Octopus & Propaganda

[Phil]

Apologies for the Bookshop logo on this one, but the image was too appropriate for this forum to miss.

(1938) Henry C. Wolfe, The German Octopus


Published several months before the Munich capitulation, Wolfe’s book concerns itself exclusively with the Third Reich’s foreign adventures, in particular the Nazis’ drive through central Europe and the Balkans, ominously concluding with the question of “Czechoslovakia---Next Prey?”

 

[Clem]

heres four i found on the web... dont have descriptions for all but the gist can be gleaned from them....i had another, but i couldnt blow it up enough to be able to read it....

WK,

I'm knocked out by what you've found. Great stuff.

The Russian octo can be viewed in a larger, more detailled format if you click here. The English legend reads:

'Black Octopus' is a name newly given to Russia by a certain prominent Englishman. For the Black Octopus is so avaricious that he stretches out his eight arms in all directions, and seizes up every thing that comes within his reach. But as it sometimes happens he gets wounded seriously even by a small fish, owing to his too much [illegible]. Indeed, a Japanese proverb says: "Great avarice is like unselfishness." We Japanese need not to say much on the cause of the present war. Suffice it to say, that the further existence of the Black Octopus will depend entirely upon how he comes out of this war. The Japanese fleet has already practically annihilated Russia's naval power in the Orient. The Japanese army is about to win a signal victory over Russia in Corea & Manchuria. And when...............St Petersburg? Wait and see! The ugly Black Octopus! Hurrah! Hurrah! for Japan.

The handbill is dated 1904. On February 8, 1904, the Japanese Navy launched an attack againt the Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur, with devastating results. The war was occasioned by Russia's rejection of Japan's territorial claims on the Asian mainland, including Manchuria and Corea, and the Russian annnexation of the Liaodong Peninsula. Japan and Russia fought a sprawling war, involving hundreds of thousands of troops and big fleets, culminating in the lopsided Battle of Tsushima on May 27, 1905. After that decisive naval victory, Japan (with diplomatic assistance from a sympathetic Teddy Roosevelt) negotiated a favorable peace. The defeat of the vastly larger, established power by upstart Japan - "a small fish" - came as a major shock to the West, and helped fix in the Japanese psyche a fatal overconfidence in the inevitability of its ascendancy.

Interesting that the legend is written in English. A not so-subtle warning to Britain, perhaps? Who's the "prominent Englishman?"

Below is the anti-Chinese cartoon you found, "What shall we do with our boys?". That header might be "The Wasp." If so, it's the same nineteenth-century San Francisco paper that ran the famous octopus cartoon condemning the excesses of the Pacific Railroad monopoly. If so, then the artist is probably G. Frederick Keller. Presumably, the loitering boys are out of work because Chinese immigrants have "taken" all the low-wage clothes manufacturing jobs.

I've no sure idea what the historical context for the subway illustration is. It's a beautiful work. Look at that little sliver of orange sunset backlighting the skyline.



Backing up a bit: I highly recommend James Bradley's Flyboys to anyone with an interest in the fraught and complicated history between Japan and the West. Before reading it, I'd no real sense of the scope of the Russo-Japan war. Most of the narrative deals with WWII, but Bradley illustrates the parallel courses of American and Japanese Manifest Destiny with great skill.

WK, thanks again for the great contributions.

 

[Clem]

Apologies for the Bookshop logo on this one, but the image was too appropriate for this forum to miss.

Phil,

Apologize for nothing, that's a great find. It perpetuates the odd tit-for-tat cycle of octopus-themed illustrations produced by both the Nazis and their opponents. Hitler vs. Heartfield, Jewish octopus vs. Nazi octopus, and so on. Do have any background information on Mr. Wolfe, the author of "The German Octopus?"



Clem

 

[nanoteuthis]

Clem, you are amazing, thanks so much for all the images and especially the relevant historical information. How much work did you put into that research? I'm impressed!

BTW, that "Subway Octopus" scared the living sh*t outta me! (Maybe 'cause I live in NYC and have to ride them things too bloody often....) I find it interesting that the face -- OMG, what a face! -- was like a distortion of the usually-benign Chinese dragon. Is this some sort of antiquated racial slur of political origin? I don't think there was the same sort of issue regarding Chinese workers in the construction of the subway, at least not here in NYC, but then again lots of cities have underground transit systems and the poster could refer to one of them.

Any further info about this?

Quite fascinated,
Tani

 

[Clem]

Any further info about this?

Taningia,

Nope. Aren't you getting the info? I was told you were getting the info.

Yours truly,

Clem

 

[nanoteuthis]

Nope. Aren't you getting the info? I was told you were getting the info.

Not about Subway Octo I ain't. And you said you ain't got none neither.

I've no idea what the historical context for the subway illustration is

So's you're obviously getting me confused with someone who was getting the info. But I didn't get no info. Not from you, not from nobody nohow. Anyone here got the info? Info needed here.

About Subway Octo, that is.

'Cause we ain't got no info about Subway Octo. Gol durn it.

Maw

 

[WhiteKiboko]

if i had to guess about the Subway octo, i'd say the octo looked somewhat in the style of a chinese/asian dragon type thing.... what west coast cities have subways? i ask west coast because if you look at the far left arm, you can see something like "Hollt Cal Pull" whatever that means.... if not US, what other English speaking cities have subways? london of course, but what about Hong Kong or any other former ENglish colonies?

 

[WhiteKiboko]

another one.... the BHP discussed is half of BHP Billiton, a company formed after the Aussie mining company BHP bought the British company Billiton... found it on eBay....


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3587328524

 

[tonmo]

Check out this ad/propaganda article from a 50's magazine, asking for donations to help support... independent doctors... down with organized health services!

The Medical Octopus

 

[Phil]

How about this internet site for an extremely unsubtle depiction of the use of octopus imagery in conspiracy theory:

CTRL: The Conspiracy Theory Research List

(Thanks Nancy!)

 

[Emperor]

I'm not sure if this has come up but I spotted it on conspiracy theory/saucer nut site Rense.com:

rense.com

Its on the left about halfway down and is clear an 'illustration' of their ideas about some kind of Zionist attempt to take over the world. There should be some kind of Octopus Defamation Societ or something to stop them being used for unpleasant ends.

Emps

 

[Clem]

There should be some kind of Octopus Defamation Societ or something to stop them being used for unpleasant ends.

Hello Emps,

We've got our work cut out for us in Singapore. The Center for Research and Documentation on Japan's War Responsibility (JWRC), a Japanese non-governmental organization, has on its site a page from a Singaporean school textbook. The illustration shows an IJO (Imperial Japanese Octopus) seizing Southeast Asia in its arms. Click here to see the page. This is the first propagandapus I've seen with human hands on the distal portion of the arms. A new genus?

Meanwhile, the British Museum has a fine specimen of editorial cartoon, attributed to Jack Chen and of Korean War-era vintage. The visual language is blunt, but I rather like the way Chen uses the snow cap on Mt. Fuji to create the impression of a gaping maw on the shadowy octopus. Click here to see the British Museum's presentation of the cartoon, and don't be put off by the Museum's introduction:

"Understanding the meaning of cartoons can be difficult."

For the love of crap.

:|

Clem

 

[WhiteKiboko]

well done clem... i havent gone a rovin' for similar items in awhile.....

good find and thanks for the motivation....


to quote homer simpson "cartoons are just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh"......

 

[Clem]

This is the first propagandapus I've seen with human hands on the distal portion of the arms. A new genus?

Well, no.

I've no date or point of origin for this illustration, nor any technical data. It'd be nice to know if the color scheme is contemporary or was recently applied to an old engraving. The names on the land-masses being held are mostly illegible, apart from the ones in the foreground: Egypt, India and Canada.

Stupid drawing.

Clem

 

[Phil]

"Phils2ndbestbestdreamever", eh? The first involved a pith helmet and a Maxim you know.....

That looks a Georgian/early Victorian date to me. I wonder if that is supposed to be John Bull? The British Empire as an octopus.....I wonder where it came from? Great find, Lord Clem!