Political Cartoon Analysis Entry #3

Skyrocket

This cartoon is titled, “Skyrocket” and was created by Olle Johansson. The cartoon shows a man in a car and next to him is the gas pump flying up in the air as if it were a rocket. It seems that the word “skyrocket” is being used to show that the gas prices are “skyrocketing” meaning that the prices for gas are being raised at a very quick pace. The cartoon shows the gas pump as some sort of rocket which is emphasizing the cartoonist’s point that the gas prices are rising at a quick rate. The man in the car seems to be an average guy watching the gas prices skyrocket and the expression on his face is an expression of disbelief. This symbolizes the public’s disbelief that the gas prices are actually increasing instead of decreasing, which is what most of the public believed would happen. It seems the cartoonist is trying to portray the unhappiness that the public is feeling based on the high gas prices, but he is trying to get the message out there by being humorous. This relates to a current political event because the Republican candidates trying to become the GOP nominee to run against Obama in this year’s presidential election are trying to win the votes of the average people. Gas prices and where the country gets its resources from is a big issue that the Republicans are trying to show that they have a better plan than Obama’s plan. The Republican candidates should try and figure out a plan to lower gas prices. This relates to class because throughout the year, we have been discussing the entire process that each candidate is going through as well as discussing possible secrets from their past that could ruin their chances. Although he is no longer in the race, if Herman Cain had a great idea for lowering gas prices he was unable to tell the public because of his many sexual relationships that he had with multiple women. This scandal led to his decision to stop campaigning and take his name off of the ballots. Satire is very relevant in this cartoon because the cartoonist is making fun of the gas prices by turning the gas pump into a rocket. Looking at this cartoon is pretty funny because the audience knows it is true. Typically, the things that are true are easier to make fun of because everyone will have to laugh because if they do not laugh, they would probably cry because it is sad that it is true.

The Road We've Traveled

This cartoon is called, “The Road We’ve Traveled,” created by Michael Ramirez. In the cartoon, there is a big, black hole with the word “debt” in the center. At the bottom right of the cartoon is a road with a car crashing through the safety bars into the big hole. In front of the safety bars are two signs. One of the signs has an arrow on it pointing to the right with the word “only” below it and the other sign is an arrow pointing left that is being crossed out by those “no smoking” red circles. The car that went into the debt hole has a bumper sticker with “USA” writing on it and an American flag hat going down with the car. “The Road We’ve Traveled” is significant as the title of this piece because the cartoon is saying that America has traveled into the big, dark hole of debt and it may take a while for America to get out of that hole. It seems that the cartoonist believes that America has driven into debt because the American people do not know how to follow directions. This is evident through the highway signs saying that the car is only allowed to go right and is not allowed to turn left. It seems that the cartoonist is criticizing America as well by making it look like Americans are oblivious to important situations directly in front of their faces because even though there were signs telling the car not to go that way, the car still went and kept going even though the safety fence/bars should have told them to stop going the way they were going. America does not listen to others and only does what America wants to do. This cartoon relates to current political event because America is in debt and it seems impossible to get out of it. This relates to class because the Republican candidates running to become the nominee to run against Obama in November have been mentioning their plans to get this country out of debt and to fix the economy. This also somewhat relates to class in the way that the Philadelphia School District is already in debt that they have had to cut certain aspects of school life including certain sports programs and janitorial staff. It is said that the school district of Philadelphia is already $400 million in debt for next school year. It is outrageous that the country does not have the money needed to fix the economy and something needs to be done.

Political Cartoon Analysis Entry #2

Lobbyists and Congress

The title of this piece is, "Lobbyists and Congress" and was created by Bennet. In this cartoon, it seems that there is a representative of Congress talking. The audience knows the man is part of Congress because the podium he is standing behind says, “Congress” on it. In the speech bubble, it says, “Nobody tells me what to do or say…” which is being written in by a man holding a pencil that says, “Lobbyists” on it. The title of this cartoon “Lobbyists and Congress” is being used to describe this cartoon because the main idea of the cartoon is the connection between lobbyists and Congress. This is significant because it shows that Congress tends to be hypocritical when it comes to discussing the issues with the press. It also shows that Lobbyists seem to have control over Congress. This relates to class because this past week, we have been doing E-Congress and deciding which bills should be passed or rejected based on the bills given to us by the website from all over the country. It is pretty humorous that the man is saying that no one tells him what to say yet a Lobbyist is doing just that. I also find it pretty funny that the Lobbyist is writing in pencil because pencils are used in cases where one knows that he or she may make a mistake. It seems that the creator of this cartoon is saying that Lobbyists tend to make mistakes which translate to Congress making the mistakes. Not only does the cartoonist seem to be criticizing Congress, the cartoonist is also criticizing Lobbyists by having “Lobbyist” written on a pencil instead of a pen, insinuating that Lobbyists make mistakes that eventually lead to Congress making the same mistakes.

