Channel Frederator Blog

There are quite a few cartoons made during Word War II that include gags based on the rations system used in the United States during that time.

For instance, “A cards”, mentioned at the end of the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Falling Hare” were used for rationing and distributing gasoline. Their main goal was to actually save rubber, which was a tight commodity during this time. Rubber tires are also mentioned in the MGM cartoon “Blitz Wolf”.

Gags like these were extremely popular, because everyone in the country knew what it was like to have to ration. When audiences saw their favorite characters going through the same things, it gave everyone a feeling of “we’re all in this together”.

Topical humor can be much more than just pop culture references.

-Floyd Bishop