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

provided by The Le@rning Federation

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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.