Octopus & Propaganda

[Phil]

O.V, the use of the imagery of the octopus by the Nazi state was inevitably racist and negative in tone. Unfortunately, Hitler alluded to the octopus more than once in Mein Kampf. In addition to the quote Clem has posted above in chapter 3 lies the following quotation in reference to his perceived view of European Jews:

"While one of these scum is attacking his beloved fellow men in the most contemptible fashion, the octopus covers himself with a veritable cloud of respectability and unctuous phrases, prates about ' journalistic duty ' and suchlike lies, and even goes so far as to shoot off his mouth at committee meetings and congresses- that is, occasions where these pests are present in large numbers -about a very special variety of 'honor,' to wit, the journalistic variety, which the assembled rabble gravely and mutually confirm."

There are a number of images that were produced under the auspices of Josef Goebbels' propaganda machine that depict international Jewry as some form of bloodthirsty octopus. Taste dictates not posting them here, no matter how relevent. Indeed, one issue of Julius Streicher's ranting Der Sturmer magazine depicted an octopus bearing a Star of David being stabbed with spears labelled 'truth' and 'enlightenment'.

On a (slightly) lighter note, here is another good example of the symbolism of the octopus this time taken from Life magazine from January 1953. The octopus/fire pump represents the cold war fears of arms and munitions being transported across Europe into Eastern Germany and thus feeding the then perceived Communist menace.

(BTW, Clem - fantastic research on this thread. Where do you find these images? It's all fascinating.)

[Clem]

...will do some research on Cthulhu as I don't much about this, it's not my field of study or interest I suppose.

O.,

Cthulhu is a recurring character in the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft. There are some at TONMO who actively worship Cthulhu and take pride in being his minions. Steer clear of them.

Where do you find these images?

Phil,

Google image search responds well to inputting words for cephalopods in various languages. "Pieuvre" (octopus) yielded the anti-masonic poster, while "pieuvre, Hugo" led me to a trove of illustrations associated with "Les Trevailleurs de la Mer." Still, there's a lot of brute-force slogging involved...and I still can't find that great WWII poster depicting an Imperial Japanese octopus reaching for Australia.

Thanks for that Antwerp octopus. I'd posted a link to a larger version at the top of the thread, but I'll take its re-appearance as an opportunity to ask a question: why Antwerp? Was it considered a "weak sister" by more ardent anti-communists?

Clem

[o.vulgaris]

Cthulhu is a recurring character in the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft. There are some at TONMO who actively worship Cthulhu and take pride in being his minions. Steer clear of them.

will do clem, don't want to get in anyone's bad side, anyway's I got you to back me up right. 8)

[Clem]

will do clem, don't want to get in anyone's bad side, anyway's I got you to back me up right. 8)

O.,

iä! iä! Chtulhu--

I mean, yes, of course, I'll back you up.

Clem

[TaningiaDanae]

This is becoming one of my favorite threads, and by now, with all his research Clem could probably teach the subject as a college course (sponsored jointly by the departments of Journalism and Marine Biology).

More random thoughts:

• - O., I think Clem's pulling a few of your legs. Most of us who pose as Cthulhu-worshipers on this message board are doing just that: posing, similarly to Trekkers who speak Klingon, or STAR WARS enthusiasts who go around saying "May the Force be with you." We're Lovecraft enthusiasts, and we're weird, but not that weird! There are, of course, exceptions. I used to belong to a Lovecraftian amateur press association called the Esoteric Order of Dagon, and I wondered why some people would edge away from me when I said that. Turns out there was another group called the Esoteric Order of Dagon, comprised of bona fide Cthulhu-worshipers who took the entire Mythos seriously! What makes this even funnier, is that Lovecraft himself was an atheistic materialist, who didn't believe in the supernatural, or in anything unprovable by observation or research. So go to your local library, take out a collection of H.P. Lovecraft stories, and prepare for some very classy chills (I recommend starting with THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH, THE CALL OF CTHULHU, or a non-Mythos story entitled THE OUTSIDER).
  
  - The TOILERS OF THE SEA pic is fantastic (though wildly inaccurate, of course), and would make a great wall poster!
  
  - As upset as I am about Hitler's defamation of Octopuses, for some reason I'm just a teensy-weensy bit madder about his repulsive characterization of Jews. :x For some reason.
  
  - Nevertheless, the Holocaust -- like slavery -- is an inescapable part of the world's history, horrific though it may be, and becoming informed about it is one safeguard against repeating the past (not next weekend, but next century). So, Clem and everyone, thank you for presenting these pieces of history, not only for the sake of Cephiana but as a cautionary note to the younger people who may be reading this thread.
  
  - Hey Tentacular, don't be ashamed of your work as a teuthsome rubber-clad dominatrix! As a matter of fact, I am a tall voluptuous swordswoman who wears a metal bra and tunic, breathes fire, mixes it up with gods, and throws a mean chakram. Unfortunately, I can't make it to TONMOcon 'cause there's this short blonde chick who follows me around all the time, and I can't afford two round-trip chariot tickets.
  
  Tani Warriorteuthis

[o.vulgaris]

umm... I guess I'll start with The outsider, the title sound's catchy, hehe.
has anyone read the art of deception?

