"The Politics of Fear" by Barry Blitt
The next contemporary caricatures will be a work published on July 21, 2008 in the NEW YORKER (Appendix 1, Fig. 3). It is named "The Politics of Fear" and was created by Barry Blitt (Fig. 3). The caricature depicts two central figures in a oval room (Fig. 3). The background depicts a light beige wall with white wood paneling (Fig. 3). On the left, there is a chair against the wall, and traces of a shelf above it (Fig. 3). On the right side, there is a burning fireplace and a piece of colored cloth in the fire, while a framed image of a bearded man hangs above the fireplace (Fig. 3). The floor of the oval room is covered by a oval carpet, depicting a bird with half-opened wings (Fig. 3).
There are two
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The oval shape of the background is as much significant evidence for this as the half shelf in the wall, and the round carpet on the ground showing the eagle ("Oval Office.").
The bird is a presidential symbol, and in this case also is part of the original oval office's floor covering ("Oval Office."). The male figure can be identified as President Barack Obama, while the female opposite to him can identified as his wife Michelle Obama ("Barack Obama", "Michelle Obama", Hechtkopf "New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar.").
When analyzed for intrinsic meaning and image citations, the clothes of Obama, as well as the picture in the background, hanging over the fireplace, can be identified as images closely related to wanted posters searching for famous Islamic terrorist forces, such as Osama bin Laden (Jacquard 2001: 93, "Oval Office."). The clothes his wife wears are similar to the garb of a fighter, wearing an afro and carrying an AK-47 (Hechtkopf "New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar."). For one, Obama, at this point, had to fight with accusations about his religious orientation, about his program towards the fight against terrorism, and his position in the hunt for long standing enemies of the state (Hechtkopf "New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar."). In addition, the similarity between enemy and him is enforced by the equal dress of man
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4)Hechtkopf "New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar."). The caricature offended greatly by its implications; for one, the depiction of Obama wearing a turban and the way this makes him clearly identifiable as a potential terrorist not unlike Osama bin Laden, and furthermore, especially the burning flag in the fireplace and its connotations, made the entire caricature beyond tasteless in the eyes of the critics (Hechtkopf "New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks
This political cartoon refers tot he Boston massacre. The building int he back is the state house. The right side of the political cartoon shows Boston soldiers in uniform holding rifles with bayonets that re firing at the crowd. One of the men is a commander who is hiding a sword and giving the orders. The soldiers and the commander all have determined and fierce looks on their faces.
The Politics of Fear: How It Manipulates Us to Tribalism by Arash Javanbakht illustrates how humanity can be disgraceful, unsettling, and disappointing. The author uses Ethos, Logos, and Pathos to convey their argument. Discussing the relevant facts and statistics to convey his message. Starting with showing an intimate picture of Barack Obama and Joe Biden paying respect at a memorial site where 49 people were killed because of their sexual orientation. Javanbakht states that these tragedies happened because of race, sexuality, and beliefs.
The birds represent Germany and Great Britain, and the ships represent the United States Naval. The big stick is an ideology of “speak softly and carry a big stick” (as cited in Morgan, 1919, p. 216), that is well known as “Roosevelt Corollary.” The artist expresses the intervention that President Roosevelt acted as the police flexing his muscles and standing up against the Europeans from invading Venezuela for repayment matters.
This cartoon or illustration was talking about a man called William M. Tweed who was a corrupt democratic party politician who played a large role in New York politics. He provided jobs, gave to charity, provided money for other politicians’ campaign and siphoned money from big projects like the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park. In the cartoon, there was is four vultures, the biggest vulture depicting Mr. Tweed crushing a body with a word “NEW YORK” tattooed on his arm. On the ground laid skeletons with Law, New York City, Treasury, Tax Payer and Rent Payer words on them. The picture was depicting New York being crushed under Mr. Tweed and his gang rule but New York was trying to fight back showed the body with it fist clenched.
