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Political Cartoons

            American political cartoons often follow the general displeasure of the government by the American people. They run the gamut from economics to foreign policy to the overwhelming popular topic of bureaucracy. .
             As an avid reader of political cartoons on a daily basis I enjoy the humor and cynicism found within these forms of speech. Not only can they poke fun at politicians for their behavior, but, they often raise a strong sense of values and morals in the person that reads them. Whether a person agrees or disagrees with the way a certain topic is portrayed in the cartoon it accomplishes the artists goal of making their reader stop and ponder for a moment about the topic being covered and how it relates to them. From topics currently facing the United Nations, our federal government or current news events, the cartoonists use a medium that was once reserved for innocent humor and changes it so that it draws the readers attention (since it is a cartoon and people seem to enjoy reading the funnies), and makes a statement, whether direct or indirect, that often makes people speak about or try and change the topics outcome. .
             Since the beginning of America political cartoons have often portrayed government officials as inept and sometimes just plain stupid. Politicians are very easy targets for the press and so become the subject of many daily papers editorial page cartoon.
             Although sometimes the cartoonist draws on current events and pay tribute to people who are often thought of with reverence. Take for example Charles Schultz, on the day following his death most cartoons as well as political cartoons payed homage to a person who is considered the greatest cartoonist of all time. Other cartoon strips showed their characters attending his funeral or missing him in some other way. While the most poignant political cartoon I remember about his death was by a cartoonist Mike Thompson of the Detroit free press.


Essays Related to Political Cartoons

1. Cartoon

Well, in every issue of the Daily Camera there is a political cartoon in the first section that sometimes is about Bush and his presidency, like it was a few days ago. ... Bush (the only character in the cartoon) is running on a treadmill sweating pretty profusely looking dumbfounded. ... The cartoon says "Going Anywhere? ... Some may say that they don't like President Bush, some may say they agree and support him and his actions, and some might not be interested or involved in the political scene, like me. I, being only eighteen years old and in college, don't really have a lot ...

  • Word Count: 737
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Political Impact On Seuss' Works

Seuss depicts Hitler as a tyrannical baby in several of his political cartoons. ... The king of 500 Hats and The King's Stilts directly contrast the king of the post-war Oobleck who is much more like the tantrum-throwing Hitler of Seuss' political cartoons. ... In this cartoon, a father explains to his son, "We German's do not eat food! ... Even if one were to agree that the Whos were the Japanese, then Horton Hears a Who is especially significant when one looks at Seuss' tendency to stereotype the Japanese in his political cartoons. ... Many of the characters Seuss de...

  • Word Count: 1700
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Shaping Reconstruction: The Impact on American Politics

His attention-grabbing cartoon was clearly meant to mock President Johnson. In the center of his cartoon, Nast drew a Shakespearean motif to cast Johnson as the evil Iago plotting against a black wounded Union veteran who is denied with his promised and justified place in American political life. ... Thomas Nast's cartoon was intended to both criticize Johnson's too lenient Reconstruction plan and to gain support for the radical Republicans. ... This move by Congress implied the shifting power within American politics system. ... The Reconstruction period reinforced the bipartisan ...

  • Word Count: 1062
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Simpsons

The Simpsons is a popular cartoon that has been running on the air for over ten years and has won many awards for its writing. ... The Simpsons cartoon draws a more mature audience. ... The Simpsons concentrates on what is happening in the world today on things like politics, drug usage, family issues and so on. ... The American public enjoys cartoons. They find them to allow themselves to still laugh at cartoons and know they are "still not that old ". ...

  • Word Count: 1077
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Paranoia, the Cold War and The Crucible

Herb block, a political cartoonist, satirized Senator McCarthy's actions. ... Herb Block satirized Senator Joseph McCarthy in several of his political cartoons. ... The unstoppable chain of accusations parallels the vehicle perusing the innocent civilians in Herb Block's political cartoon. ... The political cartoon titled, "So you read books, eh?" ... The Crucible depicts similar themes of paranoia as the political cartoons. ...

  • Word Count: 945
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. The Simpons

It is just a cartoon show, or is it. The uninitiated still assume The Simpsons is a children's comedy cartoon show, but in reality, it is appealing to both adults and children, to the "highbrow" and the "lowbrow". ... Because it is a cartoon series, characters in The Simpsons can be one dimensional, they can represent a code "a set of values and meaning share by users, the producers and readers of the text" (Thwaites et al. 1994 p.75). ... Each episode contains continual reference to history, literature, science, politics and philosophy. ... This is the irony that a cartoon is more reali...

  • Word Count: 2155
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography

7. The Role of the media

This cartoon depicts how the media works during a primary election on in just about any important political affair. ... The media can also have an opposite effect to a candidate like depicted on the cartoon. ... The effects of media on politics are not really obvious. ... The mass media have become dominant in many presidential elections and other political affairs The major effects of the media has less to do with how people vote and more to do with the manner in which things are conducted. The media helps set the agenda on those things which people have little personal experience; the cartoo...

  • Word Count: 484
  • Approx Pages: 2

8. The Many Facets of Women

In the political carton "College Tuition Hikes 40 Years. " published by Daryl Cagle on Cagle.com its shows several examples of how women have begun to change. The cartoon is of two women hold signs protesting for what they believe is the economy's problem at the time. ... The woman in the cartoon has no makeup on or sex appealing clothing. ... It shows that women have changed and begun to care about fashion more than serious political issues such as war. The cartoon states that the 2009 woman does not care about war. ...

  • Word Count: 839
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Medium is the Message

First, comics provide humor by degrading and mocking politics. Often they crack jokes on political leaders and their past and present private lives. For example, the Bill Clinton cartoon with a picture of him holding a joint and dialogue saying, "I never inhaled". ... In order to find these comics funny one must know about the political situation each is portraying. The medium can be seen as what the cartoon is representing in politics. ...

  • Word Count: 329
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

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