not Uncle Scrooge (I used to read a lot of Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge comics as a kid, no it's not what made me gay)
Submitted by K.M (user info) at 2004-12-21 21:26:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment