he Japanese chose to hide. Behind this mask lay a mentality the West could not fully perceive nor begin to understand. It was a face that did not reflect internal sentiment and therefore one that could not be trusted. In short, the Japanese could not be taken at face value as is aptly demonstrated in Image 3. The stereotypical expression and western dress of Japan hide a potential act of treachery that can only be surmised by assessing the facts external to Japan in the form of the disguised serpent.The characteristics discussed so far remained fairly constant throughout war. In a large way they seem to be little more than comic, school-boy style ridicule of perceived physical imperfections. Possibly the most telling factor of American representations is the degree to which the Japanese people were presented as one, monolithic homogenous group. To apply a one-size-fits-all label to a target group is a standard propaganda treatment. What is most notable is the degree to which this was pushed on the Japanese by the American viewpoint.The Japanese people are shown to the American public as a homogenous race made up not of individuals but of” photographic prints off the same negative.”5 It is helpful to compare how various countries are presented. The characters who appear in political cartoons such as Suess’ are not individuals but icons. The issue of homogeneity is less about the fact that certain qualities are exaggerated to create a representative image and more about how and to whom that image is applied.When dealing with international issues the most consistent portrayal of the US is that of a stylised American eagle. But when this is set in contrast to works addressing matters internal to the US, a host of characters are introduced to delineate various American viewpoints. The conflict displayed over internal matters suggests that the eagle only represented one viewpoint, not the entire spectrum. (Geisle like most o...