Rick Santorum on the Political Spectrum

The title of this cartoon is, “Rick Santorum on the Political Spectrum” and was created by Ed Fischer. This cartoon is portraying the political spectrum by using cars. (Not sure if the pun was intended). It shows four signs: left with an arrow pointing left, right with an arrow pointing right, far right with an arrow pointing right, and out of sight right with an arrow pointing right. Following the first three signs seem to be normal cars. Following the fourth sign is Rick Santorum’s bus with the words, “Rick Santorum for President” written on the back of the bus. It is pretty clear that the cartoonist believes that Rick Santorum is just completely off the political spectrum because his views are completely different from those who would be considered “far right.” This makes me believe that the cartoonist is closer to being moderately liberal because those who would be considered conservative may actually think his beliefs are “far right” rather than “out of sight right” as portrayed in the cartoon. The words in the title seem to be mocking Rick Santorum’s believes because usually when a person is single out from his or her peers, it seems to be a bad thing. The cartoon seems to be making fun of Santorum’s driving abilities because it looks like Santorum’s bus made a sharp turn in order to get into the correct lane which is completely unsafe in the driving world. Thankfully, there are no cars behind his vehicle. This cartoon relates to current political events because Rick Santorum is one of the Republican hopefuls attempting to win delegates in order to become the Republican candidate to run against President Obama in this year’s presidential election. This relates to class because throughout the year, we have been discussing the GOP candidates and the debates they have been through in order to get to where they are today. 

Political Cartoon Analysis Entry #1

It Only Encourages 'em

The title of this piece is, “It Only Encourages ‘em” and it was created by Ray Osrin. This cartoon, published on October 3, 1985, shows a man in a suit holding a microphone to an elderly woman holding a grocery bag with the word, “Cleveland” written on it. The woman is also holding the leash of her dog. The dog looks bored. It seems the man asked the woman why she did not vote in the primary. She is telling him, “well, I can’t speak for others, but one reason I didn’t vote in the primary is, it only encourages ‘em.” This shows that the woman believes that if people keep voting for candidates, it will only encourage them to try and get more people to vote for them instead of actually focusing on the issues. It seems that she believes that the only reason people run in the race to begin with is so they can be favored by the people rather than actually trying to fix the problems. This cartoon also only shows the opinion of one person because the woman says that she cannot speak for others. The viewer can tell that this cartoon is connected to Cleveland because on the woman’s bag is the word, “Cleveland.” This cartoon could have been created during a time when Cleveland was voting for certain positions such as mayor. This cartoon relates to class because when this project was first assigned, we were discussing the ways people could participate in politics. One of the ways of participation is voting which is what this woman is talking about. It is interesting that the creator of this cartoon seems to be making fun of the voting system because typically, voting is a good thing. Voting helps the average citizens of America to express their opinions and beliefs about the issues. Osrin, the creator, is trying to show the viewers a different look on the voting system.

Dead Campaign Walking

The title of this piece is, “Dead Campaign Walking” and was created by Darkow. This cartoon shows Newt Gingrich, one of the Republican hopefuls, in a hospital bed with a thermometer in his mouth and an IV connected to his arm. Next to his bed are three men. The one man has “staff” written on his coat while the other men have “staff” written on their briefcases. The one with “staff” written on his coat is saying, “We’re leaving you!” Behind Newt Gingrich’s bed is a sign entitled, “Gingrich Campaign” with an arrow pointing down. This cartoon was published in 2011. This cartoon is basically saying that Newt Gingrich just does not have a chance of becoming the Republican candidate for the presidential election. He is so low in the charts that his staff is telling him that they are leaving him. The cartoon’s title, “Dead Campaign Walking” basically tells the viewer of the cartoon that Newt Gingrich’s campaign is completely over and it is dead. The cartoonist is making fun of Gingrich’s campaign, but it also seems like the cartoonist is making fun of Gingrich. Since Gingrich is in a hospital bed with an IV connected to his arm, it looks like Gingrich is getting weaker and weaker. This could be making fun of his inability to get out of the slump he is in as well as making fun of his age. Although he is not as old as Ron Paul, he looks like he could be one of the oldest Republican candidates. This cartoon relates to class because throughout the year, we have been discussing the Republican candidates and their chances of becoming the Republican hopeful to run against President Obama in the presidential election that is approaching.