Animation #34 - Kevin Rudd on Bill Henson

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Cartoons of the Moment – The War Zoo (c1915)

Curator’s clip description

This clip begins with the hand of the artist (Harry Julius) drawing seven animals including a bear, bulldog, turkey and daschund, which surround a title card ‘the war zoo’. Three of the animals are introduced through a brief sketch: ‘the weeping turk’ shows a battered and bruised turkey behind a fence being assaulted with boomerangs; ‘the kultur eagle’ shows a large bald eagle reluctantly sharing an enclosure with a peace dove; and ‘still king of them’ shows a pipe-smoking lion wearing a Royal Navy uniform bearing the St George’s Cross.

Curator’s notes

Julius regularly characterised the wartime countries as animals in editions of Cartoons of the Moment. The battered turkey (representing the Ottoman Empire) is the most pitiable of all, and is often depicted as a fez-capped turkey covered in bandaids and bruises. In this clip, the sign ‘do not throw boomerangs at the bird’ is a reference to Australian troops fighting the Turks.

Lauren Williams, curator

Teachers’ notes

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This black-and-white clip of an animated cartoon shows warring nations of the First World War as animals. It opens with the artist sketching six animals as part of a title card. Three cartoon segments depict cut-out animals. A weeping injured turkey is hit by a boomerang. A sign warns ‘DO NOT THROW BOOMERANGS AT THE BIRD’. ‘THE KULTUR EAGLE’ of Germany curses the Allies for caging him with the dove of peace. Finally, a pipe-smoking lion in English naval uniform appears with a caption that reads ‘STILL KING OF THEM’.

Educational value points

• This clip is an example of war propaganda to reassure viewers of an Allied victory. The first sketch implies Turkey’s defeat by ANZAC forces. The second ridicules Germany with the German eagle caged with the dove of peace, protesting ‘THEY MADE ME LOVE YOU AND I DIDN‘T WANT TO DO IT’, words from a hit song of 1913. The third is designed to raise public morale by suggesting that Great Britain, the ‘king of the beasts’, will ultimately prevail.

• Cartoonists often rely on preconceived symbols and animals to convey their message. By using character stereotypes countries can be ridiculed, as is the Ottoman Empire in this cartoon by being depicted as a battered and weeping turkey, or the predatory ambitions of Germany being characterised and represented as the bald eagle. The lion of England is supposed to represent national qualities such as dependability and steadfastness.

• The clip gives an example of First World War (1914–18) propaganda ridiculing the enemy to shore-up a wartime audience’s morale and encourage confidence in victory. Turkey appears as a weeping turkey clearly coming off badly due to the boomerang assault, a reference to the ANZAC forces attacking Turkish troops in the Dardanelles. Contrary to this characterisation, however, the conflict that began in April 1915 ended with an Allied defeat.

• The effectiveness of cut-out animation is shown well in this clip. By reducing the elements of the cartoon its message is conveyed economically and directly. The white figures and text on a black background are intended to focus the audience’s attention. Stop-frame photography creates movement of the cut-out figures against the sketched-in backgrounds. The captions and titles frame and comment on the action.

• The style of this animated cartoon supports the multiple roles it had to fulfil as one segment in a silent newsreel. It had to convey timely information, entertain and make a point without a spoken commentary. In some cases cartoons were designed to inflame emotions. The simple white-on-black cut-out images quickly establish a point of view. The jerky animation and ironic captions provide comedy.

• The clip provides one of the earliest examples of Australian animated political cartoons seen widely by Australian audiences. The cartoonist Harry Julius (1885–1938) was employed to produce a weekly segment shown as part of Australasian Gazette newsreels from about 1914 to 1918. The tradition of Australian political cartooning began in the print media in 1835 and was continued by The Bulletin magazine, first published in 1880.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Kaiser War (c1918)

Curator’s clip description

This clip begins with a cartoon of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II surrounded by skulls. A caption illustrates the Kaiser’s thoughts, saying that while he wished to fight in the trenches, the almighty ‘willed it otherwise’. The hand of a skeleton then delivers the skull of a German soldier. The Kaiser sheds a tear but remains remorseless. Meanwhile, a suffragette from England attempts to persuade Mr Hughes to return to England, but he refuses.

