Political Cartoons 1/10
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From https://slo.neric.org/cartoons/intro-slo.htm
Political cartoons serve to make people think about political and government issues by:
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providing readers with additional viewpoints
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assuming the reader has enough background knowledge about the issues to understand the message
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emphasizing one side of an issue or concern
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utilizing humor
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relying on drawings to make a point
Cartoonists use the following persuasive techniques to create humor:
symbolism - using an object to stand for an idea.
caricature - exaggerating a physical feature or habit: big nose, bushy eyebrows, large ears, baldness.
captioning and labels - used for clarity and emphasis.
analogy - a comparison between two unlike things that share some characteristics.
irony - the difference between the way things are and the way things should be or the way things are expected to be.
juxtaposition - positioning people or objects near each other, side-by-side.
exaggeration - overstating or magnifying a problem.
Symbols used in Political Cartoons
peace - dove, olive branch, victory sign.
United States - Uncle Sam, flag, stars and stripes, shield.
Democrats - donkey.
Republicans - elephant.
death - vulture, skeleton with shroud, skull and crossbones, grim reaper.
love - heart, Cupid, Venus.
money - dollar bill or dollar sign.
heroes or good guys - wear white.
villains or bad guys - wear black.
Steps in Analyzing a Political Cartoon
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Identify the characters, symbols and objects in the cartoon.
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Look for clues and details that would given further meaning.
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Identify the main idea of the cartoon by reading the captions and putting the message into their own words.
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Identify any bias the cartoonist might have.
Jill will email links to our exercises, they are restricted from being publicly shared.