Propaganda or not? An Analysis of Tony Velasquez’s “The Kalibapi Family,” 1943-1944
Article

At the height of Japan’s occupation of the Philippines, among the major priorities of the Japanese government was to bring back a sense of normalcy, to pull the Filipinos into their fold, and to support their war causes. This was done through various means, such as wartime propaganda through the control and censorship of Philippine media. The Tribune was one news publication that fell under Japanese control, and its contents, including its comic strips, were heavily censored during the war. This study analyzes the historical and artistic contents of the comic strip “The Kalibapi Family.” Penned by Antonio “Tony” Velasquez, the strip was published by the Tribune from 1943 to 1944. This study seeks to answer the following questions: How did Tony Velasquez illustrate the conditions and different aspects of life under the Japanese Occupation through “The Kalibapi Family” comic strips? Did Velázquez try to satirize the Japanese? Did he put some elements of resistance in the comic strips? Data for the study were gathered through the online archives of the Filipinas Heritage Library and the National Library of Australia. After a process of purposive sampling, 30 strips were selected and explored through content and discourse analysis. The study found that although “The Kalibapi Family” was initially dismissed as propaganda, the comic was generally more pro-Philippine Republic. Velasquez presented a nuanced perspective where he showed how a Filipino artist could portray the real situation at that time in a more comical manner that the general public can understand.