Background of political cartoons
Political cartoons often poke fun at certain events or people involved somehow in the government.They can be used as propaganda. Propaganda is a way of convincing people to join a group or enlist in the army. The "I Want You" poster is a type of propaganda. But mainly political cartoons are made for humor. All though these cartoons are often made for laughter, they can be made into a much more serious matter. For example recently in France, a company named Charlie Hebdo released a cartoon depicting a cartoon of muhammad. In the muslim religion, drawing a picture of muhammad is forbidden. And when, this cartoon was released, two armed muslim men attacked the Charlie Hebdo headquarters killing seven journalists, a security guard and a receptionist. This showed how powerful political cartoons can be.
Political cartoons make a point of exaggerating features, to make them more cartoony.
Political cartoons make a point of exaggerating features, to make them more cartoony.
In this cartoon Barack Obama's ears are enlarged, Mitt Romney's head is huge, and Honey Boo Boo's features are small and ugly. This technique is used to make it more obvious who the people in the cartoon are. In almost all political cartoons, there is a caption or dialogue in order to make sense of what you are seeing in the drawing.
It doesn't make any sense, that is where the clever captions come in.
The first political cartoon in America was Benjamin Franklins Join or Die. Although it is not humorous, it is type of propaganda trying to get men to join the revolutionary war, and it is extremely political. This picture was put in virtually every newspaper in the country and was used to depict revolutionary spirit
The first political cartoon in America was Benjamin Franklins Join or Die. Although it is not humorous, it is type of propaganda trying to get men to join the revolutionary war, and it is extremely political. This picture was put in virtually every newspaper in the country and was used to depict revolutionary spirit