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Shale, Richard. Donald Duck Joins Up: the Walt Disney Studio During World War II. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1982.
During World War II, the American government, especially the military, turned to Hollywood to aide in the creation of animated instructional films. The entire industry had little precedents and guidelines. Walt Disney, as one of the industry giants in animation, had an immense task and was instrumental in the indoctrination of GIs. This book chronicles the works from Walt Disney's studio and the profound effects it had on viewers. The particular section is the author's brief discussion of propaganda and Disney's works, The New Spirit (1943) and its sequel The Spirit of '43 (1943).
Shale states that while it is difficult to define the term propaganda, activity is key to any definition. If propaganda leads to only heightened emotions, but no action to follow, it is considered a failure. According to Shale, propaganda arouses emotions that in turn elicits vital action. But outright blatant propaganda leads to rejection. As Disney put it, "outright propaganda is resented...molding [public] opinion is something else again." Animation is key to this molding process because it is not as "real" of a medium as newsreels or drama.
A real example of this molding process was Disney's first big wartime propaganda hit, The New Spirit. The Treasury Department reported it had been seen by 32,647,000 people and according to the Gallup Poll, an astonishing 37% of viewers felt it had affected their willingness to pay their taxes. Even the great Frank Capra whose Why We Fight series indoctrinated the GIs congratulated Walt Disney and conceded that animation is the only method that could achieve certain effects that conventional film could not. Animation was the ideal medium for imparting uniform concise instruction, but in the powerful bridging manner as not to appear as outright propaganda. As opinions are molded, soldiers become less sensitive to what they perceive as wrong or not ideal and internalize those opinions as their own.
During World War II, the American government, especially the military, turned to Hollywood to aide in the creation of animated instructional films. The entire industry had little precedents and guidelines. Walt Disney, as one of the industry giants in animation, had an immense task and was instrumental in the indoctrination of GIs. This book chronicles the works from Walt Disney's studio and the profound effects it had on viewers. The particular section is the author's brief discussion of propaganda and Disney's works, The New Spirit (1943) and its sequel The Spirit of '43 (1943).
Shale states that while it is difficult to define the term propaganda, activity is key to any definition. If propaganda leads to only heightened emotions, but no action to follow, it is considered a failure. According to Shale, propaganda arouses emotions that in turn elicits vital action. But outright blatant propaganda leads to rejection. As Disney put it, "outright propaganda is resented...molding [public] opinion is something else again." Animation is key to this molding process because it is not as "real" of a medium as newsreels or drama.
A real example of this molding process was Disney's first big wartime propaganda hit, The New Spirit. The Treasury Department reported it had been seen by 32,647,000 people and according to the Gallup Poll, an astonishing 37% of viewers felt it had affected their willingness to pay their taxes. Even the great Frank Capra whose Why We Fight series indoctrinated the GIs congratulated Walt Disney and conceded that animation is the only method that could achieve certain effects that conventional film could not. Animation was the ideal medium for imparting uniform concise instruction, but in the powerful bridging manner as not to appear as outright propaganda. As opinions are molded, soldiers become less sensitive to what they perceive as wrong or not ideal and internalize those opinions as their own.
belongs to Animation's Role in the Desensitization of War project
tagged propaganda the_new_spirit walt_disney world_war_ii by yuany ...and 1 other person ...on 02-DEC-08
tagged propaganda the_new_spirit walt_disney world_war_ii by yuany ...and 1 other person ...on 02-DEC-08