Nine out of every ten times I pick up DC’s free daily newspapers: the Washington Examiner or the Express, I find a caricature or editorial cartoon illustrating President Barack Obama in some way. Most of the time they ridicule his daily and weekly political battles. I got to thinking about the affects these types of illustrations have on the public. I also began to wonder are these the illustrators’ or the newspapers’ interpretations or both? And is it fair to boldly express their personal views – ultimately forcing them onto the public? You see these graphical representations “reveal complex attitudes of certain people at a particular time.” Journalist and writer John Geipel stated in his book The Cartoon, cartoons “are a potent weapon of ridicule, ideal for deflating the pompous and the overbearing, exposing injustice and deriding hypocrisy.”
Professor Paul Lester said, “Cartoons tell as much about the audience as they do about the artists.” I don’t agree with that statement entirely because I don’t agree with most of the caricature and editorial cartoons in either of the newspapers. In fact, I get upset that the newspaper editors constantly publish those types of illustrations. They are extremely powerful illustrative devices I think can negatively persuade society. Take a look at some of the caricature and editorial cartoons I found floating around online:
In just about every drawing of Obama, he has very large teeth.. lol
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