TOW #6- Government Shutdown Political Cartoon

In an era in American history in which the economy is unstable and the government has gone awry, everyone, including the political parties, is looking for someone to blame. A political cartoon produced by Cargle Cartoons, a part of the reputable and political Moderate Voice (TMV), puts an image to the issue while making it connectable for Americans. Alluding to the nature of the Republican and Democratic parties and juxtaposing the parties themselves with humor achieve the purpose of relation with Americans of basic political knowledge. The image in the cartoon displays a donkey in a blue shirt and an elephant wearing red, alluding to each party. The viewer is left to imply to whom the picture is referring based on the animals, representing corresponding party mascots, and the colors, representing corresponding party symbols. This allusion to the parties without stating their identity adds to the intended message; the parties seemingly blindly blame each other, without working together. It also shows the viewer would have ample amount of knowledge about politics to be able to make these implications. The allusion to the two political parties leads into the juxtaposition of these parties. In the image, the two are juxtaposed almost humorously as their shirts both read, “He shut down the government,” with an arrow pointing to the opposing political party. The use of humor to juxtapose these two characters helps to connect with the audience, and the situation thus becomes connectable. The expressions of the characters, in what they say and their facial expressions, add to this overall effect. The negative yet humorous tone given off by the sour face and the words “jerk” and “creep” help the audience to understand and connect to the childish aspect of the issue while conveying humor. The words depicted in the cartoon are often words used by younger people throwing a fit, and thus have a childish connotation to the average American viewer. It is the combination of the allusion and humorous juxtaposition that get the governmental issue to be connectable to the intended viewer, and aid in achieving the purpose.

Government Shutdown Cartoon by Cagle Cartoons (TMV)
http://themoderatevoice.com/105943/government-shut-down-cartoon/