Cartoon 7

I found this cartoon on http://www.cagle.com/news/GovShutdown/main.asp. The cartoon was published on April 8th, 2011.
The caption of this cartoon explains that both sides (of the government) are blatantly blaming each other for the governmental budget cut. These words are being used to describe the cartoon because they are straightforward and direct.
The animals represented in this are the elephant and the donkey. The elephant represents the Republican Party and the donkey represents the Democratic Party. Oddly enough, the elephant is standing on the left and the donkey is standing on the right in this cartoon, which is the opposite of where they should be.
The action taking place in this cartoon is the two sides are blaming each other for the budget cut.
The message of the cartoon is politics is wild and arguments can't be avoided. The ideological perspective represented by the cartoonist is neutral, since he is not taking any sides.
This cartoon relates to a current political event because it is happening right now in our country. It relates to our class discussion because we have mentioned this issue before.
Satire and irony influence the topics covered in this cartoon because it depicts both sides hating each other.     

Cartoon 6

 

This cartoon is from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15654769/ns/politics-political_cartoons/ and it was published on April 4th, 2011.

The caption here says "old hat" to represent that President's way of thinking is too imperialistic. Almost everything he does deals with foreign countries in one way or another.

The person represented in this cartoon is President Barack Obama.The artist probably included the president here to show that Obama does not know what he is doing, and he is now caught up in the Libyan conflict.

An object represented here is an old which, which has tags of former President George Bush and his father. What this probably means is Obama won't be able to solve anything if he puts on the same "thinking cap" as other the Bushes, then nothing will be done.

The action taking place in this cartoon is President Obama is frustrated with the conflict on Libya.

The message of the cartoon is it is not too late for President Obama to change his ways so he can become a better, more effective leader. The ideological perspective represented here is conservative because the cartoonist obviously does not want Obama to interfere with other countries, such as Libya.

This cartoon relates to a current political event because the United States is currently involved in the Libyan conflict. This relates to our class discussion because we have talked about ideology and the problem in Libya.

Satire and irony influence the topic here because the depiction of Obama clearly contrasts with the former Bushes, since both are of opposing political parties.

Cartoon 5

 

I found this cartoon on http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonview.asp?catref=mfnn207. It was published on 3/25/2011.

 The caption in this cartoon says "Department of No One Could Have Anticipated." These words mean that the United States didn't intend to get involve in so many foreign problems, but in the end still got involved in all of them. Hence, no one could have anticipated the involvement.

In this cartoon, the symbol of shattered bricks are used to represent the United States are or was involved in. The door in the cartoon represents where all the involvement came from. What I think the artist means is he wants people to know that the United States is heavily involved in a lot of things, where most of the things turn out bad. 

 The action taking place in this cartoon is the United States get involved in a lot of international matters and issues.

 The message of the cartoon is being involved in a lot of things is never good because you are not focused on just one thing. Because the United States is too involved in a lot of things, it ends up not solving any or most of the situations it's in.

The ideological perspective here is that of conservative nature because the author obviously wants the United States to isolated itself from other countries, without offering much aid or help to foreigners.

This cartoon relates to a current political event because most of the events in the cartoon are current problems the United States are involved in, such as the conflict in Libya and Afghanistan. This relates to our in class discussion because we briefly talked about how the United States is too big on government and its involvement in foreign affairs.

Satire and irony influence the topic covered in this cartoon because it further exaggerates the problems the United States are involved in.

Cartoon 4

This cartoon came from http://cartoonblog.msnbc.msn.com/ and was published on 3/19/2011.

The title of this cartoon is radiation worries. These words are being used to describe the cartoon because the cartoon focuses on the radiation dilemma in Japan from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
An object that represents the cartoon is a big monster coming out of the power plant. What the artist means by this is the explosion and meltdown in Japan is surely a tough situation to deal with, and this monster symbolizes the level and intensity of chaos that is happening in Japan at the moment.
The action taking place in this cartoon is the monster is breaking loose out of its caged home, the power plant. This monster poses a threat to Japan.
The message from this cartoon is the monster, symbolizing radiation, poses a threat to Japan and its society.  The ideological perspective represented in this cartoon is liberal because the artist wants America to help do something about this situation in Japan.
This cartoon relates to a current political event because it is one result from the tsunami and earthquake disaster in Japan. This relates to our current class discussions because we talked about the harmful effects of radiation.
The satire in this cartoon is the exaggerated image of the monster, which adds loads of impact and influence on the reader. The reaction from most readers will be the nuclear explosion is extremely dangerous.
Perhaps the cartoonist wants to get the message out to everyone in the world, so everyone will help Japan rebuild itself by either donating or contributing help of some kind.