The next section shows a man reading a newspaper with the war headline ‘great eclipse’. This is followed by a drawing in the shape of a sun filled with the head of a Kaiser Wilhelm II. He is then supplanted by the head of England’s King George V, captioned ‘The Allies’, on a circle that rolls across the screen to ‘eclipse’ the German sun.

Teachers’ notes

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This black-and-white clip shows three animated Australian political cartoons created during the First World War. Cut-out animation with captions satirise Kaiser Wilhelm’s failure to take responsibility for the war dead represented by piles of skulls and crosses. The second sequence ‘Look out Billy’ shows the comical figure of a suffragette whose advances are rejected by prime minister Billy Hughes. The final cartoon shows the Sun with the face of Kaiser Wilhelm being eclipsed by the face of King George V.

Educational value points

• Political cartoons often use humour to try to persuade the viewer to adopt a certain position on a contemporary social or political issue. This clip contains two pro-First World War cartoons depicting the Kaiser as an unfeeling butcher and as a man whose power will be eclipsed by Britain’s king. The other cartoon pokes fun at an English suffragette who has come to Australia to get prime minister Billy Hughes to return to Britain to support their cause.

• The communicative power of simple cut-out animation is demonstrated in the clip as the Kaiser’s words of self-justification are ironically commented on by the graphic images of skulls, a wartime graveyard in a desolate landscape, and the skeletal arms handing Wilhelm the globe that turns into a skull. The Kaiser’s face on the dial of the Sun changing to George V’s face graphically represents the Allied powers eclipsing Germany’s might.

• The style of these animated cartoons supports the multiple roles they were designed for as part of silent newsreels. They had to convey timely information, entertain and make a point without a spoken commentary. The simple white-on-black cut-out images quickly establish a personal point of view. The comparative simplicity of the technique assured their speedy production to provide weekly political commentary, then the only alternative to the print media.

• The clip shows a view of the role of Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor of Germany, in the First World War that has been debated by historians. The cartoonist holds him responsible for the large numbers of German war dead. It is not clear how large a role Wilhelm played in the progress of the War. He was commander-in-chief of Germany’s armed services but his lack of military ability meant his influence waned as the War progressed and the real power devolved to his generals.

• The second cartoon is an example of the nature of cartoons, the meaning of which, over time, may be lost or difficult to retrieve. Cartoons rely on context as well as visual imagery to convey their message to an audience. This cartoon from the First World War appears to poke fun at the British suffragette and her mistaken belief that Australia’s prime minister would support British women’s suffrage, but the context familiar to audiences at the time is not familiar to us today.

• This second clip shows an affectionate regard for William (Billy) Hughes (1864–1952), Australia’s prime minister during most of the First World War. In England when the War ended he worked hard to ensure Australia’s interests were represented at the Paris Peace Conference, particularly to ensure that Germany should pay the costs of the War. He was greeted as a hero on his return to Australia.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Berlin Lokal Anzeiger (c1915)

Curator’s clip description

This clip begins with the Cartoons of the Moment title card featuring a kangaroo and lion. Cartoonist Harry Julius is shown sketching at his notepad against an ocean background. A headline from the Berlin Lokal Anzeiger newspaper reads ‘Germany is willing to offer peace terms but the Allies keep attacking’. This is followed by the hand of the artist drawing Kaiser Wilhelm II holding tightly onto toys labelled with the names of European countries. The accompanying caption indicates he doesn’t want to give them back.

Curator’s notes

By representing the countries that Germany has invaded as Christmas presents, Julius cleverly distils a complex political situation into a single image. Captions are used to introduce the context and then make comment on the illustration. This has the effect of increasing its impact.

