1. Interpreting a Cartoon
IB Paper 1
Interpreting a Cartoon

2. Question 1b on Paper 1 will ask you to interpret a source such as a graph, artifact, map, cartoon, etc.
Many times the source is a cartoon or a photograph.
IB’s favorite cartoonist is Sir David Low.

3. How to interpret a cartoon
According John D Clare the following three skills should be incorporated when interpreting a cartoon:
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EVENTS OF THE PERIOD
THINKING ABOUT THE CARTOONIST AND HIS MOTIVES
SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT OBJECTS IN THE CARTOON.

4. 5 main elements to convey point of view in a cartoon.
symbolism – using an object to stand for an idea.
captioning & labels – used for clarity and emphasis. (IB will label and give dates for cartoons. They will also translate any foreign words and re-type them so you can read it!)
analogy – a comparison between two unlike things that share some characteristics.
irony – the difference between the way things are & the way things are expected to be.
hyperbole (exaggeration) – overstating or magnifying a problem or a physical feature or habit: big nose, bushy eyebrows, large ears, baldness, etc.

5. Clemenceau the Vampire

6. David Low

7. David Low was born in New Zealand in 1891 and by the age of 15 he published his political cartoons in the major news papers of New Zealand.
At the age of 18 he was hired by a major newspaper in Sydney, Australia and in 1919 at the age of 28, he moved to England to work for The Star.
He worked for other prestigious news papers and magazines such as Punch before he finally settled in with the Evening Standard in 1927.
Although a conservative newspaper, the owner, Lord Beaverbrook, allowed Low creative license for his liberal views.

8. He created two characters that became very popular.
Colonel Blimp was created to represent everything he disliked in British politics:
"Blimp was no enthusiast for democracy. He was impatient with the common people and their complaints. His remedy to social unrest was less education, so that people could not read about slumps. An extreme isolationist, disliking foreigners (which included Jews, Irish, Scots, Welsh, and people from the Colonies and Dominions); a man of violence, approving war. He had no use for the League of Nations nor for international efforts to prevent wars. In particular he objected to any economic reorganization of world resources involving changes in the status quo.“

9. Blimp represented everything that Low hated in the established British political system.
During the 1930s Low’s cartoons represented most his complaints about British foreign policy.

10. His cartoons would be eventually be banned in both countries.
In the 1930s with the situation in Italy and Germany escalating, Low became particularly critical of Mussolini and Hitler.
His cartoons would be eventually be banned in both countries.
He faced pressure in England to tone down his cartoons after the Munich Pact.
He was eventually persuaded to invent a character that would embody both Hitler and Mussolini and hopefully soften Low’s biting and harsh portrayal of the two men.
The comic strip Muzzler: the Dictator evolved.
Lord Halifax was important in seeing this happen.

11. MUZZLER THE DICTATOR He does the goose-step now
5 February 1938 Evening Standard

12. The Project

13. You will create a five slide PowerPoint interpreting a David Low cartoon. Use the format from the Clemenceau Vampire example from John D. Clare’s website.

14. Criteria for presentation
David Low Cartoon
Individual assignment
Slide length 5
Citations
Context – What is happening at the time?
Content – What is happening in the cartoon?
Comment – What is the meaning of the cartoon?
Presentation
Aesthetic qualities
Due February 22

20. SOURCES The British Cartoon Archive
The Guardian (Gallery for David Low)
The books in the room!
IB teacher websites?
YouTube