Sam Robert in the article “A decade of fear” argues that Mccarthyism turned Americans against each other. Robert supports his claim by illustrating fear, describing betrayal, and comparing it to other US internal conflicts. The author's purpose is to point out a vulnerable point in American history in order to demonstrate how Americans fell prey to Mccarthy’s propaganda. The author writes in a direct and cynical tone for an educated audience. I Strongly agree with Rogers. Mccarthyism caused Americans to turn on each other because it sparked and strengthened the fear of there being communist spies in the government. As well as inciting Americans to hunt and expose communists or anyone they thought to be communist and plunging Americans into a mass hysteria.
Another message Hassinger could be creating is alluding to what the Republican party is commonly referred to when she says “The Right” in the title who are known for being very protective in the right to bear arms. The republican party has changed a lot since Lincoln was the Republican elected president and the look in the president's face could be in condemnation specifically to Republicans today. In the artwork Hassinger creates an emphasis on the picture of President Lincoln, this is clear because the black and white picture stands out on the vibrant red book and because it is a familiar face as well as his eyes seeming to stare into your soul his face is the first thing to grasp your attention. This is important because soon after making one of the most important decisions in American history he was shot and killed by someone who disagreed with him and that is why Lincoln has a look of condemnation because since then people are still solving their issues the same way. Hassinger also effectively uses space to dangle the gun below the bigger book on top.
The first source is a political cartoon dealing with the patriot act, the patriot act is an act that began on September 11th after a life taking terrorist attack, it provides government officials with the ability and tools to stop future terrorist attacks. The cartoon presents a ironic perspective that actions such as the removal of rights and freedoms are needed to ensure the citizens are safe and unharmed. However, it is clear that the cartoonist vigorously disagrees with the patriot act by the use of her/his jail like looking room. The cartoon suggest that american citizens are blind to what is going on around them, the individuals in the source are smiling despite the fact that they are under 24 hour surveillance, and more than likely
Former President Barack Obama unveiled his presidential portrait along with the former first lady’s as well. Barack’s was painted by artist Kehinde Wiley while Michelle’s was done by Amy Sherald. After the reveal people felt the need to bring up Kehinde controversial past works, specifically two from 2012 both of them titled “Judith Beheading Holofernes” it being a parody of Caravaggio two paintings of the same name. Both of Kehinde’s painting convey the same idea; a black woman locking eyes with the viewer with the head of white a woman in one hand and knife held at the side on a more european-romanticism styled backdrop, a staple in his works.
Fear is often characterized as an irrational sense of negativity toward the unknown or the unlikeable. In the eyes of many Americans, the majority of whom proclaim their Christian beliefs, this sensation is considered unavoidable. Marilynne Robinson argues in her article “Fear”, published by The New York Review of Books in 2015, that “...first, contemporary America is full of fear. And second, fear is not a Christian habit of mind” (Robinson 1). In other words, it is ‘unchristian’ to fear. In both the beginning and conclusion, she clearly expresses credibility through her extensive credentials and strong emotional arguments; however, this is overshadowed by the wordiness, sarcasm, and lack of
The last element, caricature is used to exaggerate a person’s physical features to make them look noticeable and give meaning to the representation. The cartoonist has intentionally caricatured Turnbull and his wife’s height to make them look childlike. The effective use of the caricature has negatively adjusted the way Australian citizens view Malcolm Turnbull. Furthermore, exaggerating their height into little children could also indicate what Turnbull is really like when discussing important political changes in Parliament between parties; he is very apprehensive like a little boy in a pet shop. To the last example, Turnbull’s eyebrows and anxious smile has particularly been caricatured to outline his hesitant behavior. The crowd closely observes Turnbull, which effectively brings out his confidence when under pressure.
