why was beer and cigars so common in cartoons back then?

5 Comments

1. mikey4512002 says:

   March 20, 2010 at 9:24 am

   Those cartoons were made to be shown as featurettes before movies in the 30’s 40’s & 50’s. They were primarily made for adult audiences. It wasn’t until the advent of television that cartoons became popular with children. If you pay attention to the themes and subjects of some of those old cartoons it’s clear the jokes and gags are adult oriented.
2. TJ21 says:

   March 20, 2010 at 9:24 am

   1. cartoons when they first came out were just shorts or featurettes before long movies
   2. they were geared towards adults
   3. if the invention of television the use of it changed to children
3. pacoperez1958 says:

   March 20, 2010 at 9:24 am

   Cigars are easy to draw, and beer was everywhere. Many families even had family recipes for beer, which they brewed at home.
   In another view, animation is a look at our society in general. To see them as social comentaries, you have to see them in the context in which they were made. It is almost impossible to find the Bugs Bunny cartoon where he makes fun of a little black native. It is no longer politicaly "correct" to show. There is another where he shows up in black face makeup and speaks in jive talk.
   50 years from now, people will not look at animae like our kids do now, because they will most likely be asian.
4. D.C. says:

   March 20, 2010 at 9:24 am

   BACK THEN WE DIDN’T HAVE THE " POLITICAL CORRECTNESS "
5. Eiliat says:

   March 20, 2010 at 9:24 am

   Cartoons weren’t thought of as just children’s entertainment so the audience was expected to be ok with cigars and beer.