[TaningiaDanae]

umm... I guess I'll start with The outsider, the title sound's catchy, hehe.
has anyone read the art of deception?

THE OUTSIDER is a good choice. It's short, and even though it isn't a Mythos tale, it will give you a taste of HPL's unique style, which is a "love it or hate it" sort of thing.

When you read the story, bear in mind that Lovecraft himself had a sad childhood, with an unbalanced mother who dressed him as a girl, refused to hug or kiss him, and was constantly telling him things like "You are hideous." Many might disagree with me, but I believe THE OUTSIDER comes closer than any of his other stories to expressing the alienation he felt as a little boy. This adds a distinct touch of poignancy to its horror.

Let us know what you think of it.

Nope, haven't read THE ART OF DECEPTION. Intriguing title, though -- why am I thinking that whenever and wherever it was written, the author must've been a politician

The Tanster

[o.vulgaris]

Nope, haven't read THE ART OF DECEPTION. Intriguing title, though -- why am I thinking that whenever and wherever it was written, the author must've been a politician

nope try again, think along the lines of someone called kevin mitnick.

[tonmo]

The octopus as an oppressive micro-manager:

http://www.lava.net/~pritchet/octopus.htm

[Clem]

Tony,

Eek, that's a good (and bad) one. It seems to be a comparative rarity, using an octopus to depict an individual. Perhaps the artist sat through one too many viewings of "The Little Mermaid." Ms. Lindsey must have been a quite capable operator; the octopus image suggests a measure of grudging respect.

:|

Clem

[Tentacular!]

The worst thing about being offline for 2 days out of 7 is the Tonmo catchup on Monday morning!

Hey Tentacular, don't be ashamed of your work as a teuthsome rubber-clad dominatrix! As a matter of fact, I am a tall voluptuous swordswoman who wears a metal bra and tunic, breathes fire, mixes it up with gods, and throws a mean chakram.

You go girl!!!

Cthulhu is a recurring character in the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft. There are some at TONMO who actively worship Cthulhu and take pride in being his minions. Steer clear of them.

Some of us actively worship Cthulhu with dice and character sheets. Ooops... 1d20 san loss.

[TaningiaDanae]

"My father used to tell me I had an octopus-complex... Analogies fail, but I am capable of behaving like an eight-armed cephalopod while protesting the innocence of my two arms on the table". JW

Sounds like this frat guy I dated a couple of times....

[Clem]

Two more French-language evocations of monopolistic excess, featuring our friend le pieuvre.

http://mdh.limoges.free.fr/support/fsg2002/manif92.JPG

http://macalecole.free.fr/TALC/Image...ms_pieuvre.jpg

:|

Clem

[Tentacular!]

Oh my god. A Bill Gates/octopus hybrid. Now that is truly horrifying.

[o.vulgaris]

Oh my god. A Bill Gates/octopus hybrid. Now that is truly horrifying.

oh god... :|

[Clem]

"The Arms of the Octopus" appeared as an advertisement in The Journal of Syphilis(!), paid for by Squibb Brothers, in 1943. Since the publication's readership scarcely needed such a graphic depiction of the disease's vectors, it might have been used in a much larger campaign, directed at a very large population: American servicemen fighting and working abroad. One can scarcely argue with the goal of STD prevention, yet the illustration remains a truly bizarre piece of public-health propaganda. If the illustrated vignettes were to be arranged into a coherent narrative, it might go something like this:

Once upon a time, a strapping American Officer met and fell in love with a wholesome young American (blonde) girl. They had moony-eyed conversations in cafes, danced in the evenings and afternoons were spent sitting chastely on the girl's parents' couch.

The Officer went overseas and spent a night with a foreign (dark-haired) woman of ill-repute.

He contracted syphilis and went to jail.

THE END

Clem

[WhiteKiboko]

i found two cartoons in my book Dr Seuss Goes to War, comprised of his political cartoons from PM....

one has a octo (unfortunately of the goose stepping sort)

the other nautil-ish

quite disappointing that the man who brought us the sneetches casts cephs in such a disreputable manner, but no ones perfect (his cartoons dealing with the japanese make this clear enough)

my apologies for the less than perfect scans, i dont want to hurt the book's spine

[Clem]

WK,

Those are truly excellent drawings. (Thanks for risking the book's binding to post them.) Given Hitler's propensity to use octopus metaphors when referring to Jews, Seuss (Geisel) must have taken some delight in turning the weapon back on the Nazis.

The nautiloid character "V. Gayda" shown writing for Mussolini is one Virginio Gayda, editor of Il Giornale d'Italia, one of fascist Italy's house organs. Gayda is also the author of this memorable quote:

"Culture is necessary, but it must be alive and not too much of it."



Clem

[WhiteKiboko]

"Culture is necessary, but it must be alive and not too much of it."

have we found a slogan for this forum?

i tend to view gayda as a sort of goebbels lite in a watered-down verison of the axis....

ill keep my eyes open to see if i missed any in the book, and might just thumb through geisel's other works for any octos...

[Phil]

Here is a great WW2 propaganda poster called 'Victory through Airpower' depicting an American eagle swooping on the Japanese octopus. Apparantly issued by Disney in 1943, it is most un-Disney like.