Make Mine Freedom John Sutherland Productions 1948

This Cold War-era cartoon uses humor to tout the dangers of Communism and the benefits of capitalism.

Fun and Facts About America, John Sutherland Productions. Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

This is an interesting 1948 political cartoon promoting freedom though the modern viewer will be confused. The film starts by explaining our freedom and then introduces four people representing labor, management, politicians, and agriculture. Then Dr Utopia shows up trying to sale his ISM product to only to be interrupted by John Q. Public.

The promises Dr. Utopia makes to each person seems to indicates that his ISM could be up to four different forms of government as the pitches he makes to labor and management are practically opposite to each other. Labor is clearly Communism and the "State Concentration camp #5" sign hints at the ISM being given to politicians being Fascism leaving the viewer to try and figure out if the ISMs being given management and agriculture are different aspects of these two or something else entirely.

John Q. Public's warning speech at the about anyone trying to pit us against each other via class warfare, race hatred, or religious intolerance reinforces the idea that Dr. Utopia's ISM is not just one form of government.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Animation
• Cartoon
• Vintage
• John
• Sutherland
• Capitalism
• Cold
• War
• Advertising
• communism
• politics
• freedom
• concentration
• camp
• fascism
• ww2
• wwii

[fande3rls88]

my isn't this what the left is doing to our country now . with Obama and his health care mandated Fascism.

[tinalambert27]

Excellent. Sharing to facebook.