The Cold War of Images in Political Cartoons: American Messianic Concept vs Soviet Messianic Concept

Abstract

During the Cold War, political cartoons played a powerful role in the propaganda rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. As an art form, political cartoons allowed to employ various techniques to portray the other side as the enemy. This article utilizes the constructivist approach to examine U.S.-Soviet relations via comparative analyzing of American and Soviet political cartoons as a specific primary source. The author demonstrates how the U.S. and the Soviet Union constructed “the Other” as the “enemy number one” while framing their messianic messages as universally recognized. Furthermore, the author emphasizes the significance of the romantic “Us” versus demonic “Them” opposition that political cartoons produced, constructing the dichotomic vision of the world. Among the antitheses American cartoons visualized were liberty versus political slavery, light versus darkness, democracy versus totalitarianism, religious faith versus atheism, the West versus the East. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, focused on the images of peacefulness versus arms race, internationalism versus racism, social equality versus unemployment and lack of welfare. The analysis of these techniques reveals the similarities in image construction processes on both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, in the U.S. case, political cartoons remained the platform for critique and reflection. Some cartoonists mocked American attempts to demonize the Soviet “Other” amid serious problems in the U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy. Soviet cartoonists gained this opportunity toward the end of the Cold War and finally used it only after it ended.