Lauren Williams, curator

Teachers’ notes

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This black-and-white clip shows an animated political cartoon satirising German claims of how unfair it was that fighting in the First World War was continuing in spite of Germany having made a peace offer. The clip opens with the cartoon’s title card and footage of the cartoonist Harry Julius sketching. A hand writes the headline that provoked the cartoon and then the title of the cartoon, ‘THE HUN’S XMAS WAIL’. This is followed by a caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm portrayed as an outraged child clutching toys, the European nations Germany had invaded.

Educational value points

• The animated cartoon uses satire to highlight Germany’s hypocrisy in suggesting that it is the peacemaker while not relinquishing the countries it has occupied. Germany’s ruler, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941), represents his country depicted as a spoilt and hysterical child unwilling to return toys he has taken. The cartoon reminds its audience that Germany was responsible for invading European nations and therefore responsible for initiating hostilities.

• Throughout the First World War (1914–18) there were many diplomatic efforts to end the fighting and the cartoon probably refers to German offers made in 1915 or 1916 for an armistice to be followed by a round table negotiation of terms under which the War would be concluded as a ‘draw’ with Germany keeping some of its gains and giving up others. All such German offers from 1915 to early 1918 were rejected.

• Caricature is used effectively in this animated cartoon to diminish the dignity and authority of Germany’s head of state. The distinctive upturned moustache, together with the pointed helmet and uniform of the commander-in-chief, depict Wilhelm II, the subject of the caricature. His portrayal as a hysterical child wanting to keep his stolen toys ridicules the ambivalence shown at the time as one wanting peace but also wanting to achieve a military victory.

• This animated cartoon is an example of wartime propaganda during the First World War (1914–18), manipulating the emotions and morale of Australian audiences at a critical time when there was a recruitment drive for more volunteers to enlist in Australia’s armed services. Satire is used to ridicule the enemy, making Germany seem more despicable, less powerful but intent on continuing to fight.

• The title footage gives an indication of Australia’s image of its role in the First World War. The lion representing Great Britain and the kangaroo representing Australia are both in uniform, as befits two nations engaged in a war. They shake hands across a globe indicating their friendship and their shared goals despite the distance that separates them.

• The cartoon shows the distinctive style of Australian artist and cartoonist Harry Julius (1885–1938). After the title card footage he is seen sketching. Showing himself at work was a common way for Julius to introduce his animated cartoons. News headlines frequently provided him with ideas for his satire. In his animated cartoons, such as this one, his hand is frequently shown writing headlines or captions and adding detail to the drawings.

• The clip is an example of a primary source, that is, an original document, in this case from the First World War illustrating the artist’s point of view as well as that of his employer, the Australasian Gazette. Harry Julius was employed as a cartoonist to produce a weekly segment screened as part of Australasian Gazette newsreels from about 1914 to 1918 supporting Australia’s involvement in the War and also supporting conscription.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Rushin bear and flying Turk (c1916)

Curator’s clip description

A large bear (representing the Russian forces) carrying a bayonet is accompanied by the caption: ‘I’m out to give Mr Turk a bad time’. In a boat landed nearby, the hand of the artist draws a fez-capped turkey (representing the Ottoman Empire). The turkey sheepishly emerges onto the land, hoping that the enemy is not around, only to find the large bear behind him.

Curator’s notes

Harry Julius often sketched animals in his Cartoons of the Moment series to represent the various countries involved in the First World War. The battered and bruised turkey (often depicted wearing a fez – a cone-shaped hat worn by members of the Ottoman Empire) appears most regularly in Julius’s cartoons, invariably in situations where it is shown to be the dogsbody of the German forces. The Russian bear, British lion, American eagle and German dachshund also appear throughout Julius’s sketches. This use of animals creates easily identifiable character stereotypes that are then employed to satirise some of the political predicaments of the First World War.

Lauren Williams, curator

Teachers’ notes

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This black-and-white clip shows an animated cartoon using paper cut outs of animals to represent the two nations Turkey and Russia in order to comment satirically on an incident in the First World War. Speech balloons explain the action. The Russian bear, uniformed and with bayoneted rifle at the ready, advances across the screen. Next, the hand of the artist draws the fez-wearing turkey that has arrived in a boat hoping that the bear is not around, but the bear appears and chases the turkey off the screen.

