This cartoon was drawn by Dan Wasserman on September 7^th 2005. Dan is the head cartoonist for the Boston Globe newspaper and has been working with the Globe since 1985.

The cartoon shows a family at a gas station after they just filled the gas tank. The father is in the driver’s seat with a puzzled look on his face, the mother is suggesting they use the gas they just bought fast so they can buy more before the price goes up again. The average cost of gas in 2005 was $2.33 per gallon; this was the highest it had ever been at that point. Gas prices didn’t fall below $2 a gallon again until 2008 and since then it has gone over $3.50 per gallon. At one point, it was over $4.00 per gallon

This cartoon was created at the start of the gas crisis when gas prices were going up overnight.  I chose the cartoon because I found it funny that the mother was so focused on buying more gas before the price went up again and wasn’t concerned with saving the gas she had just bought. The cartoon is making fun of the typical consumer. Her way of coping is to consume more rather than save. It shows an irrational response to an irrational situation.  The cartoon probably didn’t receive much backlash because it described how most people were feeling at this point over the gas costs.

If Dr.King were alive today he would be outraged. The anniversary of King’s dream is coming up and still today there is “racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism” which has created a “sick society.” King fought for these ideals but clearly they haven’t been met. Racial profiling still goes on today, the police go into neighborhoods assuming things about people just because of their skin color. Economic injustice continues as the poor are getting poorer while the rich get richer, and on the ladder of our society, the middle class is diminishing and soon the middle rung won’t be found anymore.

 Obama has stood by not doing what he promised when he was elected, but may have just made things. Obama bailed out banks and big businesses yet the national debt keeps increasing. King would be disappointed with such failures and the failure with how his dream has been carried out. King would agree we need a “revolution” in our priorities. We should be taking power from the rich and giving it to everyday people; this would be the first steps of many to a better tomorrow. 

This article should have a tremendous influence on all of us because it is about the future of this country. If things keep on the way they’re going, then our economy will become even worse. Obama hasn’t held up to his promises and Kings dream have become blurred. There needs to be a change in order for our society to flourish.

The cartoon I am writing about is called “Who’s Paying” by Cameron Cardow. This cartoon was published recently on November 7, 2011 in the Ottawa Citizen (a Canadian newspaper). Cameron Cardow has been with the Ottawa Citizen since 1983. Cardow’s education began in Sheridan College, where he took courses on animation and illustration. Cameron Cardow’s main focus is political cartoons. His cartoons have been showcased in Globe and Mail, New York Times, Times Magazine, L.A. Times and other publications. He has also been featured on CNN, CBC, and NBC. He is also a two time winner of the Canadian National Newspaper Award for Cartooning for the year of 2008 and 1989. Some of Cardow’s most famous works are Joe Plumber, Banana Republic, Captain America, and Vietnam.

            In this cartoon there is a bartender and two men. The men are being given drinks and the bartender asks “Who’s paying?” This cartoon obviously has underlying meaning. The two men are personages of Greece and Germany and the bartender “is” the European Central Bank (ECB).  The real world situation here is that Greece is in debt and owes money to the ECB. In the cartoon Greece is pointing to Germany. This shows that Greece wants Germany to pay for them. Germany, though, wants to help Greece.  By lending them money, it would benefit Germany because that means with more money, Greece will be able to buy more German product. That though would lead to Greece not saving the money to pay off their debt but rather spending it and putting them even farther in debt. So like one of the men in the cartoon who can’t afford his drink, Greece can’t pay off their debt on their own. Also like one of the men in the cartoon who is paying for both the drinks, Germany is lending Greece money.

            The cartoonist’s intention is to make people see the major crisis that Greece is undergoing. The lampoon though is directed towards Greece and how they are in debt. Greece is being targeted because they are causing much turmoil not only in Europe, but also in America. This cartoon is a big slap to the face for the Greek government. The response that the Greek’s would most likely have towards this cartoon is that it is not their fault that they are in debt and that they need help from the European Union (EU).

            I chose to write about this cartoon because I feel like the issue seen in the who’s payingcartoon is something that is currently affecting our world. The issue is Greece’s economic situation. Greece is unable to pay off any of their debts because they do not have the money to give. This is putting the other countries that have helped them in a difficult situation. Even America has been unable to help Greece and if they can’t help Greece how can they help the other countries of Europe. Does this mean the EU is heading toward a slow downfall?

            This cartoon achieves igniting some anger from both Greece and Germany.  For Greece it just shows how they are failing at securing themselves as a stable country and for Germany it shows that their help towards Greece has not accomplished much of anything. This cartoon needed to be published to show people that this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed and solved before it is too late.

In journalism class we were given an article, Stuff That Defines Us written by Carol Vogel. The article discusses a book that was recently published, about a goal to tell the history of the world through 100 objects. Then the class was assigned an article about ourselves, and we were asked to pick an object that describes us, so that if someone found this one thing in 100 years, they would learn something essential about us.

