Satirical Techniques Used In Political Cartoons

The cartoonist uses the rhetorical and literary devices of symbolism and allusion to depict that technology and media rules over society’s opinions and decisions. The political cartoonist uses symbolism to indirectly state

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

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.

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.

The house of representatives makes and passes federal laws. They are one of two chambers that creates the U.S legislative branch. The house may even be referred to as “the people house” because it’s representative’s are viewed and based upon the population or amount of people in each state. In this political cartoon, there are two sides one side is labeled “the people's house” which is the outside view of the Capitol building, while the other side shows citizens inside the Capitol building scared. The Capitol building holds meeting's and debates with the electives, however, the scared citizens show a negative connotation because they are not providing respect to the building and what's surrounding them. The ironic part of this cartoon is

When was the last time you experienced a good laugh? Maybe you were watching a show, reading a book, or even hanging out with friends. Either way you were probably observing, comedy. Which in literary terms is a genre of literature that is created in a humorous nature for a purpose of making people laugh. A television show that can be categorized as a comedy is Parks and Recreation. The show is about a crew members that work in a parks department for the government in a small town called Pawnee, Indiana. The main characters consist of Leslie Knope who later in the show marries Ben Wyatt. April ludgate who later marries Andy. Ron Swanson, Donna, Tom, and Garyy. They all work together trying to make the city of Pawnee a better place. They play pranks on eachother, but also have strong friendly bonds.

Humorists are present through multiple mediums such as talk shows, blog columns, and political cartoons. The different platforms humorists’ use lends different purposes for their content. For example, political cartoon artists have the creative liberty to create offensive content on certain political issues. The political cartoons

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

The political cartoon shown here is strongly satirizing against the control of children’s education in Texas by the Board of Education. Through the Board’s selection of what is included in children’s learning material, Texas kids in schools become biased towards certain political views. The textbooks here all contain extreme conservative attitudes, such as disbelief in climate change with the title, “BRRRRR! Our chilly planet”, and emphasis on anglo-american christianity “saving the day” for a free-market capitalist economy. Ironically, the book “Numbers Lie (Just like liberals!)” is paired with a false math equation on the bottom left of the cartoon, as 2+2 does not equal 5. However, this is significant in the sense that textbooks which are

Indeed, in an era where news of all kinds is only a click away, it seems odd that the simple cartoon could once have been the most influential form of media in the nation. However, one must realize that the target audience of these cartoons were illiterate immigrants and the impoverished masses; before exposure to Nast’s cartoons, they had no way to know that their beloved Tweed was corrupting politics at all. In addition,these comics were published at a time when the United States had the highest newspaper circulation per capita in the world; everyone had access to these cartoons (Leepson 54). Therefore, Nast could use his illustrations to turn politics into a tangible, understandable topic for the American masses; in doing this, Nast paved the way for future illustrators and journalists, such as Homer Davenport, who went on to caricaturize corruption just as his predecessor had (Wang,

This device plays a significant role in depicting ‘GST Increase’ as a loving and wonderful pet that later backstabs its owner. Alongside symbolism, captioning is another satirical element used by the cartoonist to enable audiences to withdraw many ideas and suggestion. This has been evidenced as the key-phrase ‘GST Increase’ was largely printed on the scorpion to symbolize the chaotic outcome of the increase in GST not only for Turnbull but also the Australian community. The cartoonist has productively labeled the scorpion to demonstrate his understanding about the similar outcome of having a dangerous creature loose as well as increasing the GST, which both give an unpleasant feeling. The scorpion’s tail provides a strong and meaningful message to all viewers without the need of captioning. In addition, the quote ‘It comes with a sting in the tail’ could strongly be the hidden message by the cartoonist within this agonizingly physical feature. The effectual use of this element has forced the audience to overpower their thought of the scorpion being a ‘wonderful and loving’ pet. Furthermore, it has emphasized the viewer understanding of how important Turnbull’s choices are and how it may affect Australia and his job as a whole. In this cartoon, symbolism serves to represent Australia’s failure in finding a successful, knowledgeable and trustworthy

Sean Leahy has portrayed Australian prime ministers in a negative way as he is poking fun at what he is saying. The tone that is set in this cartoon is humorous and light: Leahy along with many other cartoonists has made cartoon a humorous way to criticize someone or something. Malcolm Turnbull has been drawn in such a way that his face has flat edges and ears stick out. This makes fun of his sharp jaw and ears that prominently protrude. The cartoon used simple dialogue to help convey the main message that politicians often make impossible promises.

While plays like Godface can sometimes stray towards being overtly heavy-handed in message, political satire in artistic forms is always important, only more so given Australia’s current situation. Not only does it allow us to poke fun at the systems that control us, it also gives us a chance to properly scrutinize them and find the loopholes that are used for its manipulation and power.

Social commentary can be found throughout of all the arts, such as paintings, books, poems, and even music, and with the advent of social media, commentary on the social and political is seemingly at an all-time high. However, another form of political expression that is much more subtle, but entirely effective, is the cartoon. Since the heydey of the Looney Tunes, cartoons and cartoon sketches have commented on the latest issues, and have shed some light and perspective on some of the most controversial topics. And one of the most controversial and polarizing figures today, in any country, none other than President Trump. In his editorial cartoon for the New York Times, Mark Winter, who goes by his pen-name Chicane, uses imagery by having a display of the planets with a missing earth to show the self-destructive nature of Mr. Trump and his administration.