Educational value points

• This animated cartoon uses satire for wartime propaganda to bolster the morale of Australian audiences after the defeat of ANZAC forces by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) at Gallipoli in 1915. In the cartoon Russia, one of Britain and France’s Allies in the First World War (1914–18), is shown easily defeating the puny efforts of Turkey in 1916. The final words of the cartoon would have made the audience feel that the power of the alliance was assured.

• Caricature is used effectively in the cartoon to satirise nations and their actions, such as the Ottoman Empire being ridiculed as a foolish turkey. To help with identification, objects or symbols can indicate nationality, such as the fez adorned with the crescent on the turkey or the Russian military uniform worn by the bear.

• The clip provides a historical perspective on events in the War, referring to the historical enmity between Russia and Turkey. In 1916, a major offensive by the Russian army led by Grand Duke Nicholas drove the Turks out of much of present-day Armenia and regained control of part of the southern Black Sea coast. In spite of the caption, however, the Russian bear did not come back to stay. The Russian Revolution occurred and its army retreated.

• The effectiveness of cut-out animation is shown in this clip. By reducing the elements of the cartoon its message is conveyed economically and directly. The white figures on a black background focus the attention of the viewer. Stop-frame photography creates movement of the cut-out figures against the sketched-in backgrounds.

• The clip provides one of the earliest examples of Australian animated political cartoons seen widely by Australian audiences. The cartoonist Harry Julius (1885–1938) was employed to produce a weekly segment shown as part of Australasian Gazette newsreels from about 1914 to 1918. The tradition of Australian political cartooning began in the print media in 1835 and was continued by The Bulletin magazine, first published in 1880.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Evolution of the Skirt

Curator’s clip description

This animated clip begins with a white outline, gradually drawn in by the hand of the artist to show a woman dressed in 19th-century costume. A caption says ‘since the Colonial days, skirts have gradually shrunk’. The cartoon is then blackened to shorten the woman’s dress until it shows the then current 1916 hemline between the knee and ankle. It continues to shorten as the next caption reads: ‘what will next year bring forth?’.

Curator’s notes

Unlike many of Harry Julius’s political sketches for Cartoons of the Moment, ‘The evolution of the skirt’ comments on the changing lengths of women’s hemlines since the 19th century. It uses Julius’s recognisable style to make a discreetly dressed woman’s skirt rise above her knees to reveal her thighs. Commenting on social customs and fashions of the time was not the staple for Julius’s Australasian Gazette sketches, but it does show his ability to satirise social as well as political subject matter. This cartoon is also interesting to consider in the light of women’s fashion in the 21st century – where hemlines have risen above the heights predicated here.

Lauren Williams, curator

Teachers’ notes

provided by The Le@rning Federation

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This black-and-white animated clip with captions comments on the changing length of women’s hemlines since the 19th century. The title ‘THE EVOLTION [sic] OF THE SKIRT’ appears before a white outline of a woman in full 19th-century costume. The cartoonist’s hand fills in details on the sketch before the white outline of a woman’s dress is blacked in to illustrate the steadily rising hemline over time. The hemline continues to ascend and a caption speculates on how far it will rise in the future.

Educational value points

• The cartoon is a light-hearted comment on the way women’s fashion changed in response to the war and to the changing roles of women. The cartoon was made during the First World War when women’s clothing changed to suit their new, more active lives. More lavishly decorated and voluminous costumes gave way to simpler tunic styles with shorter skirts as women entered the workforce or undertook voluntary philanthropic work.

• The distinctive skill of Australian cartoonist Harry Julius (1885–1938) is demonstrated in the clip although his usual subject matter for the animated cartoons featured in his series Cartoons of the Moment was political not the social commentary presented here. Yet his use of simple white outline on black paper, the appearance on film of his hand sketching in and altering the outline of the sketch and the simplicity of his message are all typical features of his art.

