This cartoonist has taken out two birds with one stone.Analyze the rhetorical mimicry
and satire at work in this New Yorker cartoon. What's being mimicked? What's being satirized? Explain why this cartoon is both apt and funny. What are the two birds I have in mind here? Present your answer as a well written and carefully proofed paragraph.
Girls: Due Thurs. morning, Nov. 10, at 7:30 am.
(Sorry. There's no better way to kill a joke than to analyze it...)
TWO MODEL RESPONSES
I
When surfing through channels, one can easily come across commercials or infomercials that feature overly enthusiastic salespeople pitching new, innovative diet pills or other methods for losing a tremendous amount of weight in a very short time. These ads are loaded with clichés and platitudes, much like political speeches. When running for office, candidates tend to promise a higher quality of life and a better country for the citizens. Particularly in our current economic situation, candidates are offering budget cuts and programs that will create a flurry of job openings. By portraying a man watching a politician deliver a trite speech containing a number of classic weight loss commercial lines, the cartoonist has cleverly satirized weight loss commercials and political speeches.
The rhetoric of the speech alludes to current issues that our government faces each day. The speaker, who vows to “trim ugly fat and waste from government,” is clearly a target of mockery due to his overzealous language. He includes phrases that allude to extreme weight loss commercials in his address regarding government. The picture elicits chuckles and smirks because this is a concept that we all know too well. We are all familiar with the jargon of politicians, the ever reassuring and far-fetched ideas that they present to their voters. Just turn on a television and one can listen to any politician claiming that they will solve the world’s biggest problems. At the same time, turn on the television to find infomercials with salespeople bragging how they can transform an overweight man into a trim and healthy figure. This is most appropriate now because we are on the verge of the 2012 presidential election, and we are already beginning to see such far-fetched bids for election from many candidates. (BY SADE COOPER)
II.
Cartoons are created for many purposes: to engage the audience, provoke questions, satirize societal tendencies, etc. In this New Yorker cartoon, the cartoonist depicts a presidential candidate blabbering to the television viewer about a crash program that will turn government waste into super services. The cartoonist not only mimics the over-promising rhetoric used by politicians, but also satirizes the similar platitudinous rhetoric of dietary programs and commercialization.
This cartoon is funny because of the obvious exaggeration, the genuineness of the presidential candidate portrayal, and how bona fide his figure and flag placement appear. It is apt because it attacks both diet programs and elections very accurately in the diction it uses, such as "super services," "for you the American people," "natural mechanism" and others.
The two birds that are being killed by the one stone are diet commercials and presidential candidates popularity attempts. The cartoon is very comparable to an exercise program because it indicates that government will lose all its fat and waste to make it look beautiful and natural. It seemingly equates presidential candidates, such as the "Herman Cains" and "Mitt Romneys," to exercise program representatives.
Both commercials over-promise and make guarantees that are virtually impossible or totally unfeasible to fulfill.
This cartoon is a commentary on how politics have reached a new low in terms of media. Presidential candidates just do whatever pleases the American people. The cartoonist uses his cartoon to send the message that the age of candidates being over-promising must terminate, or else the American government will become the new, effective exercise program.
(BY DYLAN COOPER)
12 comments:
The New Yorker cartoon depicts a fat man sitting on a couch watching a political candidate deliver a speech filled with platitudes. The man running for office capitalizes on the political cliché of removing government waste through an amazing twenty-four hour “crash program.” The cartoonist clearly mocks politicians who always produce blown-up speeches and claim that they can eliminate waste in government through “effective programs” and “super services.” What makes the cartoon satirical is the plan’s comparison to a weight loss program, or stated more repulsively in the cartoon, melting pockets of fat. The cartoonist thus evokes the vile image of ugly fat, one that surely upsets the readers’ stomach. He successfully mocks the superficiality of political rhetoric and satirizes the politician as a lowly creature through his references to “government flab.”
Cartoons are created for many purposes: to engage the audience, provoke questions, satirize societal tendencies, etc. In this New Yorker cartoon, the cartoonist depicts a presidential candidate blabbering to the television viewer about a crash program that will turn government waste into super services. The cartoonist not only mimics the over-promising rhetoric used by politicians, but also satirizes the similar platitudinous rhetoric of dietary programs and commercialization.
This cartoon is funny because of the obvious exaggeration, the genuineness of the presidential candidate portrayal, and how bona fide his figure and flag placement appear. It is apt because it attacks both diet programs and elections very accurately in the diction it uses, such as "super services," "for you the American people," "natural mechanism" and others.
The two birds that are being killed by the one stone are diet commercials and presidential candidates popularity attempts. The cartoon is very comparable to an exercise program because it indicates that government will lose all its fat and waste to make it look beautiful and natural. It seemingly equates presidential candidates, such as the "Herman Cains" and "Mitt Romneys," to exercise program representatives.
Both commercials over-promise and make guarantees that are virtually impossible or totally unfeasible to fulfill.
This cartoon is a commentary on how politics have reached a new low in terms of media. Presidential candidates just do whatever pleases the American people. The cartoonist uses his cartoon to send the message that the age of candidates being over-promising must terminate, or else the American government will become the new, effective exercise program.
