Superman: Eleventh Hour (of Racism)

In Superman: Eleventh Hour, Superman sabotages weapons and other resources in Japan, and thus fulfills his part in the war effort. However, the way the cartoon marks the Japanese as enemies of a superhero and also portrays them in unflattering stereotypes would have had negative consequences for the children watching the episode. For one, Superman directly picks sides in the war and paints the Japanese as his evil foes. There is a reason Superman should not be involved in wars. Number one tenet of the superhero code, especially for Superman, is not to take lives. While there is some room for flexibility here, (sometimes a superhero does take a life, on accident or on rare occasion) taking a side in the war would mean aiding to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people. In addition, as the upholder of justice and all that is good, Superman automatically depicts the Japanese as evil, which can have a large racial ramification on viewers. Kids watching this might then assume that Japanese are, in general, evil because their hero, Superman, sees them as such. Therefore, Superman should stay impartial in wars because he values all human life rather than favoring one country over another, or one race over another.

The second reason this cartoon would have had negative consequences for children is because it perpetuates racial stereotypes surrounding the Japanese. The makers of the cartoon rarely show the Japanese soldiers’ faces, which reduces their humanity in the episode. For example, the leaders of the Japanese soldiers are always shown yelling and gesturing with their hands, but their heads are never in the shot. This makes the generals appear as more threatening figures, like large and unknown forces of evil. Further, the soldiers that are portrayed are often times shown with slits as eyes, making it appear like they have no pupil or iris, which again takes away from the humanity of the Japanese. The cartoon perpetuates this inaccurate and insulting visual portrayal of the Japanese. Also, in comparison to Lois or Superman, the Japanese soldiers’ teeth are clearly and individually defined, giving more of a savage appearance than the smoother teeth drawn for the journalist and the superhero. 

Therefore, the cartoon definitely would have had a negative effect on children. They would have seen Superman, the champion of good, fight the Japanese, automatically painting the Japanese as the “bad guys.” Additionally, the cartoon perpetuated stereotypes of the Japanese people’s appearances and depicted them in an offensive manner. Most importantly, let’s not forget that this cartoon was published in 1942, during World War II, when Japanese Americans were being placed in internment camps, so this cartoon would have helped fan the irrational racial fears that all Japanese, American or not, were enemies of the U.S. The Japanese American children watching this might have felt attacked for their race or shamed because of it, something that should have never happened at all.

So yes, filmmakers do bear a responsibility to their audience. While I understand that this cartoon came out during World War II, when anti-Japanese sentiment was high, that does not excuse the racial implications of this film and the effect it must have had on children viewers. Children, I may add, who would not yet understand how this cartoon was shaping their perspectives on race, thus making them even more susceptible to its influence.