• The cartoon uses cut-out animation, a style that has maintained its popularity despite the more sophisticated effects made possible by computer animation. This technique uses cut outs to represent a character with limited movement created through stop-motion photography of the cut out, one frame at a time. Popular contemporary cartoons mimic the simple style of cut-out animation using computer technology.

• Hemlines have often provided the subject of discussion and speculation, as indicated in the cartoon. In 1916 hemlines rose from those typically worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The cartoonist suggests that they will rise higher. Hemlines rose again in the 1920s with flapper fashions and then in the 1960s when the miniskirt became fashionable. Whenever hemlines rose there were those who disapproved, associating rising hemlines with declining morality.

• The animated cartoon is an example of a primary source, an original document from an Australasian Gazette newsreel of 1916 commenting on the changing length of the hemline of women’s skirts. The Australasian Gazette employed the cartoonist Harry Julius to produce a weekly segment of animated cartoons commenting on political or social issues. Secondary sources comment on and analyse primary sources.

Cartoons of the Moment – Economy in Germany

Curator’s clip description

This clip begins with the title card Cartoons of the Moment followed by a scene of cartoonist Harry Julius sketching at an easel. A group of children run up to him and watch as he sketches. The three animated political sketches that follow comment on the economy in Germany during the First World War.

In the first sketch, German policeman PC Von Fritz arrests a fashionably dressed woman and replaces her clothes with newspaper. In the second, a schoolmaster encourages his student to eat slowly so he’ll think it is a lot of food. Finally, in the third sketch, PC Von Fritz is shown eating a shoe, a jam tin and ‘humble pie’ from John Bull.

Curator’s notes

This sketch is representative of the style and tone of cartoonist Harry Julius’s political satire. Julius uses caricature and word play to ridicule the German police and authority figures and to comment on the social impact of the war in German society. The German economy suffered greatly during the First World War, with billions of dollars poured into the war effort. What the sketch cleverly points out is that the effect of this is not just economic, but also social. ‘Economy’ in this sketch highlights another common meaning of the word – to be frugal. Julius’s cartoon takes this to the extreme by sketching a woman dressed in newspaper clothes, and a boy who is told to eat slowly as a substitute for eating a lot. The punchline comes when Julius sketches PC Von Fritz literally eating a humble pie prepared by John Bull – a name that represents a typical Englishman.

Julius is often shown sitting at his desk reading a current newspaper before sketching down his ideas. Sometimes he is filmed in an exterior location standing at an easel before the action focuses on the hand of the artist and his resulting cartoon. Julius’s drawn animation uses two-dimensional cut-out character shapes photographed with a stop-motion technique. Today, animation is instead frequently rendered with computer technology.

Lauren Williams, curator

Teachers’ notes

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This black-and-white sequence of three cartoons uses cut-out figures, simple animation and captions to comment on Germany’s struggling wartime economy. The clip is introduced by the title ‘Cartoons of the Moment’ and a scene of Harry Julius drawing at an easel on the beach with children watching. The cartoons show first an overdressed woman whose clothes are replaced by paper clothing, then a teacher instructing a student in food mastication drill followed by Fritz eating a shoe, a jam tin and, finally, humble pie from John Bull.

Educational value points

• Cartoonists employ various devices to represent and satirise politicians, political parties, countries and nationalities so an audience can immediately identify the subject of the cartoon. This may take the form of exaggerated features, the use of a symbol or the depiction of a national stereotype. The oafish, grossly fat PC von Fritz and John Bull are both caricatures to represent national types.

• The cartoons present propaganda to wartime audiences by portraying the enemy in a way that humiliates and disempowers them. The cartoonist draws attention to the parlous state of the German economy and ridicules the efforts of the German state, through its police, to mitigate its effects. There are ludicrous examples such as the boy being instructed in mastication drill to avoid hunger pangs and Fritz eating a shoe and an empty can as economy measures.

