The Irony Behind Political Cartoons

I have always been fascinated by political cartoons and trying to find out what political statement lies between the drawings in these cartoons and whether the artist did a good job of declaring this message in a clear and convincing way. It is also most interesting to note how all of this political cartoons seem to work as caricature do: to exaggerate not only the artist's personal political perspective, but also how the artists' highlight the weird distinctive figures of the political figures which base their cartoons on. We've all seen many political article which for example, portray Bush as a monkey like figure giving him big ears and a big head. Are such exaggerations only for the appeal to the readers, to grasp their attention or can it be to emphasize a political point which suggests that Bush is an incompetent president. It might just be a little bit of both. The artists intentionally exaggerate the cartoons they draw to grab the attention of the readers in order to lure them into viewing their drawings and ultimately seeking out the meaning behind them. These exaggerated images which might emphasize that Bush has monkey like features serve as a hyperbole which helps to compare not just his physical appearance to that of a monkey but also his presidential qualities and competency. What I do wonder is whether the artists method of exaggeration in their cartoons might also mean an exaggeration in their political message? Well, the great thing about such cartoons is that they leave the reader to decide what the message is through a subtle suggestion of it yet it is important as well that the draw a line of distinction between what is real and what is made up to catch our attention. Although many see Bush as someone that does have a monkey- like disposition as well as appearance, (I would agree) it is important to note that although these cartoons have symbolic arguments and messages behind them, their first purpose is to be humorous as they are parodies which are often times a product of our embellished image.
- AveMaria Okolo