I feel the single object that describes me the best is my sketch book. I believe this because it shows things I enjoyed, and objects I spent time creating. Everything in it might not be considered good or even art work, but it contains a variety of things from a variety of years. It contains pages from when I was just experimenting with paint or pastels, to things I spent time creating. Also, it contains notes and scribbles from when I was just passing the time with things I planned on doing, or projects I planned on creating. It describes my personality in that I didn’t spend time drawing depressing objects. My sketch book also shows what I liked and who my role models were through sports figures and land scape drawings. It describes places I enjoyed and things I found interesting. It also displays my talent, or lack thereof; at times, might describe what I enjoyed during my free time by showing a piece of furniture I was planning on creating, or a park I enjoyed spending time at. 

One sketch that is reflective of me as well as the style of my artwork is a sketch of the beach just after sunset. The moon is in the sky and the clouds are full of color. This sketch relates to me because the beach is Nantasket Beach, where I have been brought all my, where my father went when he was younger. The beach is full of memories. My favorite time to go to the beach is at sunset because by then the beach has no one on it, and it’s peaceful and I love seeing the moon and clouds reflecting on the water. Someone seeing the objects in this sketch and my choice or keep them there would draw three conclusions about me. They are: I enjoy the beach and I take time on specific detail, also that the beach means something to me considering I took the time to draw it, and last that I included the distant light house, that although I have never visited I find at night to be an incredible sight.

Although many things the sketch book might seem like nonsense babble to others, to me it all makes sense. The notes would describe my thoughts on a current event, or my religion- maybe things I found interesting at the time. Others might not get the point of the sketches and doodles, but for me they are just a way of having fun. I feel that if someone who didn’t know me were to find my sketch book, they would be able to get the best picture of me an object could give.

 Mike Peters is a cartoonist who has a website called Grimmy.com, where all his comics are displayed. In 1965 Mike was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington University. Mike then immediately began his career on the art staff of the Chicago Daily News. In 1969 an artist Bill Mauldin helped Mike find a cartooning job on the Dayton Daily News. In 1972, his editorial cartoons became recognized nationally. Mikes cartoons appeal to all age groups and nationalities His work can be found worldwide in newspapers, magazines, and even television. His work has been featured on shows like, “The Today Show,” “MSNBC,” and “Good Morning America.” Mike’s political cartoons appear in over 400 newspapers worldwide; his political work is presented many times in Newsweek, Tim and U.S. news.

This cartoon Mike Peter’s has created is telling us that schools are now considering pizza as a big part of the food pyramid. If you think about it, pizza really can be considered in every food group in the pyramid. Any food item from the food pyramid can be added to the top of a pizza. Congress has been discussing and saying that pizza in now a vegetable. I’m not sure how many people can agree with that. There may be tomato sauce on a pizza, but how much nutrition is in a slice of pizza. Schools have to make lunches that students will enjoy, but they also must make the food nutritious and healthy for the school community. This cartoon is demonstrating how schools think it’s okay that pizza can be a big part of the food pyramid. The comic is telling us that school lunches are not okay, and pizza should not be such a high place in the food pyramid. The comic is making fun of schools for believing that pizza is a nutritious part of a school lunch.

Mike Edward Luckovich is a cartoonist who has worked for the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1989. He attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in political science.  After he graduated he sold cartoons to a local newspaper for almost two years.  In 1984 he landed his first job working for a daily newspaper called The Greenville News in South Carolina. Later he worked for another daily newspaper called The New Orleans Times. He won several prizes for his editorial cartooning. He is most well-known for a cartoon about Michael Jackson’s death just one day after he had died. Many people thought the cartoon was offensive, especially Jackson’s family and friends.

I stumbled across one of Luckovich’s cartoons published April 22, 2009 about Earth Day. It’s a picture of two polar bears swimming. One says “Happy Earth Day…” and the other bear responds by saying “Shut Up and Swim…” Luckovich is clearly depicting sarcasm in this illustration. It’s supposed to be kind of funny that on earth day, these polar bears are stuck swimming, because there is no ice for them to float on. I chose this cartoon because global warming is a problem that everyone knows about, but too few people actually try to do something about it.

I think Luckovich is trying to draw attention not only to global warming, but to the fact that polar bears are dying off rapidly. It’s a topic that everyone has heard about, but chooses to brush off, and not really pay much attention to. In response to this cartoon, one would hope that viewers took the problem a little more seriously, and considered ways they could make a difference

Clay Bennett has been drawing cartoons for most of his life. He began as an editorial cartoonish for his high school paper and was managing editor for the alternative student newspaper while attending the University of North Alabama.  After Bennett graduated college he started working briefly as a staff artist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Fayetteville Time. In the years from 1981-1994 he was an editorial cartoonist for the St. Petersburg Times and during the years from 1997-2007 Bennett worked for The Christian Science Monitor serving as an editorial cartoonist. Clay Bennett now draws five cartoons a week for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and has been working here since 2007.