• The figure of Fritz, the policeman in the clip, shows how cartoonists can select a stereotype to poke fun at national characteristics or nation–states in order to counter the fear of an enemy and raise the morale of the audience. Fritz, fat and stupid, is a ludicrous figure representing the autocratic German state but so foolish in his attempts to exercise his authority that finally he is humiliated by England’s John Bull who has sent him ‘humble pie’ to eat.

• The clip demonstrates a distinctive style of cartooning employing film of the cartoonist at work and showing the artist’s hand creating animated cartoon images. This style was favoured by Harry Julius (1885–1938) and several of his animated cartoons show him reading newspapers as if he is gathering ideas prior to drawing. The leisurely introduction to this clip shows Julius in the pose of an artist attracting the attention of children as he sketches by the seashore.

• This clip demonstrates the direct appeal of cut-out animation, which is one of the simplest ways of using drawings to create action – it involves moving cut-out shapes in small steps and taking a picture at each stage. The crude drawing and jerky movement suit satirical caricature, as in the case of the overdressed woman and Fritz the policeman in the clip. The white cut-out characters and writing on a black background focus the attention of the viewer.

• The clip provides one of the earliest examples of Australian animated political cartoons seen widely by Australian audiences. The cartoonist Harry Julius was employed to produce a weekly segment shown as part of Australasian Gazette newsreels from about 1914 to 1918 in support of the First World War and conscription.

Cartoons of the Moment – Crown Prince of Death (c1915)

Synopsis

Cartoonist Harry Julius was employed by the Australasian Gazette from approximately 1914 to provide a political cartoon segment – Cartoons of the Moment – as part of its wartime newsreels. This edition includes three sketches that comment on: the German economy, Turkish forces fighting on the front and the Crown Prince of Germany.
Curator’s notes

Harry Julius uses many techniques employed by political cartoonists including representing countries as animals (such as a turkey to represent Turkish forces), and the use of word play in titles and accompanying captions (for example, the caption ‘worst comes to wurst’ accompanies a picture of a German horse made out of German sausages). In clip one, Kaiser Wilhelm II – the Crown Prince of Germany – is caricatured with human skulls adorning his uniform to emphasise the enormous loss of life suffered by German troops. Germany is the target of a large number of Julius’s propaganda cartoons. By 1916, his severe portrayal of the German forces was used to persuade Australian men to enlist to fight (see Today the German Monster Threatens the World (c1916)).

Political cartooning in print media has a long tradition in Australia. The first political cartoon appeared in a Tasmanian newspaper in 1835, and The Bulletin magazine (for which Julius also drew) used political cartoons from its first edition in 1880. Animated political cartoons such as Cartoons of the Moment were not as common. Julius’s series was the first locally-produced animations that Australian audiences saw.

Lauren Williams, curator

Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (Academy full frame)
Original censorship rating: not rated
Production company Australasian Films
Acknowledgements

Cinesound-Movietone Productions owns all copyright which may subsist in this footage.

Cartoons of the Moment – Australia’s Prime Minister Delights at the Empire (c1916)

Synopsis

In this edition of Cartoons of the Moment, cartoonist Harry Julius comments on the war in Europe and Australian Prime Minister Hughes’s policy of restrictions on trade with Germany.

Curator’s notes

Cartoons of the Moment was a weekly political cartoon segment that screened in the Australasian Gazette newsreel from around 1914 to 1918. From 1916, the segment supported Prime Minister William (Billy) Hughes’s push for conscription and his other causes including enforced restrictions on German trade. Julius drew several sketches about the latter, including Australia’s Prime Minister Delights at the Empire (clip one), Miss Australasia and Sir George and Saint George.

Cut-out animation and stop-motion photography is used to great effect in these early examples of Australian animated cartoons. In clip one, Billy Hughes’s hat flips open to deliver two characters: a man representing German trade and a mini-version of Hughes delivering a knockout blow to the former. The animation is simple, but effective, and is representative of the style adopted by Julius throughout the Cartoons of the Moment series.

Lauren Williams, curator

Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1 (Academy full frame)
Original censorship rating: not rated

Production company	Australasian Films

Acknowledgements

Cinesound-Movietone Productions owns all copyright which may subsist in this footage.

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