Blogging newspaper editor Mike Dobbs has posted some scans from a 1939 magazine article called “The Movies Launch a Kindergarten of Democracy”. [Link] The pictures are scenes promoting the Warner Brothers cartoon “Old Glory”, directed by Chuck Jones. Here’s the cartoon, released in 1940, in all its patriotic, rotoscoped, Technicolor™ old glory.
http://youtu.be/utkBu-mqi-c
Notice the two words that are missing from the Pledge of Allegiance? And of course there are two states missing in the map of the United States.
I live in “the birthplace of Uncle Sam,” which is to say Arlington, MA. Not the “home of Uncle Sam” which is Troy, NY. I’m also about two blocks away from the route of Paul Revere’s ride.
Naturally, there were also two stars missing from the flag.
As Uncle Sam was telling Porky that some people don’t appreciate all the liberties we have, I couldn’t help but think that we have fewer liberties to appreciate today, thanks to the current administration.
Notice how the house lights come on immediately, as if they were electric?
Oh, and the stuff the colonists suffered from? Tyranny? Unfair taxes? Oppression? Aren’t we pretty much back to square one now with a different King George?
All those “humans” remind me of the Max Fleischer mini-opus, “Gulliver’s Travels” with the endlessly annoying “Gabby.” Natch, “under God” is missing from the pledge, as are Alaska and Hawaii. Those states weren’t even incorporated when we were born! Say, how come Paul Revere just screams “to arms?” and not “The British are Coming?” We weren’t at war yet in 1940, but I guess since we were already Britain’s ally then, WB deftly cut it out, along with any images of Red Coats.