In this cartoon I see a woman walking by a restaurant. On the front window of this restaurant there is a sign that says “Today’s Special: Blackened Everything.” Since this is a common term to describe fish, Bennett is using a play on words to describe that the fish is not prepared blackened, but it’s blackened from the oil spill. While this woman looks at the sign you can tell that she’s looking at it with disgust, and with curiosity. There are people sitting in the restaurant, however the room is pretty dim and you can only see the outline of the people. There is a newspaper carrier with newspapers in it and in bold letters it says “OIL SPILL IN GULF”. This heading on the newspaper is clearly relating to the “Today’s Special” sign on the restaurant. While gazing through a plethora of political cartoons, I found one made by Clay Bennett, which was drawn for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Bennett drew this cartoon to not only present a play on words, but to bring it up and to let people know that it is affecting our food and how people are living. The oil spill that brought about this problem was the oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill flowed for three months in 2010 and continues to leak fresh oil. Because of this oil spill, harm was caused to marine and wildlife habitats. The Gulf tourists and fishing industries were also greatly affected. I think that this cartoon is directed at everyone in the world. Anyone that eats food that comes from the ocean can be affected by the oil spill.

            All Behind You, Winston is a perfect example of how he helped gain the support of the British people.  This political cartoon is very simple and shows men of all different ages and size getting prepared to go help defeat Hitler and the Nazis being led by Winston Churchill (Prime Minister 1940-1945 and 1951-1955) and Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister 1937-1940).  The cartoon also states “All Behind You, Winston” reinforcing the fact that Winston made the correct choice to enter WWII.  David Low did a great job making this cartoon very simple and easy to understand.  This cartoon is so simple an illiterate can look at it and easily understand that these men are preparing for some sort of fight, in this case WWII.  This political cartoon also creates a sense of nationality.  To think that businessmen and others would leave everything they had to go fight for what is right is also very amazing.

            Low’s cartoons directly or indirectly caused many thousands of people to join the British Army.  As a result Great Britain created one of the strongest armies in the world and helped defeat the Nazis.  David Low continued to publish his cartoons and was knighted in 1962.  He died on September 19, 1963.

            This political cartoon was originally published in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. This cartoon then was published in Time Magazine when it won cartoon of the week October 29^th – November 4^th.  The cartoonist that produced this is Chan Lowe an editorial cartoonist for the Sun- Sentinel, South Florida. Chan Lowe has been working as a cartoonist since 1975. Lowe has won several awards including; The Pulitzer Prize in 1990, John Fischetti Award in 1996 and the Green Eyeshade Award in 1992. His cartoons have been published in many magazines including Newsweek, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Washington Post. He is known for the poster he designed for the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. He also illustrated a book “Are You a Newrotic” and made a kinetic sculpture exhibited in 1997 at the National Gallery for Caricature and Cartoon art in Washington.

            In this cartoon the characters include President Obama and two of his congress members. Obama is looking at the chart of the decline of the economy and seems to be in deep thought about a possible solution to the economic struggle in America. The congress member behind him is looking at the chart and holding a clip board, the other guy just looks confused in the background.

I chose to write about this political cartoon because I found it really funny. The Kardashian family has a lot of money and the Kim’s wedding cost 10 million dollars; it is extremely ridiculous for anyone to spend this kind of money on a wedding. The upper class these days seems to have no perspective about the money they are spending and how it’s affecting the economy and other Americans.

            I believe that Chan Lowe’s intention of this cartoon is to show the desperation of the economy and the need for a new plan on how to boost the economy in America. The lampoon in this cartoon is towards the government and President Obama. The implication is that the Kardashian family is doing more at keeping the American economy afloat than the government by spending excessive amounts of money.

This cartoon would agitate Obama and the United States Senate because it is implying that they do not know how to keep the American economy stable. I don’t think having this cartoon being published would be considered dangerous or really poor taste.

            All Behind You, Winston is a perfect example of how he helped gain the support of the British people.  This political cartoon is very simple and shows men of all different ages and size getting prepared to go help defeat Hitler and the Nazis being led by Winston Churchill (Prime Minister 1940-1945 and 1951-1955) and Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister 1937-1940).  The cartoon also states “All Behind You, Winston” reinforcing the fact that Winston made the correct choice to enter WWII.  David Low did a great job making this cartoon very simple and easy to understand.  This cartoon is so simple an illiterate can look at it and easily understand that these men are preparing for some sort of fight, in this case WWII.  This political cartoon also creates a sense of nationality.  To think that businessmen and others would leave everything they had to go fight for what is right is also very amazing.

            Low’s cartoons directly or indirectly caused many thousands of people to join the British Army.  As a result Great Britain created one of the strongest armies in the world and helped defeat the Nazis.  David Low continued to publish his cartoons and was knighted in 1962.  He died on September 19, 1963.