An Examination of Political Cartoons in the Time of Covid
This is a cartoon by artist Clay Jones, who runs a blog for showcasing his cartoons called Tales from the Trumpster Fire. This piece specifically looks to target the racial targeting involved in the collection of censuses and Jared Kushnerās overseeing of the secret coronavirus task force. There arenāt a ton of symbols in here, but we can point both to the Nazi armband on the census taker and the SS insignia on his hat as a representation for the artistās belief that these practices are racist and totalitarian and comparable to certain nazi practices. We also have the dress shirt and tie on the father, which is meant to symbolize that he is a hard working man. This is meant to emphasize the injustice of the family being ignored and looked over by the man looking to take census information from only white people. Things are labeled for clarity, such as the word Jared on Jared Kushnerās body. His head is already exaggeratedly long with the long outward ears and big lips for which he famously has. I believe the labeling of Kushner is to let people know who it is despite the fact theyāve already done a caricature of him, only because he isnāt yet a household name, so some folks might not recognize him on appearance alone. Here, there isnāt so much an analogy, as much as there is a heavy exaggeration of what is actually happening. Jared Kushner isnāt involved in actually going door to door and ignoring the censuses of black citizens, but that is what him and his organization are doing in a metaphorical sense. Theyāre not literally hollering out for only white voters to complete the census, itās just that theyāre ignoring and not putting the same sort of emphasis on collecting black votes. The cartoonist is saying that this is obviously a bad thing and thinks it resembles nazi-like fascist. Even though I agree, I donāt really find this piece that persuasive, as it is both very basic, and the view it argues against isnāt one I can see many people agreeing with in the first place. There arenāt a ton of people who believe censuses of white people are more important, because most average people would see that as a cartoonishly evil view to hold. However, I can imagine that some diehard Trump supporters who view immigrants as evil outsiders, and think white is the national race of America, would take issue with the comic. I definitely donāt think those people would be persuaded, though.Ā
by artist Tornoe for The Inquirer
Symbols: Face mask, Phillies Jersey, Foam Finger. The face mask represents coronavirus prevention measures, the Phillies jersey and foam finger represent sports fandom.
Exaggeration: No noticeable exaggeration, other than there only being one fan in the empty stadium. Either the event wouldnāt allow an audience, or there would be more people at this event. Also it is exaggerated here that the man would have no problem going out in public to watch the sport, but heās not willing to accept a hot dog from a worker who potentially has the virus.Ā
Labeling: Very limited use of labeling here, besides the Hot Dog vessel, which would be labeled in real life, as well as the jersey.Ā
Analogy: Not really any analogy here, it is more poking fun of the current situation by presenting us an absurd hypothetical scenario.Ā
Irony: I think the irony here is that the fan is so devoted that he made his way out to the sporting event during quarantine and heās so loyal to his team, but heās still cautious about the guy serving hot dogs. I think it could also be joking about how unsanitary the hot dogs are known for being.Ā
This cartoon is about the closing off of sporting events to audiences and the fans who are heartbroken by it. I donāt think the cartoonist feels any particular way about it, except for that itās ridiculous how devoted sports fans are for their teams. I see this as a cartoon thatās more trying to find humor in a political situation than try to take down a specific figure or issue.Ā
by artist Loujie for Cagle Cartoons
Symbols: Steak, Statue of Liberty, Coronavirus Cells, Fat guy, Torch, Tablet from the Statue.Ā
The steak is a symbol of wealth, as well as theĀ āfat catā representing greed and wealth. The coronavirus cells represent the pandemic, and calamity affecting the people outside the window. The statue of liberty in this case representing America, as well as her torch representing freedom and democracy, and the tablet representing the Fourth of July and the declaration of independence, which the fat cat is eating his steak on. Red wine on the table also represents luxury.
Exaggerations: The fat guy is exaggerated in his rotundity and the poor people outside are exaggerated in their panic pounding at the window. The statue of liberty is also scaled down to be able to fit into the room, which is the opposite of exaggeration.Ā
Labeling: The Rich, The Poor.
Analogy: America bailing out the rich and doing little for the poor is like our values bending over to serve the rich. Theyāre luxuriating while the average person is suffering.Ā
Irony: The rich are comfortable and profiting more than others, while the poor are left to get sick and suffer below. Itās ironic because America wasnāt founded on those values, but Lady Liberty is bowing to the whims of the elite.Ā
The artist is clearly saying itās wrong that this is happening as the average Americans build the backbone of the country. He thinks income inequality is out of control and the wealthy are controlling America to benefit them. People who disagree with them would be rich people or the poor people who worship the rich and want to become part of that class. Not a very convincing piece, more just solidifies what people already know about the upper class.Ā
by artist Steve Benson for Creatorās Syndicate
Symbols: Death, Grave Stone, Covid Face Masks
Exaggerations: Not everyone is going to die so the right side is a bit of an exaggeration, but the death representing America reopening represents the massive casualties that can occur from reopening early amidst the second wave of covid-19.Ā
Labeling: āFirst wave: America Shuts DownāĀ āSecond Wave: America Re-OpensĀ
Analogy: Opening up businesses early is like inviting death into the country.
Irony: By trying to save our economy, weād be killing our people, and thus doing devastating irreversible damage to the economy.Ā
The artist is concerned about America Reopening early and believes we will suffer many casualties because of this. Opponents of this message would be conspiracy theorists, conservatives, and business owners afraid of losing profits or going out of business. I find it fairly convincing as political cartoons go, but I donāt think itās really gonna sway anyone.
by artist Tom Stiglich for MediaNews Group
Symbols: Foxes, Feathers, Joe Biden Campaign Pin, Chickens, Chicken Coop.
Exaggerations: The New York Times, DMC, and Joe Biden have been anthropomorphized into foxes. Joe Biden is shown to be murdering chickens, which is not what he actually has done.Ā
Labeling: New York Times, Democratic National Committee, Biden.Ā
Analogy: The New York Times and DMC are in cahoots with Joe Biden aka fellow foxes, so them saying theyāll investigate him fairly, is like foxes saying theyāll investigate a chicken murder perpetrated by a fellow fox fairly.Ā
Irony: They all committed the crime and are covering it up together.
This cartoonist is untrustworthy of Joe Biden and the people who claim to be investigating his claims of wrongdoing. People who disagree with this would be staunch liberals, or people who like Joe Biden. For me it is fairly persuasive, because even though I am a liberal, I am wary of trusting Joe Biden, or the New York Times, or the Democratic National Committee. I think itās a cartoon that reaches both sides of the aisle because Joe Biden is a terrible candidate, and even us liberals who are voting for him are really not happy with him as an option. I do appreciate that during a time of corona-virus, this is one of the few up to date cartoons that chooses to tackle another topic, and I applaud itās originality while still being timely.Ā
