John Sutherland Cold War Propaganda Economics Vintage Cartoons 1940s to 1960s

Description: Please read & note: This is a Rights holding DVD created & produced by me and is not factory made or sealed. All pictures are actual screen captures from the DVDs. I strive to produce the best DVD's possible from the sometimes VERY old Public Domain material. Films that are public domain are unpreserved and not professionally re-mastered. I re-master all of my films myself to the best possible quality achievable. My DVDs are not the quality of todays Modern DVDs or Bluray discs. If you are looking for this kind of quality then these discs are not for you. Please note this when purchasing, but also know that all of the films are very watchable. To keep my prices as low as possible all my DVDs are delivered in plain paper DVD sleeves and the DVDs title will be labeled on the back of the DVD envelope. This way you can write the contents of the DVD on the DVD yourself if you want to. (See picture). All of my DVD's come with a menu for easy film selection. 　 John Sutherland was one of the busiest producers of animated industrials during the 1950's. The working conditions at Sutherland studios were ideal for artists: he paid top dollar so he always attracted A-list designers and animators, and he was very hands-off when it came to the visuals, so artists were free to do as they pleased. 　 Film 1: "Destination Earth" (1956) COLOR Runtime 13 Minutes This animated bit of capitalist propaganda features a Martian from a totalitarian Martian society who comes to Earth to find out what makes the Earthmobiles so darned efficient, so he can repair the Head Martian’s limousine. By doing research in a public library, he discovers that oil and free-market competition make America great, so he goes back to Mars to preach this gospel (obviously the stack of books that he steals from the library don’t contain titles about air and water pollution, Middle-Eastern politics, robber barons, or the Great Depression). This inspires the Martians so much that they all go out to drill oil wells, while the totalitarian leader is conquered simply by pushing a self-destruct button–that he was defeated so easily really makes you wonder about the intelligence of the Martian race. This is propaganda, to be sure, but it’s delightfully animated, genuinely funny in spots, and less strident than many films of its kind. 　 Film 2: "It's Everybody's Business" (1954) COLOR Runtime 20 Minutes Corporate Cold War-era cartoon linking Bill of Rights to free-enterprise ideology. Surprisingly well animated short detailing what's RIGHT about America, eg free enterprise, the right where we choose to work, where to live etc. I was quite interested in the animation work done here as it seems to be very different from the animation commonly drawn in the 1950's. Quite fluid, interesting story. 　 Film 3: "Your Safety First" (1956) COLOR Runtime 12 Minutes This John Sutherland cartoon from 1956 begins with newspaper headlines about space travel and tax cuts while Dad contemplates buying a new car on Oct. 5, 2000. Pampered Mom, computerized home, 4 hour work day, and cars that drive themselves. A comical pre-1960 history of the auto industry's "remarkable inventions" making cars better and safer so more and more could enjoy operating them follows. Too bad the flying cars didn't work out, but the 4 hour work day would be nice. 　 Film 4: "What Makes Us Tick" (1952) COLOR Runtime 11 Minutes On a typical 1950's day, typical cartoon American John Q. Public comes home to his typical American family in his typically owned-by-the-bank car, and pauses to take pride in his mortgaged home that will only last his lifetime. Mrs. JQ Public reclines eating bon bons thanks to labor saving devices (which of course are bought on credit). But the leisure of a 40 hour work week lets John help out at home and dream about bowling. In the privacy of his den, John reflects on the insurance he's paid for, his massive savings to cover emergencies, vacations, and junior's education, and yet he still he has money left to invest in the stock market! From here we get ideal cartoon capitalism where everything works as Milton Friedman would have us believe. Just like Enron, Worldcom etc... This version of the American Fantasy brought to you by the honest, hard working folks at the New York Stock Exchange. 　 Film 5: "Working Dollars" (1957) COLOR Runtime 10 Minutes Once again, John Sutherland has taken the Stock Exchange and made an amusing, yet highly simplified film about how the Stock Exchange works. Using Mr. Everyday Businessman, the film shows how, even with an investment of only 40 dollars a month, you can go into what was known as a Monthly Investment Plan and watch your money being put to work! Even when the stocks go down, you can make money!! It’s all a little too rosey, and sort of gets confusing when the guy goes on his car ride… FYI this film is in pretty banged up, Scratches throughout, lots of splices too. 　 Film 6: "Why Play Leap Frog?" (1949) COLOR Runtime 9 Minutes In the spirit of films produced by Harding College and John Sutherland, presents a tunnel vision capitalist view of economics. This time, rising prices are blamed on increasing wages for workers, so the only hope for wages to keep up is for workers to produce more. Cartoon hero Joe comes up with an idea to increase productivity so his company's owners will earn more profits, and then he gets a raise. So make more money for someone else, and they will reward you with a bit of it. It is kind of a fun cartoon in Technicolor in spite of this simplistic view of economics. 　 Film 7: "Meet King Joe" (1949) COLOR Runtime 9 Minutes Cold War cartoon aimed at American workers with the objective of convincing them of their good fortune. Very nicely animated cartoon about Joe, king of the workers, who gets paid more then other workers in other lands, can make his dollar stretch more, and have more leisure time! 　 Film 8 "Going Places" (1948) COLOR Runtime 8 Minutes Cold War cartoon defending the profit motive against anti-capitalist critics. A beautiful, classically animated cartoon that sort of explains the notion of business. Freddie Fudsie the soap maker, watches his company grow and grow and grow, he learns about competition, monopoly and the evils of price fixing. Although somewhat simplistic, very enjoyable. 　 Film 9: "Make Mine Freedom" (1948) COLOR Runtime 9 Minutes Very propagandistic cartoon which asks us to thank ourselves for everything that we have, rather than forcing to swallow any bottle of ISM being thrown our way. Like the travelling salesman concept, and how he was, yes, selling bottles of ISM. The four people who want to buy it get to sample it, and are faced with the consequences. Very interesting and hardline. This film is an excellent example of a twisting words to make your point come shining through. Giving away your freedoms to the almighty "isms" of the world... a very valid point. But it cleverly disguises "capital-ISM" by using other terms to separate it from the classification. 　I claim ownership and rights to this media. All the films on this DVD have been researched and are copyright free or the copyrights have expired due to non renewal.

Price: 7.99 USD

Location: West Terre Haute, Indiana

End Time: 2024-10-30T20:33:52.000Z

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