Political cartoons

Political Cartoons Modern political cartoons have been around since the 19th Century. The increase in newspaper and magazine circulation in the 1800s provided a rich environment for the rise and use of political cartoons. People with minimal reading abilities could understand and relate to a format that communicated powerful ideas in a humorous, enlightened manner. Political cartoons play an important part in telling the history of an era.

Political cartoons serve to make people think about political and government issues by: Providing readers with additional viewpoints. Assuming the reader has enough background knowledge about the issue to understand the message. Emphasizing one side of an issue or concern. Utilizing humour. Relying on drawings to make a point.

Political cartoons are found in the editorial (or opinion) section of a newspaper. They are created by cartoonists as a way of visually commenting on and often criticizing the world around them-with humour. Cartoonists express their ideas and opinions about issues (like what to do about Canada’s economy), events (like the Olympics) or public figures (like the Prime Minister).

Because cartoons are drawn from the viewpoint of the cartoonist, they do not tell the whole story about the event, issue or individual, but they reveal important messages. Their purpose is to grab people’s attention and cause them to re- examine their views on a subject. Messages are conveyed through images and wordplay, their tone is generally ironic (portraying events in ways that are unexpected or contrary to how they seem), satiric (ridiculing the event, individual or issue), or humorous (inviting readers to laugh at themselves or at others).

In order to interpret the message of an editorial cartoon, it is helpful to understand the context-the time, place and situation. It is also helpful to understand some of the common art techniques used by cartoonists to emphasize their points. Political cartoons are expressions of opinion. They use all sorts of emotional appeals and other techniques to persuade others to accent those opinions. They cannot be treated as evidence either of the way things actually were or even of how everyone else felt about the way things were. They are evidence only of a point of view, often a heavily biased point of view.

Caricature: a portrait that exaggerates or distorts some characteristics of a person or thing Person is clearly identifiable Complimentary or insulting Subjective Serves for political purpose or for entertainment Open to several interpretations A distorted, simplified, or exaggerated representation of a figure

Caricature

Caricature

Caricature

Symbols: an object, picture, word, or type of mark that represents something

Symbols used in political cartoons: Peace: dove, olive branch, victory sign Canada: beaver, maple leaf, maple syrup, hockey Death: vulture, skeleton with shroud, skull and crossbones, Grim Reaper Love: heart, Cupid, Venus Money: dollar bills, dollar sign Heroes or Good Guys: wear white Villains or Bad Guys: wear black

Labeling: words or numbers in the drawings to identify people, objects or dates.

Analogy: drawing a comparison between two unlike things

Irony: the expression of one’s meaning by using language or pictures that normally signify the opposite

Other Elements Captions: a sentence or phrase that is the title or explanation of the cartoon Relative size: some images are drawn much larger or much smaller than others Light and dark: use of dark shading and white space to create an effect Composition: the arrangement or location of figures or objects in the centre or background

Point out the: Caricature, Symbol, Label, Analogy and Irony Caricature – Santa Claus Symbol – The striped pole that symbolizes the North Pole Label – The sign on the pole clearly labels it the North Pole Analogy – The New York Sun (1897) editorial and global warming that affects the 21st century Irony – That Santa Claus (a fictional character) must make the claim that this global issue does in fact exist and is real

What is the Issue? After another horrific school shooting in the United States the issue of the rights of American citizens to bear arms vs. the rights of Americans to feel safe with tougher gun laws was raised and debated

Cartoon Analysis of Characteristics Caricature – The President of the NRA (National Rifle Association) Symbols – The flag flying at half- mast symbolizes mourning; the shrunken congress in the pocket of the NRA President

Labels – Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn Labels – Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.; the NRA (National Rifle Association)on the jacket; Congress Analogy – Comparing the tragic school shooting with American beliefs that every citizen has the right to bear arms

Irony – that the NRA supports the present gun laws in the United States’ constitution even though gun prevalence leads to more and more gun violence like mass shootings in schools

Cartoonist’s Message/Opinion The cartoonist’s opinion on this issue is that even though tragic events like this take place there is no way that Congress will change the laws around gun ownership because the opinion is that the NRA has control over Congress and that Congress will listen to them as opposed to citizens that oppose guns.