Political Cartoons

My research paper was centered around the medium of political cartoons. I found that their inherent function allows them to handle a serious situation with some comedic relief, and some resolve. After analyzing about 24 cartoons from this time period, I found something intriguing: many focused on positive attributes of our nation and validated the bombing in several different ways. Ultimately, they took an interesting perspective which highlighted the scientific victory while removing American blame and lessening the emphasis on the victims.

The cartoon above is from the Los Angeles Times, on August 9^th 1945. Interesting features include:

• Three weapons: a hammer, a dagger and the bomb; dominate the image, taking up about 3/4^th of the space
• Japanese weakness: Japanese flag is bending greatly, almost tipping over
• US Power: caption states, “All this and Russia, Too!”, referencing the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. Emphasizes relentless power of the United States in attacking its enemies.
• Threat: Tools of destruction are all aimed at the helplessly small volcano
• Ambivalent U.S. blame: no demonization or personification of the United States as a monstrous enemy; instead, the weapons are dark and nondescript, simply exaggerated for size.
• Lack of victims: imagery of destruction, which may probe a viewer to feel pity for the victims, is also lacking.

The cartoon above was published in the Los Angeles Times on August 10, 1945. Interesting features include:

• Doomed future: man peering into a bottomless crater that is being struck by a white light, and the ground seems to be pulling into the darkness at the bottom of the crater.
• Atomic age: man is struggling to escape the devastation, but it seems inevitable. This idea of an unavoidable “atomized” destruction hints towards the looming atomic age, as recording it signifies its introduction in history.
• No link to U.S. or presence of victims

The cartoon above was published on August 11, 1945 in the Chicago Tribune. Interesting features:

• U.S. victory: a small soldier, labeled “U.S. fighting man”, carrying an American flag with a tag of “Victory” on the top
• End of war: term “surrender” shifts the focus to the bomb’s effect on ending the war rather than on complete destruction. As it is in the background, the component of destruction is an afterthought to the primary theme of victory through scientific advancement.
• A notable resemblance: the manner of depicting the soldier with a flag is similar to the infamous photograph of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima, which was another famous American victory remembered with pride in history.
• No victims, devastation

The cartoon above was published in the Chicago Tribune on August 13, 1945. Interesting features include:

• Atomic weapon: atom bomb, which is larger than the scale itself and labeled the “Jap-Buster Bomb,” tips the scale in favor of the U.S;  nuts and bolts of the spring to pop out
• Lack of victims and destruction
• Degrading Japanese: inscription on the bomb as “Jap-buster” is insensitive and offensive to the nation and its people; “busting” comes off as a source of pride for the Americans, a feat worth boasting

The cartoon above was published on August 8, 1945 in the Chicago Tribune. Interesting features include:

• Japanese blame: sign saying “Jap Sneak Attack, Pearl Harbor, 1941”. The location of Pearl Harbor is one end of a fuse that is connected to Japan, and the fuse is sparked at Pearl Harbor.
• Signs of destruction: Heads, shoes, guns, limbs, and knives can be seen radiating outward as an effect of the explosion
• Revenge: A speech bubble in the air stating “so sorry!” is a sarcastic comment, referencing the aftermath of the explosion as being Japanese fault and incited by Japanese aggression rather than American initiative.