for my UPA animation, I was struck by the moral complexity of the UPA cartoon Brotherhood of Man.
the Brotherhood of Man is a short cartoon based on a pamphlet of the same name. the pamphlet was written by two anthropologists, Gene Weltfish and Ruth Benedict. The cartoon was commissioned by United Automobile workers to ease the ethnic tensions in the unionized southern branches. its depictions of other races as stereotypical caricatures are and will continue to be harmful.
to maintain the same age of cartoons, I chose the Native American scene in Peter Pan. Both of these films were produced in the 1950s and have harmful depictions and stereotypes of the races shown. while the animation style differs wildly as does the message. while the UPA film seeks to connect people over their similarities rather than differences. While as Peter Pan’s scene was used as a plot device to move along the story between Wendy and Peter.
in terms of considering the actual style of the animation, we have the classical Disney style in which these movements are fluid and real. The characters in Disney films, while being stylized, are more human than their UPA counterparts. Yet the Disney character of the chief is a racist stereotypical depiction of a Native American. As opposed to the appealing character design of, say, Wendy Darling. As Disney does, the film’s animation brings the story book to life, but at a cost of displaying harmful stereotypes. whereas UPA’s style while it plays into the stereotypes, it seeks to dismantle the views around them rather then let them continue to exist. I’d like to be incredibly clear in my beliefs surrounding both animations, they consist of harmful imagery and stereotypes but the message of UPA’s film stands out to me. while the fact we still deal with the same issues saddens me, art continues to give me hope that we can learn more about one another.
“the message that the similarities between people are greater than any racial differences, was part of a post WW2 optimism which was soon to be seen as leftist propaganda and now reads like simple multiculturalism.
UPA’s personnel and writer Lardner jr. (CLOAK & DAGGER, TOMORROW THE WORLD) soon came under the scrutiny of the McCarthyists.”
-anonymous critic
SPONSOR: United Auto Workers
PRODUCTION CO: United Productions of America
DIRECTOR: Robert Cannon
WRITERS: Ring Lardner Jr., Maurice Rapf, Phil Eastman MUSIC: Paul Smith
| Robert Cannon | … | animator |
| Boris Gorelick | … | background artist |
| Ken Harris | … | animator |
| Ben Washam | … | animator |
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