Artist's Background
–Born in 1965
–Midwestern roots, much like me and many of the students surveyed (Town Hall)
–From St. Louis area, studied at Southern Illinois University, cartoonist for Belleville News-Democrat (Town Hall)
–Conservative stance (Town Hall)
–Only strong right-winged cartoonist for New York Times online (McPheeters 2012)
–Midwestern roots, much like me and many of the students surveyed (Town Hall)
–From St. Louis area, studied at Southern Illinois University, cartoonist for Belleville News-Democrat (Town Hall)
–Conservative stance (Town Hall)
–Only strong right-winged cartoonist for New York Times online (McPheeters 2012)
My Interpretation
Caricature
–Size of head where brain should be is very small
–Large ears, nose, and mouth racism or innocent distortion? Romney is distorted less than Obama
Structure
–4 divisions imply multiple instances of accusations
–Impression that Obama is only talking to himself due to switching of positions so always facing toward inside of cartoon, also he is the only one in the first 3 frames
–Obama’s position is lurching forward in first 3 frames, but then reels backward when confronted by Romney
Text
–Meaning is heavily dependent on viewer reading the text
–Use of slang suggests lower class or education level
–Obama is misquoted to sound overly negative
–Uses term “blacks” which is border-line not politically correct
Motion lines
–Suggest frantic motions
–Frantic is emphasized by sweat
–Size of head where brain should be is very small
–Large ears, nose, and mouth racism or innocent distortion? Romney is distorted less than Obama
Structure
–4 divisions imply multiple instances of accusations
–Impression that Obama is only talking to himself due to switching of positions so always facing toward inside of cartoon, also he is the only one in the first 3 frames
–Obama’s position is lurching forward in first 3 frames, but then reels backward when confronted by Romney
Text
–Meaning is heavily dependent on viewer reading the text
–Use of slang suggests lower class or education level
–Obama is misquoted to sound overly negative
–Uses term “blacks” which is border-line not politically correct
Motion lines
–Suggest frantic motions
–Frantic is emphasized by sweat
Other Interpretations
–Obama is frantically attempting to alarm voters by falsely accusing Romney
Caricature
–Motion lines, water droplets, hand-waving to show Obama as an alarmist
–Emphasized features on Obama, but not Romney
–Obama not in full suit like Romney
Text
–Exclamation points used to show Obama as an alarmist
–Written in a childish font to support prose of cartoon
Structure
–Divided into 4 boxes makes for an interesting dynamic
–Cartoon ridicules all political lying and debate strategies (independent/republican)
Exaggeration
–Uses things that no modern politician would say to draw attention to absurdity
–Statements are extreme extrapolations of Romney’s politics
–Romney’s outburst at the end suggests how critics make up stories to achieve negative reactions out of candidates
–Twisting of words
Caricature
–Obama’s large nose emphasizes skinny face
–Sweating a flailing of arms by Obama makes him seem frantic and immature
–Obama jokes about the ridiculous claims that were made about him during the election
Caricature
–Obama’s character looks like he is proving a point
–Romney looks defensive
References
–Obama is repeating some of the things that were said about him
–Cartoon is a criticizing Romney’s stance on healthcare
References
–The people listed in the speech bubbles are people that Mitt does not want the government to fund with respect to healthcare
Summary
–Many different interpretations
–Republican respondents in general seemed more aware of the political blame-game being played during the 2012 elections
–Major techniques identified were exaggerating facts to emphasize absurdity, caricature to discredit the candidates, and Obama’s frantic motions shown through motion lines, sweat, etc.
Caricature
–Motion lines, water droplets, hand-waving to show Obama as an alarmist
–Emphasized features on Obama, but not Romney
–Obama not in full suit like Romney
Text
–Exclamation points used to show Obama as an alarmist
–Written in a childish font to support prose of cartoon
Structure
–Divided into 4 boxes makes for an interesting dynamic
–Cartoon ridicules all political lying and debate strategies (independent/republican)
Exaggeration
–Uses things that no modern politician would say to draw attention to absurdity
–Statements are extreme extrapolations of Romney’s politics
–Romney’s outburst at the end suggests how critics make up stories to achieve negative reactions out of candidates
–Twisting of words
Caricature
–Obama’s large nose emphasizes skinny face
–Sweating a flailing of arms by Obama makes him seem frantic and immature
–Obama jokes about the ridiculous claims that were made about him during the election
Caricature
–Obama’s character looks like he is proving a point
–Romney looks defensive
References
–Obama is repeating some of the things that were said about him
–Cartoon is a criticizing Romney’s stance on healthcare
References
–The people listed in the speech bubbles are people that Mitt does not want the government to fund with respect to healthcare
Summary
–Many different interpretations
–Republican respondents in general seemed more aware of the political blame-game being played during the 2012 elections
–Major techniques identified were exaggerating facts to emphasize absurdity, caricature to discredit the candidates, and Obama’s frantic motions shown through motion lines, sweat, etc.
References
Cartoon found at: http://media.townhall.com/townhall/car/b/gmc10280220120816120100.jpg
Town Hall. Web. 10 April 2013. <http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennmccoy>.
McPheeters, Sam. “The Brutality Report- The Art of Glenn McCoy.” Vice. (2012). Web. 02 April 2013. <http://www.vice.com/read/the-brutality-report-the-art-of-glenn-mccoy>.
Town Hall. Web. 10 April 2013. <http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennmccoy>.
McPheeters, Sam. “The Brutality Report- The Art of Glenn McCoy.” Vice. (2012). Web. 02 April 2013. <http://www.vice.com/read/the-brutality-report-the-art-of-glenn-mccoy>.