Political Cartoon: The Power Of Visual Politics

Political cartoons could be defined as illustrations or cartoon strips that contain a social and/or political message in them. Political cartoons are often based on the current events around when they were written.

The title of the cartoon that I have chosen is “Fire,” by Herblock . In the cartoon there is a man with the words “hysteria” written on the side of his leg. The man is climbing a ladder that leads to the Statue of Liberty’s torch with the a bucket, filled with water. The man seems to be trying to put the fire that is on the Statue of Liberty’s torch out. My interpretation of this cartoon is that in the midst of all the craziness with Mccarthyism, The anti-communist are crushing many freedoms and liberties that the Americans had. In my opinion, this cartoon is effective because when Americans understand the meaning of the cartoon, they will realize anti-communist are threatening their liberties. After World War II Russians forced communist control

Originating in the 19th century, political cartoons are created and drawn as a means to deliver a message. Whether it be about politics, events or social concerns, the artist is able to express themselves creatively. The cartoons are not only meant to express the view of the creator, but are also open to interpretation. Most political cartoons have a biased point of view and uses rhetoric to persuade its audience.

They use their artistic skills as an aid to convey messages to people of all ages. Political cartoons appear all over the internet and social media. The cartoonists usually distort several of the characters’ physical features in order to emphasize a belief or criticize an idea in the society. A recent political cartoon depicts Donald Trump with a long nose. The cartoonist tried to influence the viewers into believing that Donald Trump is a liar, and he does not fit to be president. It might seem that the cartoonist drew the cartoon just to make the viewers laugh, but his goal was actually to present the reasons why US citizens should not vote for Trump. This drawing might not immediately cause the viewers to alter their attitude towards Trump, but the drawing will appear in the viewer's’ mind whenever the presidential election is mentioned. Sometimes, the cartoon might even influence the viewer to vote for Clinton instead of Donald Trump. The more entertaining a cartoon appear, the faster the picture will spread throughout social media and the internet. This will allow the cartoonist to spread his ideas to a greater amount of

Political cartoons are an illustrative technique that political cartoonist use to display a message to the viewers about government, world affairs, and politics. In 1754, publishers of the Pennsylvania Gazette published the first political cartoon illustrated by Benjamin Franklin (West, par. 1). Benjamin Franklin used his first political cartoon, titled Join or Die, to gain support from the colonies for the Crown’s war against the French (West, par. 1). Since the 1700s, illustrators use political cartoons as a medium to display political messages to its viewers (West, par. 1). On March 10, 2015, publishers of the Columbia Daily Tribune published a political cartoon, illustrated by John Darkow, titled Hillary Has A Primary Opponent (Darkow,

The early 19th century in America saw the rise of industry and a booming economy, however, with industry came businessmen who saw an opportunity for power and profit. Even with help from the government, it would be a long time before the American people saw an improvement in the condition of the laborers and the regulation of corporations. Fast forward to the 21st century; two hundred years have passed and people are still struggling at the hands of a corporation-run economy. Throughout history, American laborers have been at the mercy of an industry controlled by a small few that did not have the best interest of the people in mind.

In Status Anxiety, author de Botton correctly claims that humorists are expected to not only entertain their audience, but to make statements about controversial events that may be too sensitive to say directly and causally present them in a way that is easy for the public to understand. This is demonstrated through various forms of media such as television shows and political cartoons.

Germany, U.K., Russia and Japan already have their knives or hand on the pie, France has his eyes on it as well.

The political cartoon first shown above presents a military general painting on a fence writing “Truth About Vietnam”. What this political cartoon is trying to tell the reader is that the during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Government had tried to cover up the real reason of them interfering in the war. As the picture shows, the military general is covering up the truth behind the Vietnam. The second cartoon shows an American soldier, slipping over trucks and a wagon saying “General’s Coup” and “Government Upsets”. This meaning that coming from an American soldier's POV, this is causing military disruption and hurting the U.S. Army. These political cartoons were effective in their own way because they set off a negative tone on the U.S. entering

Filibustering is not the only tactic that has been used to polarize politics in government today. Propaganda is also one of the more widely used tools by today's politicians. Propaganda can take many forms, and often uses every type of media to perpetuate stereotypes, fear mongering, and slant the story, often making the task of finding the truth increasingly difficult. Traditionally used in magazines and print media, propaganda often took the forms of humorous cartoons, with symbolic illustrations and

Thomas Nast, 1840-1902, was a political cartoonist who is known by some historians as “the father of modern political American political cartooning” (Simpson, ANBO). This is due in part because Nast was the person who created the donkey symbol to represent the Democratic Party and elephant symbol to represent the Republican Party. Another reason why Nast earned this title and therefore should be studied is that he changed the way cartoonists delivered their context. Before the Civil War cartoonist relied on dialogue rather than images to get the message across, however; Nast used the picture to convey the message of his cartoons (Simpson, ANBO). Since his cartoons did not need words to convey the message he was able to reach the illiterate

Cartoons have been a prominent and interesting apparatus for politics throughout the ages. Political movements, parties, and groups using propaganda to further their beliefs dates back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Though America faces an austere history, lighthearted propaganda colors its decades and gives them life. Political cartoons are so widely used in America that they have become a significant piece of pop culture. Moreover, because of their ability to capture the reader’s attention, propaganda is exploited throughout politics.The cartoons are wonders of the human imagination; illustrators create comical images and intertwine profound political opinions to influence their viewer’s mind. For example, one movement that abundantly grew from propaganda was the women’s rights movement. The artists of the seemingly despised cause drew controversial cartoons that set a fire in the hearts of women all over the world. Consequently, the same cartoons ignited a passionate war between women who wanted freedom, and those who believed that women could not handle that freedom. Through the use of colorful concepts and daring expressions, political cartoons display the influence of the women’s rights movement throughout history, while the cartoons of Anti-Feminists demonstrates the world’s reaction to the movement.

Political cartoons remain an underestimated force for shaping public opinion. Caricatures’ ability to encapsulate complex political issues into a single picture make them highly valuable in discerning the social and political climate of an era. Cartoonist Daniel Robert Fitzpatrick’s work “You Can Stop It In Poland, Can You, Adolf?” captured the American imagination of the German military machine and its leader, Adolf Hitler.

A political cartoon is a picture of a political event shown in a humorous way. Most cartoonist uses caricature in their cartoons. Some cartoonists exaggerate the person’s character and label objects that symbolize the way the person acts. A cartoon displays a visual of what the cartoonist thinks about what’s going on in politics.

However no one is gullible enough to be persuaded by them. But we do consider why not? Along with advertisements there are also millions of logos plastered on billboards to the t-shirts we wear. Visual advertisements are used to display different messages and advertise different services. There are also political cartoons as a form of visual rhetorics. Cartoonists seek to persuade rather than argue a point. They use caricatures and symbolism. In writing you would acknowledge the point being made by the cartoonist. An evaluation of the cartoon by grasping the attitude of the cartoonist. Another form of visual rhetoric are maps, graphs, tables, and pie charts. In the debate over drilling in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), advocates for drilling debated that it would only be a “tiny” portion of land. While opposers of drilling brought out maps, graphs, and tables on how “tiny” it would really have to be because there would be construction of roads. There are many forms of visual rhetoric, all equal in power when used in the correct