Artist's Background
–Born in 1959
–Conservative (or contrarian) stance (Aoueille 2011)
–“A cartoon is supposed to make you angry or make you totally agree. That’s my job.” –Scott Stantis (Chicago Tribune 2013)
–Grew up on the west coast, now working for the Chicago Tribune (Tribune Media Services)
–Known for strong opinions, wit, sense of the absurd (Tribune Media Services)
–Conservative (or contrarian) stance (Aoueille 2011)
–“A cartoon is supposed to make you angry or make you totally agree. That’s my job.” –Scott Stantis (Chicago Tribune 2013)
–Grew up on the west coast, now working for the Chicago Tribune (Tribune Media Services)
–Known for strong opinions, wit, sense of the absurd (Tribune Media Services)
My Interpretation
Caricature
–Large ears and chin are Obama's signature (Macadam 2013)
–Blurring line between humans and monkeys to delegitimize African Americans (influence possible, but most modern cartoonists are very sensitive of this issue and careful to avoid racist caricatures) (Thibodeau 1989)
–Size of plane compared to houses emphasizes catastrophe of a crash
Structure
–Rotation of picture, suggests Obama’s (and the viewers’ because it is read right to left) obliviousness to economy’s nose dive
–Nose of plane points to target, middle class America
–Clouds oriented sideways to suggest which view of the picture is natural
Target audience
–Middle class America, guy mowing his lawn
Text
–Red “and” directs reader to concentration on the following punch line
–Ellipsis suggests trailing off, trying to find an excuse
–Labeling of plane is essential to the punch line
Coloring
–Purple sky clues readers that something is wrong
–Large ears and chin are Obama's signature (Macadam 2013)
–Blurring line between humans and monkeys to delegitimize African Americans (influence possible, but most modern cartoonists are very sensitive of this issue and careful to avoid racist caricatures) (Thibodeau 1989)
–Size of plane compared to houses emphasizes catastrophe of a crash
Structure
–Rotation of picture, suggests Obama’s (and the viewers’ because it is read right to left) obliviousness to economy’s nose dive
–Nose of plane points to target, middle class America
–Clouds oriented sideways to suggest which view of the picture is natural
Target audience
–Middle class America, guy mowing his lawn
Text
–Red “and” directs reader to concentration on the following punch line
–Ellipsis suggests trailing off, trying to find an excuse
–Labeling of plane is essential to the punch line
Coloring
–Purple sky clues readers that something is wrong
Other Interpretations
–Cartoonists carefully avoided racial stereotypes at first, but "Obama is now just another goofy guy that we get to have fun with and play with his big smile and make his ears bigger.” –Matt Wuerker
–Some respondents refused to comment due to their disagreement with the cartoon (all democrat)
–Obama is piloting our economy into the ground, while not accepting the blame
Structure
–Obama’s view of the situation is distorted, represented by sideways orientation of picture
–Obama initially appears upright
–Enhances comedy because audience must take a second look to see that the plane is not actually flying straight
Text
–Red, italicized “and” highlights unfair passing of blame
–Question of whether “previous captain” is Bush or Obama’s first presidential term
Symbolism
–Man mowing lawn represents working class America about to be pummeled by the economy
–American flag on plane further identifies its meaning as the US economy
Summary
–General consensus about this cartoon criticizing Obama
–However, one respondent suggested that an anti-Bush interpretation would be possible if a viewer saw Obama as a credible narrator of the situation
– Major techniques that were observed included red “and” to show unfair blame, comedic sideways orientation of picture, and representation of the middle class as a man mowing the lawn
–Some respondents refused to comment due to their disagreement with the cartoon (all democrat)
–Obama is piloting our economy into the ground, while not accepting the blame
Structure
–Obama’s view of the situation is distorted, represented by sideways orientation of picture
–Obama initially appears upright
–Enhances comedy because audience must take a second look to see that the plane is not actually flying straight
Text
–Red, italicized “and” highlights unfair passing of blame
–Question of whether “previous captain” is Bush or Obama’s first presidential term
Symbolism
–Man mowing lawn represents working class America about to be pummeled by the economy
–American flag on plane further identifies its meaning as the US economy
Summary
–General consensus about this cartoon criticizing Obama
–However, one respondent suggested that an anti-Bush interpretation would be possible if a viewer saw Obama as a credible narrator of the situation
– Major techniques that were observed included red “and” to show unfair blame, comedic sideways orientation of picture, and representation of the middle class as a man mowing the lawn
References
Cartoon found at: Stantis, Scott. "Economy Stall." Chicago Tribune. (2012). Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/taking-a-stantis/2012/08/economy-stall.html>.
Aoueille, Avery. "Tribune Cartoonist Sketches His Life for Loyola Audience." (2011). Loyola Student Dispatch. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://loyolastudentdispatch.com/tag/scott-stantis/>.
Macadam, Alison. "For Cartoonists Who Cover Obama: Four More Ears.” NPR. (2013). Web. 02 Aptil 2013. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/01/18/169726644/for-cartoonists-who-cover-obama-four-more-ears>.
“Video: Scott Stantis on dealing with hate mail.” Chicago Tribune. (2013). Video. Web. 04 April 2013. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/videogallery/74889894/Video-Scott-Stantis-on-dealing-with-hate-mail>.
“Scott Stantis.” Tribune Media Services. Web. 04 April 2013. <http://www.tmsfeatures.com/bio/scott-stantis/>.
Aoueille, Avery. "Tribune Cartoonist Sketches His Life for Loyola Audience." (2011). Loyola Student Dispatch. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://loyolastudentdispatch.com/tag/scott-stantis/>.
Macadam, Alison. "For Cartoonists Who Cover Obama: Four More Ears.” NPR. (2013). Web. 02 Aptil 2013. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/01/18/169726644/for-cartoonists-who-cover-obama-four-more-ears>.
“Video: Scott Stantis on dealing with hate mail.” Chicago Tribune. (2013). Video. Web. 04 April 2013. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/videogallery/74889894/Video-Scott-Stantis-on-dealing-with-hate-mail>.
“Scott Stantis.” Tribune Media Services. Web. 04 April 2013. <http://www.tmsfeatures.com/bio/scott-stantis/>.