Political Cartoon 7 (4/13/11)

1. In this cartoon there are two main boxes of text, the first and most obvious is a speech coming from what appears to be a baby Donald Trump, already yelling and giving orders so early in his life. What he says to me, is a poke at Obama and his birth certificate controversy as noted by Trump saying "You want me to run for president, I'm gonna need a birth certificate!" Other bits of humor include the line "Get me my birth certificate right now or you're fired!", a little joke making reference to Trumps infamous line.

2. The only objects in this cartoon are ten or so babies in a hospital nursery just after birth, included within them, the young Donny Trump.

3. The action taking place is the baby Donald Trump giving his ten cents to the rest of the babies/staff in the hospital and most likely surrounding rooms, given the all caps font and various exclamation points.

4. The message of the cartoon to me, is that the artist wanted to portray Donald Trump as a generally grumpy and stubborn guy, most likely not the artist favorite for the upcoming presidential election in 2012. If had had to give this cartoon an ideology, I would give this a moderate to slightly left on the ideology scale. I'm in between the two because the artist is poking fun at a likely republican for [resident, but on the other hand, I'm sure both republicans and democrats have a mutual dislike for The Donald.

5. This cartoon relates directly to next years presidential election and how Mr. Trump plans to make a run for it despite much disagreement and opposition.

6. There is not much irony in this cartoon however it is somewhat rich in satire, making fun of the controlling and demanding tone Trump uses much of the time, at least on the air. Another bit of humor is the quote from the mini-sized doctors saying "IT has a mother??" pointing fun at the fact that any women could give birth to such a being.

Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/po/
Artist- Pat Oliphant

Political Cartoon 6 (4/6/11)

1. The caption used in this cartoon is "But the good news is nobody smuggled a six-ounce shampoo bottle aboard..." which is used to poke fun at the tedious search and all of the things they check for yet there are still many problems with air travel today. The bit at the bottom "the airline provides the blow-dryer" is just a side bit for the cartoon as it shows the passengers sitting roofless, with their hair moving with the breeze.

2. In this cartoon, there is simply a plane with its roof detached, showing the passengers shouting inside the plane. I believe the artist was just trying to represent how ridiculous  the airline business is when the confiscate bottles of hair product, but still face so many obstacles and dangers.

3. In this cartoon, the artist depicts what appears to be a Southwest plane flying through the air with no roof, poking fun at the recent events concerning planes in the United States that were reportedly shot at.

4. I think the artist is trying to say that the Air Travel industry, more specifically security, almost tries too hard in a sense, yet there are still many obstacles that they cannot control. I think this cartoon represents a liberal ideology due to the quote "But the good news is nobody smuggled a six-ounce shampoo bottle aboard..." which to me pokes fun at the security and to me leans more toward the attitude of privacy over security.

5. This cartoon ties in directly with the recent events concerning a Southwest plane that was reportedly shot at shortly after take-off.

6. In this cartoon satire is a big card. The quote "But the good news is nobody smuggled a six-ounce shampoo bottle aboard..." is a direct shot at the security branch of air travel, and how secure, yet ineffective it may be.

Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/tt/
Artist- Tom Toles

Political Cartoon 5 (3/30/11)

1. In this cartoon there is one caption coming from a man who appears to be representing the Nobel Prize Committee and it reads "Well, at least he's not Bush." That line is poking fun at both President Bush and President Obama by saying that although Obama has done some things that have been frowned upon, he still is better that President Bush.

2. There are several things present in the cartoon. Most notably is a lanky, evil looking President Obama who appears to be beating a dove with his over sized Nobel Peace Prize. There are also two mean talking amongst themselves behind the President. More subtle in the cartoon is what the dove appeared to be carrying- an olive branch, which is important because it represents peace in the Bible and in the Olive Branch Petition used during the United States time of gaining independence from Great Britain.

