Whatever happened to wartime morale cartoons?

[wackyoverkhaki]

Where’s , Betty Grable, and Bob Hope when you need ‘em? We can have and SpongeBob & Sandy kickin’ terrorist butt! And the terrorists can have buckteeth and glasses lol. And cartoon pinups !

Ok, I’ll admit unlike WWII I’m not very fond of this war, but the folks over their still need our support and morale-boosting, which there obviously hasn’t been enough of; it’s pretty disappointing. And with all the $ being poured into this war, you'd think there'd be enough money to make quality toons like that.

[Tom Stathes]

I think it's simple- a lack of unity here in the states. I wholeheartedly support the idea but liberals in the media with verbal diarrhea would shoot them down (like they should be doing to the enemy...)
I'm not fond of any type of war but with less and less unity [in general] this country won't be able to achieve major goals.
During WWII, all members of the family participated towards the war effort in some way. I don't need to detail the specifics. Today? That would happen only in a dream. Oh, and we didn't lose WWII either and one can only wonder why

[Speedy's_Gal]

What happened is that the U.S. can't agree on anything. The U.S. is so divided now that we can't unite over anything. We're split right down the middle. During WWII, there was a common cause and a common enemy. Americans were united in defeating an enemy and supported the war in any way they could. Pearl Harbor united the US. I hate to see what would have to happen here to have the same effect as Pearl Harbor. Our division is our downfall, a big downfall.

[Tom Stathes]

Originally Posted by Speedy's_Gal

What happened is that the U.S. can't agree on anything. The U.S. is so divided now that we can't unite over anything. We're split right down the middle. During WWII, there was a common cause and a common enemy. Americans were united in defeating an enemy and supported the war in any way they could. Pearl Harbor united the US. I hate to see what would have to happen here to have the same effect as Pearl Harbor. Our division is our downfall, a big downfall.

Absolutely.
The 9/11 disaster united many but that didn't last long.
At this point, I hate to say it, a nuke probably wouldn't unite as many people as Pearl Harbor did.

[Dan Porceddu]

Originally Posted by Tom Stathes

I think it's simple- a lack of unity here in the states. I wholeheartedly support the idea but liberals in the media with verbal diarrhea would shoot them down

Who exactly are these devious liberals in the media that you speak of?

The lack of morale boosting cartoons today is due to a combination of factors. Feel free to decide which is the most prominent.
a.) The legitimacy of the war is being constantly being questioned, even increasingly within the Republican party;
b.) Cartoons are viewed as children's fodder, so no one at the large corporations would consider using them in patriotism-inspiring films;
c.) Cartoons are largely a global business, and with the expense and time required to produce a short, anything created would need to be accessible in as many markets as possible;
d.) Corporations would prefer to shy away from controversy, especially at a time when they are already seen as too cozy with the government.

[J Lee]

Remember what happened during the aftermath of the first Gulf War in 1991 -- AMC Theaters worked out a deal with Warner Bros. to show classic Looney Tunes before the features at their theaters that summer, and one of those was the 1949 Bugs short "A Lad and His Lamp" which had absoultely nothing to do with war whatsoever. But with Bugs travelling to Baghdad and going up against a caliph (along with a sign for a used flying carpet dealer that said "Mad Man Hussein", audiences took it as a direct referrence to Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

The cartoon got huge laughs from audiences who made the Bugs-Hussein connection (to go along with the, um, more risque meaning of Bugs calling the caliph "Beaver Puss"), but Warner Bros. ended up facing protests from Arab anti-defimation groups over the short (using Shaggy's voiceman, Casey Kasem, as their spokesperson). So any cartoon made today that did something similar would face the same problem.

Of course, if you don't care what the special interest groups think, you can do whatever you want. Matt and Trey over at "South Park" did the Bugs parody using Osama and Cartman in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, and have enough leeway to do controversal stuff without getting the Viacom suits on their backs (except, apparently, for showing Mohammad's image) because they've been successful and their characters are supposed to be 21st Century edgy. Warners sees their characters as more child-friendly despite Bugs or Daffy's troublemaking pasts, and there's also no one in charge of the characters who has enough clout to get anything controversal made, other than the occassional DRx wall art designs in Hollywood.

[Bartman]

To be perfectly blunt/honest, this country has been divided ever since the Vietnam war - a war in which we didn't belong. Granted the events of 9/11 united us for awhile, but it didn't last long - George W. made sure of that!!!

My only hope is that the next person who becomes our Commander-in-Chief doesn't have an IQ somewhere between a paperclip and an ashtray. Then again, paperclips and ashtrays are useful objects!!

[Sogturtle]

Originally Posted by Bartman

To be perfectly blunt/honest, this country has been divided ever since the Vietnam war - a war in which we didn't belong. Granted the events of 9/11 united us for awhile, but it didn't last long - George W. made sure of that!!!

My only hope is that the next person who becomes our Commander-in-Chief doesn't have an IQ somewhere between a paperclip and an ashtray. Then again, paperclips and ashtrays are useful objects!!

You know Bart, that's REALLY unnecessarily nasty... The President happens to have degrees from both Harvard and Yale. How many of us can make that statement??

[And yes, both degrees were earned and his GPA was as high as that of John Kerry's].

[Marty26]

Originally Posted by Sogturtle

You know Bart, that's REALLY unnecessarily nasty... The President happens to have degrees from both Harvard and Yale. How many of us can make that statement??

[And yes, both degrees were earned and his GPA was as high as that of John Kerry's].

Which is to say, "Not very high."

[Sogturtle]

Originally Posted by Marty26

Which is to say, "Not very high."

Ummmm no... Neither President Bush or Senator Kerry is stupid by any means. Their grades were fine, probably higher than a good percent of any of ours in college.