Congratulations to all of the winners of the Name That Zoot contest: Laura Bissey of New Jersey, Michele Kim of South Dakota, Pinchus Roth of New York, and the grand prize winner, Julia Hendrickson of Illinois. Each person will receive a copy of Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style by Kathy Peiss. Because Ms. Hendrickson's entry was randomly selected from all of the weekly winning entries, she will also receive a $150.00 gift certificate for ReVamp vintage clothing reproduction,. Now she can add something reet to her own solid set of threads.
Here is last week's question.
Name the famous bird who stars in the patriotic propaganda cartoon Spirit of '43. In this animated short, a zoot suit wearing spendthrift tempts this civilian bird to waste war time wages on pleasure instead of paying taxes and buying war bonds.
The answer is none other than Donald Duck. Ms. Kim sent in the correct answer and her name was randomly selected from all of the correct entries.
The anti-zoot message in Spirit of '43, produced by Walt Disney studios, reflected the War Production Board's 1942 ban on the excessive use of material. "In Spirit of '43, Donand Duck is tempted to spend his high war wages, but his thrifty Scottish uncle– a precursor ot Scrooge McDuck–warns him to save his money and pay his taxes if the Allies are to triumph," writes Kathy Peiss in Zoot Suit. "Pulling Donald in the opposite direction is a zoot suiter, who entices him into a saloon. Donald begins to succumb, when he sees the barroom door become a swastika and the zoot suiter transformed into Hitler. Thoughtless male pleasure-seeking and conspicuous consumption, the cartoon shoes, made the zoot suiter a turncoat. At once Donald comes to his sense sand punches temptation in the jaw; renewing his civilian duty to Uncle Sam, Donald watches his tax dollars produce the ansenal of democracy."
Peiss goes on to explain that while the Disney view of the zoot suiter as traitor was popular, many Americans viewed the style as a harmless youth fad or as an expression of American creativity and individualism that boosted civilian wartime morale.
Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. You certainly boosted our morale.
