Waiting for the Signal From Home
“Waiting for the Signal From Home” is an American political cartoon illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and published in PM, a daily newspaper based in New York City. Dr. Seuss contributed over 400 political cartoons as PM’s editorial cartoonist, with themes such as anti-semitism and anti-nazism, although his work “Waiting for the Signal From Home” perpetuates xenophobia towards individuals of Japanese descent living in the United States.
Newspapers facilitated mass mediation by publishing visual and textual information routinely to a large audience. Newspapers were printed and distributed in large numbers, and subscriptions helped newspapers maintain readership. Additionally, featuring exclusive works of notable illustrators like Dr. Seuss also increased viewership by recruiting Dr. Seuss’ existing fanbase as additional readers.
With such large readerbases, it was inevitable that PM perpetuated racial and cultural stereotypes during World War II, especially after the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941. Dr. Seuss frequently illustrated cartoons criticizing racism against African Americans, but his view of Japanese individuals differed drastically. He illustrated “Waiting for the Signal From Home” in 1942, depicting Japanese individuals with shared facial features traveling from Washington to California to pick up TNT from a stall with the sign “Fifth Column,” a metaphor for a spy within an enemy territory or organization. Another Japanese individual stands above with a scope pointed West (in the direction of Japan). Not long after this was released, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, allowing military commanders to designate "military areas" from which any person could be excluded, mainly targeting individuals of Japanese ancestry living on the West coast.
Dr. Seuss generalizes the Japanese population in America as a racist caricature identifiable by their downward slanted eyes, glasses, minimal facial hair, top hats, clothing, and smiling expressions. The slanted eyes exaggerated the epicanthic fold of East and Southeast Asian individuals' eyes to an unnecessary extent, giving the impression that the Japanese in America were blindly following the goals of imperialistic Japan. However, this cartoon disregards the complex immigration history behind Japanese populations in America, with most being American citizens. Stemming from fear of the “enemies within,” Dr. Seuss villainizes the Japanese population as a whole and preys on American fears of internal betrayal, which only strengthens the cognitive dissonance between different races and coexistence. Such messages upheaved Japanese lives in America as they were incarcerated in concentration camps, such as business owners losing their livelihoods and being forced to prove their loyalty to the United States despite having generational roots in the country. In response to loyalty accusations, many Japanese-Americans proved their loyalty through participating in the war efforts, studying diligently in school, and escaping low-paying laborious work like agriculture.
While Dr. Seuss has a favorable impression on young readers for his famous children’s books, it is critical to understand the entirety of his messages and how they also conveyed harmful ideas to a large audience. “Waiting for the Signal From Home” promoted a divisive, exclusionary stance on Japanese individuals in America, resulting in heightened skepticism of Japanese individuals. It also set the stage for the model minority myth, which frames Asians as highly competent and skilled compared to other minority races despite hardships such as Japanese incarceration while overlooking the economic disparities that exist between the minority of high-achieving Asians and those in poverty. These expectations further solidify the divide between minority races in the United States, emphasizing the profound and lingering impact of mass mediated cartoons on personal and collective identities.
