Disney Propaganda Walt Disney Company and its Contribution to Propaganda Usage in the United States

During World War II, the U.S. government retained the Walt Disney Company to create a series of videos about various issues. These issues included everything from paying income taxes, dealing with gas or tire shortages, military training, as well as several that portrayed Germans and Japanese figures in vilifying situations (Higgins, 2011). The videos were animated cartoons that contained many of the company's most recognized characters and could be easily watched by adults and children alike. The animations were entertaining and produced in the same style and quality as many of their hit feature films of the time.

The government commissioned Disney studios to create the films shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was thought that having...

As an American iconic brand with deep roots in the U.S. culture, the Disney characters were used to represent the United States on several occasions. For example, Frankin Roosevelt used Mickey Mouse as an international symbol of piece in the U.S.'s Good Neighbor Campaign.
In Disney's Film "The New Spirit" Donald Duck is portrayed as an American character who receives fifty dollars a week (Time Magazine, 1942). The film focuses on Donald as he learns about how he is funding the war through his income taxes. The film is under six minutes long and is unabashedly propagandized to make views feel guilt for not paying their share of income tax. For example in the film a tax…