I have a thing for World War II propaganda cartoons. To me they show the kind of perversions a society has to go through in order to engage in war (even those with a just cause). One must totally denigrate the enemy so that they are no longer seen as human. But there is more; there is a kind of liberation theology always involved, but, unlike authentic Christian liberation theology, it is all humanistic, Promethean, making gods out of humanity as they seek to create utopia on earth. This, to me, is what is behind all forms of nationalistic exceptionalism.
Without surprise, I find both of these qualities best expressed in this series of cartoons from the USSR.
What do you make of these cartoons? What is your reaction to this and similar propaganda?
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