3. In this cartoon, there is one main action taking place which is President Obama beating the olive branch-carrying dove with his Nobel Peace Prize while two members of the Nobel Prize Committee watch.

4. The message of the cartoon is that although President Obama has made some moves concerning the situation in the Middle East, that he is still better than President Bush despite his current actions in Libya and his approval rating sitting at 48% according to Gallup Polls. This to me, the ideology represented in this cartoon is that of a Liberal, based off of one thing, the line "Well, at least he's not Bush". That line alone shows the artist will still side with Obama and "compliment" him despite his current popularity with the American people.

5. This cartoon directly relates to the crisis in Libya and President Obama's course of action that he has taken with the situation. It directly ties in to what is spoken about in class at least 80% of the time.

6. Irony is a major player in this cartoon. The biggest ironic factor is President Obama beating a olive branch-carrying, peace wanting- dove with his Nobel Peace Prize. Its hard to use "beating" and "Nobel Peace Prize" in the same sentence, but here, it works. The irony in this cartoon is so clear that it hardly needs explanation.

Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/gm/
Artist- Glenn McCoy

Political Cartoon 4 (3/23/11)

1. This cartoon has no caption or title but it hardly needs one. The artist makes it very clear that he is poking fun at Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and the recent no fly zone imposed on Libya to try to subdue the Gadhafi's reign of terror over the people of Libya.

2. In this cartoon there are several objects and symbols. First is Gadhafi himself who appears to be scared and running from fighter jets, most likely representing the recent no fly zone that has been approved by the United Nations to calm the violence in Libya. Also present is a butchers knife covered in blood that appears to be flying from Gadhafi's hand, symbolizing that he shall kill no more.

3. The action in the cartoon is Muammar Gadhafi running from fighter jets that have been sent to enforce the no fly zone that has been set to try to ensure the safety of many Libyan civilians. In his motion, Gadhafi looks to be scared, the artist most likely does this because he thinks the no fly zone will have a major impact on Gadhafi and his violent ways.

4. The message of the cartoon is that the no fly zone will have a major impact on the current status of Libya, specifically on the way Muammar Gadhafi has gone about dealing with the protests put fourth by his people. To me, the artist appears to have a lot of confidence in the recent efforts to aid the Libyan people and has faith that the current action will work. I don't think this clearly represents any ideology, as many people, both Liberal and Conservative support the actions taken in Libya.

5. This cartoon directly relates to the current uprisings in Libya and Muammar Gadhafi's reign of terror over the people of Libya. This is perhaps one of the most important and memorable events that our political world has seen in some time.

6. There is little evidence of satire and irony in this cartoon. I think this cartoon is very straight forward, and although comical, has little in the way of irony or satire.

Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/ta/
Artist- Tony Auth

Political Cartoon 3 (3/16/11)

1. In this cartoon the only caption or speech appears to be a devilish figure saying "pick your poison!". The cartoonist used such words and the devilish figure to convey the numerous types of disasters the can occur and the vast number of problems within our world today.

2. In the cartoon many symbols are present. Most notably, is the ghoulish looking figure in the center who appears to be some sort creepy-devil. Next to him is a man in a suit with a nuclear symbol for a head who has a childish, naive grin on his face, almost saying "well what do you want me to do about it?". In the background are a sizzling sun, perhaps a poke at global warming, an oil field, a coal truck, and a nuclear power plant on fire. These symbols are used to show the various number of disasters/problems occurring in the world right now.

3. The action is simple, the ghoulish figure is telling the reader to "pick your poison" essentially saying there are many things that can happen and/or are happening, that could in turn be catastrophic.

4. The message of the cartoon is that the world faces many tough problems today such as global warming, pollution via coal and oil, or nuclear disasters, and the quite frankly, recently the world hasn't been able to catch a break. I think this cartoon represents a slightly left ideological perspective, this gathered from the slight feeling of wanted but unachieved change that I got from looking at this cartoon.

