Prompt 1: Many of the films we saw this week show stereotypical versions of the enemy. Watch “Bust the Axis”, made in the UK directed by an American and “Momotarō no Umiwashi”. How is the enemy portrayed in each of these films? What negative stereotypes are depicted? What means are used in terms of drawing style and movement? What are the behaviors demonstrated by the characters?
Bury the Axis (1943): Bury the Axis was directed and animated by American Lou Bunin It was part of a British plan to showcase the enemies of Britain as truly evil in the eyes of the public in order to continue the war effort. Kenneth Clark, as head of the Films Division of the Ministry of information that was re-established at the start of the war, argued in 1940 that the public must be convinced of German brutality, stating ‘we should emphasize wherever possible the wickedness and evil perpetrated in the occupied countries’. The film uses stop-motion animation in order to portray its story. This includes clay puppet models of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito. It begins with Hitler singing a little song about how he’s taken over several countries and will do more, until he gets to Moscow.
Momotarō no Umiwashi (1943): The film is a Japanese propagandistic perspective of the bombings of Pearl Harbor and the offensive on the Pacific theatre of the Second World War. Director Mitsuyo Seo went out of his way to portray the brutality of war with the prolonged live footage of the bombings inserted into his film, something that flew right past the naval supervisor censors who saw this as a victory lap of their strategic achievements at that point in the war. The main character Momotaro sends a sneak aircraft attack to sink the ships of Demon Island, using his animal companions as crew members and pilots. Which basically portrays the attack on Pearl Harbor.
