Political cartoons are one of the oldest forms of propaganda. They can be funny or serious, either way the artist is trying to convey a message to her or his audience. The goal of the cartoonist is to share their opinion on a particular topic to the people. In order to really appreciate the cartoon the audience must have some basic background knowledge of current events. That will help you understand the cartoon.
If you are a fan of The Simpsons or Family Guy, you are watching two shows that make many references to other aspects of pop culture. The writers of those shows will throw in refrences to movies or other t.v. shows that they enjoy and know the audience will understand. If have not been to an Apple Store or not seen an Ipod commercial then you could not appreciate the episode where Lisa goes to the Mapple store.
Like a carpenter, a cartoonist has several tools that they will use to achieve their goal. These include:
Exaggeration: making the art and situation seem more extreme than it really is to emphasize an opinion.
Symbolism: use of commonly understood symbols to help you get the point more easily
Analogy: comparing one situation to another to make a point
Irony: Creating a situation where something is the direct opposite of what you might expect..
Some cartoons can use humor to prove a point:
The steroid exploits of A-Rod had provided us with a wide arrange of drawings and cartoons poking fun at the Yankee third basemen.
Other cartoons can be more serious.
On Father's day of 2001, a fire in Queens killed three members of the FDNY. Up until that point it was the single most tragic day for the Fire Department.
The fireman on the left is supposed to be Harry Ford. Harry grew up on the same street as my dad and they both joined the FDNY around the same time.
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