Commonly used cartoons intimidated, amused, or simply condemned the victim within the pictures reputation. In cartoon 12.9 (Thomas Nast) three angry white men, an Irishmen, former confederacy supporter, and a banker/business man stand atop an African American man yielding an American flag. All three men pictured desired a government for the “white” America. Article 12.5d represents a similar depiction of African Americans. An African American looking male sits in ratty clothing while the “white” man works tirelessly. The propaganda symbolizes The Freedman’s Bureau and how it will destroy the dynamic between the “white” man and African Americans. During 1898, the USS Maine exploded, and Grant Hamilton draws a cartoon blaming the Spanish (Article 14.9a). A gorilla looking man sporting a belt stating he is Spanish and wielding a bloody knife, stands above a grave labeled “Maine soldiers murdered by Spain.” The media refers to Spanish as “gorillas” and, therefore, Hamilton blames them for the Maine explosion. While the U.S. considered making the Philippines apart of the states, cartoonists sketched out their opinions. The unknown artist of “Is he to be a despot” (Article 14.9b) draws three men, William McKinley, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte. McKinley’s foot squishes a human looking creature, from the Philippines, underneath his foot.
In the image produced by Bruce Davidson called. Arrest of a demonstrator, USA. Birmingham, Alabama.1963 the viewer can see that there is a human vs. human interaction taking place within the composition. There are three figures placed in the foreground that are in sharp focus. Looking at the image as a whole the use of depth of field helps provoke the idea of focusing on the figures. The image itself is in black and white. The figure in the middle is a young African women in her late 20s being contained by two other figures being white male police officers in there 30’s. The women’s clothing is dark with button up white jacket. Her earrings are pearls and her hair is short. The officers in the image have on their uniforms with helmets and bow ties as well with guns to the side of their belt. The figures faces seem to be empty and create a mood of sadness, it puts an uncomfortable mood to the over all image. As your eye strays over the image you can see a vehicle in being the figures and behind that is a crowd of what appears to be bystanders. The sign in the background is center of the composition making it legible the sign is a located on a theater building which reads “suspense excitement Susan Hayward backstreet and damn the defiant.” The dark contrast of the figure in the middle helps to draw in the eye of the viewer to center of picture well the grey tones help to flatten parts of the image.
The gestures of both presidents are very vibrant and visible. Bush has his eyes squinted, wrinkles in forehead, nostrils opened, and mouth open in a downward motion; therefore, its apparent that he’s ready to attack. His gesture enhances humor because when presidents are dealing with controversies, they are serious, and in most cases trying to influence the audience. Obama’s eyes are closed, eyebrows raised, mouth closed in a downward motion, and his hands are crossed, giving the impression that he is actively listening. Bush’s gesture adds to the meaning of the cartoon because it supports the fact, that he is inclined to take charge against any country. He does not sit calmly and review documents, like Obama does. Gesture enhances the humor
). The setting of the cartoon is minimalist because the only background we require is for president Obama. Obama looks like he is in a office. The office is identifiable from the chair and desk. The office is representative of any president because that’s where they produce most of their work. Bush has numerous props, such as the weapons and artillery, which he carries behind his back, and grenades he has wrapped around his waist. He also carries two documents with the captions of “IRAQ” and “AFGHANISTAN” (Handelsman Cartoon). Bush steps on a banner that says “Mission Accomplished” (Handelsman Cartoon). These props add to the meaning of the cartoon because it reinforces what Handelsman tries to tell us. He strengthens the fact that Bush is
Obama uses imagery in order to make sure the audience knows the america he’s talking about and to keep his audience intrigued. Halfway through the essay, it is clear that Obama starts using examples of imagery. He starts by stating what America once was and how it “basically confined women”(Obama 2). By doing this, he helps his audience think back and make the audience think about how we’ve improved as a nation. Obama also does this to lead into stating how we’ve improved for the audience. While the audience starts thinking about it, he swoops in and explains all the ways we’ve improved. Another use of imagery comes when he states, “This is something I spoke about...women should behave”(Obama 3). Using evidence from his past speeches both builds credibility and helps