5. This cartoon relates to some of the biggest political topics in the ever more environmentally cautious America such as global warming, pollution, peak oil, and new forms of energy. I also think that the power plant on fire is a bit of a cheap shot at the recent power plant explosion in Japan.

6. I think there is a bit of satire and humor in the cartoon through the phrase "pick your poison". The quote is essentially saying that in todays world, so many problems face us, and we have done little to solve the thus far, making it seem like many of the problems could be humanity's fate, deeming the saying "pick your poison".

Source- New York Times, http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/ta/
Author- Tony Auth

Political Cartoon 2 (3/9/11)

1.The caption in this cartoon is from Libyan ruler Muammar Gadhafi reading "Look, even I think you're crazy!!" (directed towards Charlie Sheen. This is a very clever caption because both Gadhafi and Sheen are tumbling downhill in their careers and both are being called "crazy". 


2. In this cartoon there are several symbols and people represented. First and foremost, there are two notable figures in the cartoon, the much disputed Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and the also much disputed actor Charlie Sheen who appears holding an adult beverage, with womens undergarments strewn around him. The fact that the artist picked these two people is funny because it shows some parallels between the political world and the entertainment world.


3. The action taking place is a light conversation between Gadhafi and Sheen. Gadhafi says "Look, even I think your're crazy" while Sheen stares blankly back at him. 


4. This cartoons main message is displayed brilliantly through the characters and comment. The artist clearly illustrates two points that people associate with these two figures in a very humorous way. I think the artist just wanted to draw a parallel between the two worlds,m politics and entertainment. I don't think that this cartoon represents any particular ideology, rather than just a good humored political/entertainment joke. 


5. This cartoon directly relates to the current crisis occuring in Libya, under the rule of Muammar Gadhafi. The fact that Gadhafi says Sheen is crazy is ironic and funny because most people these days would agree that Gadhafi has a touch of crazy in him as well.


6. This cartoon uses satire to convey the point that Sheen is crazy via Gadhafi, who in today's world, would be considered a bit on the wrong side of the tracks. I think that the artist used not only satire, but humor in general to clearly convey his thoughts and the world around him.


Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/gm/

Author- Glenn McCoy


  

Political Cartoon 1 (3/2/11)

1. In this select cartoon there are no captions or titles, however most cartoons will use captions to describe what is going on or convey certain feelings or emotions that the artist has.

2. In this cartoon the Office of the President is represented (via Barack Obama) and a ghostly figure of Abraham Lincoln. Both Presidents are holding documents, Obama holding an executive order titled "discrimination against gays unconstitutional" and Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order made by Lincoln in 1863. To me, the artist is trying to draw a parallel between two "radical" pieces of legislation, although in Lincolns time the Emancipation Proclamation was much more radical, as gay rights are becoming evermore expected in our changing country.

3. The cartoon shows Barack Obama singing into effect the new executive order outlawing discrimination against gays while Abraham Lincoln is alongside clapping, implying that the author thinks that Lincoln  approves of Obama's decision.

4. The main idea conveyed in the cartoon is that ultimately former President Abraham Lincoln approves of the newest executive order proposed by President Obama outlawing the discrimination against gays. The cartoonist also portrays the newest executive order as parallel to the Emancipation Proclamation passed by Lincoln in 1863. This cartoon represents a to me a liberal ideology that would rank as a solid left on the ideology spectrum.

5. This cartoon relates to the recent "Don't ask Don't tell" repeal act passed by President Obama which allows openly gay men and women to serve in the United States Armed Forces. It relates directly to our class discussions because gay rights is one of the most important and controversial topics in todays politics.

6. This cartoon doesn't have much in the way of satire and irony, it more so aims for the parallel between the Emancipation Proclamation and the new executive order, deeming that Lincoln generally supports Obama's decision concerning the newest executive order.

Source: New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/ta/
Artist- Tony Auth