Cartoon 3

I found this cartoon onhttp://sinkers.org/stage/?p=799. The cartoon itself was published on 3/15/2011.


The caption in this cartoon is Bank of America and the money symbol. These words are used to describe the cartoon because it emphasizes the current situation in the country of Japan. No other words could have been used to describe what has happened over the past few days.
The symbols used to describe the cartoon shows that the aftermath of the earthquake was a tsunami, which devastated the island of Japan. What the artist means is the natural disaster in Japan is truly devastating. The disaster not only affects Japan, but also other countries that trade with Japan.
The action taking place in this cartoon is the tsunami and earthquake in Japan have traumatized the whole country, and now the country and its people are in turmoil, with many people who are still missing.
The message of this cartoon is the rest of the world should reach out and help the country of Japan. The liberal ideological perspective is represented by the cartoonist. The liberal ideology is to help other countries when they are in need.
This cartoon relates to a current political event because the disaster in Japan affects the world's economy, and not just Japan's. And because the economy is affected, so is politics around the world. This relates to our class discussion because we talked about the event in Japan a few days ago.
Satire and irony influence the topic covered because it exaggerates the effect of the event by showing a flooded Japan and its economy. 

Cartoon 2

I found my cartoon on http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/brianfarrington. It was published on February 28, 2011.
The caption of this cartoon is only two words: economy and oil. These two distinct words are being used to describe the cartoon because oil affects the economy in various ways.
The two words themselves are symbolic enough. Here, the word economy only takes up a small portion of the image, while the word oil takes up a lot of space. But at the same time, there is a downward arrow connecting to the word, representing the downfall and struggles of the oil industry. Because the oil industries are going down, the economy will suffer as a result. I think the artist means that if oil keeps going down exponentially, not just our economy, but economies worldwide will plummet drastically.
The action taking place here is the economy is currently suffering because oil industries are struggling.
The message of the cartoon is the government needs to do something to help the struggling oil industries, or else both the economy and oil will continue to drop. The ideological perspective represented by the cartoonist is liberal because he wants to government to regulate businesses and help preserve the economy.
This cartoon does indeed relate to a current political event, particularly the event happening in Libya at the moment. The United States get most of its oil from Libya, and since Libya is in the middle of a Civil War, their oil trade with the United States has been deteriorating. This relates to our class discussions because we talked about how oil is struggling at the moment, which is why prices are soaring up.
Satire and irony definitely influence the topics covered in this cartoon because it shows that if we all just sit and watch, then both the economy and oil that we depend on so much will drop and eventually cease to exist.

Cartoon 1

This cartoon was published on February 28, 2011 on http://cartoonblog.msnbc.msn.com/?nvo=0&26463067|a|nu|30|1|t|a|0=12.
The caption is the President of Libya, Moammar Khadafi, says he wants to eradicate more people in order to defend his power. Saying he wants "more blood" along with the depiction of blood all over the country of Libya shows that Khadafi will do whatever it takes to keep his power.
This cartoon represents Libyan President Moammar Khadafi and his spread of bloodshed over Libya. The depiction of blood all over Libya symbolizes the current chaotic state in the country at the moment. I think what the artist means is Moammar Khadafi is out of control and needs to be stopped.
The action taking place in this cartoon is Moammar Khadafi will do whatever it takes to keep his reign over Lybia. In other words, he does not want to resign.
The message of this cartoon is the terror in Lybia will not stop as long as Moammar Khadafi is in power. This cartoon shows the democratic ideology because the United States might want to help put an end to Khadafi's reign and restore Lybia to a peaceful state.
This cartoon relates to a current political event because other countries, such as the United states are affected by this conflict because they get their oil from Lybia. This relates to our class discussion because we talked about oil prices in class.
The satire and irony of this cartoon is the blood in the cartoon are affecting the surrounding countries as well.