The cartoon depicts an ordinary American citizen gazing at his television. On the television program, a politician is standing with an American flag as he gives a speech to the American people. The politician states that if elected, he will institute an amazing crash program that in just 24 hours will trim fat and waste from the government and turn it into super services. The crash program also uses natural mechanisms to melt and transform the previously fat and wasteful programs into something effective that will work even as Americans are sleeping. The cartoonist of this piece has “taken out two birds with one stone,” and has accomplished two different things in one act by satirizing the American political system and the people who elect those in the system. The entire promise of the politician disparages candidates who continuously promise dozens of society-changing acts. However, these acts never come through and generally don’t result in positive change. Furthermore, the cartoonist is satirizing the American public. The politician’s speech includes phrases that the average modern exercising commercial would implement. In modern exercise commercials, one will often learn that if they use a certain product, they will lose weight in 2 weeks and build muscle quickly. However, these outstanding results are impossible. The cartoonist therefore puts down American society by implying that U.S. citizens will believe what the politician is promising. Therefore, what makes the comic funny is that the cartoonist condemns American society and politicians for their roles in modern government.
This one panel political comic is a joke on both the average American and the politicians involved in the GOP debates. As for the politician on television, as this comic suggests, they are simply to “stand there and look pretty.” On TV, the politician stands patriotically next to an American flag as he states his ideas on national television. However, with a closer look, one can realize that what he is saying is complete and utter nonsense. This idea is what embodies each and every one of the Republican candidates' ideas as they frantically attempt to create their own unique policies, most of which cannot possibly be carried out, or simply are filled with complex words, and, in actuality, do not make any sense, like the one stated in the comic. The politician uses many intense metaphors, figures of speech, and other things of the sort to show that he is a good public speaker, but has absolutely no political basis with which to complement his rhetorical excellence. As for the average American, while the politician goes on a rant, the American simply sits in his chair at home with a confused expression on his face. By this, the illustrator meant that most Americans are completely uninvolved in politics – not by choice, but due to the fact that they do not have the slightest clue of what is going on when it comes to presidential debates, policies, or anything else of the sort. Thus the writer of this comic strip has effectively killed two birds with one stone.
The artist of this satirical cartoon gets across two unique messages through this piece of art. Firstly he portrays a politician on the screen giving a campaign speech about how he wants to enact a new program to change America. This is making fun of the many politicians who promise false hopes just to win the people’s votes. The second thing the cartoonist makes fun of is the idea of a lazy American. In the image we see an American man sitting down and staring at a TV screen. This epitomizes American laziness. Additionally, the artist includes words at the bottom, highlighting key phrases such as “amazing crash program,” “just 24 hours,” and “melts and transforms. Through these words the artist is saying that Americans are fat and the government is going to institute a program that will “trim the ugly fat and waste” away.
The cartoonist here does a fantastic job to really capture the essence of two things that people hate, mouthy politicians and infomercials. He indeed kills two birds with one stone here. The politician is a classic figure of someone who will lie or saw whatever he will need to say to get votes. This in itself is a persuasive act that requires skill and a lot of air-time. Those infomercials for the “next big weight loss drug” always pop up and do a very good job at conning the innocent and those who are weak-of-mind. The cartoonist shows the politician saying things that would be said in one of these types of infomercials, like: “Just 24 hours”, or “melts and transforms… even as the American people sleep!” These messages capture the viewer’s attention and reel them in like a small, weak fish. These are things that people want to here, and it is parallel to a politician making insane promise and lying through their teeth, just so he/she can get more votes. One more detail that adds a bit of a kick is the average, lazy American sitting in a comfy chair. This symbolizes our nation as a whole, which happens to be very gullible, and one that buys into crazy infomercials and fake politicians.
In the usual witty style of The New Yorker, the cartoon has multiple levels of hilarity. The cartoon depicts an American watching a politician promote his agenda. Along the bottom of the page is a "Mad-Lib" like paragraph outlining the politician's plan. However, the joke that's made is that the description of the plan could apply to any politician. As such, the cartoon is poking fun at the fact that the majority of what is said in today's politics is repetitive and indistinguishable. The subtle joke is the choice of words that are used to fill in the blanks. They are phrases used in exercise advertisements. They are very corny, over-enthuastic, and, perhaps even funnier, able to be applied to a political situation.
In this New York cartoon, there is much rhetorical mimicry along with a satire of the American population and their Politicians. Mankoff, uses the image of an American, watching a politician speak, to mimic and recreate the absurd things politicians promise in order to get elected. The cartoon is very satirical since the politician promises the impossible, without fully addressing the main issue. Firstly, he exaggerated and says how in “only 24 hours” the problem can be resolved, which is not sensible and logical, but seems to appeal to the American people. Secondly, he says that he can solve the problem with “natural mechanism”. This too is not true, since no natural mechanism can turn “the waste” that he speaks of into effective programs, but the problem must be resolved by men. This also shows how the Americans simply think they can stand by while the problems are resolved. They believe they can just watch the politicians turn their magic wands, and fix their problems in a short amount of time and without much effort. Also, saying how the effective problem will even work as the “Americans sleep” shows how little the Americans are asked and to do when it comes to fixing a problem. The American people along with the politicians do not understand that a country cannot be changed without involving the people and that is what Mankoff is also criticizing. Additionally, Mankoff uses very visual and mocking language when saying that the waste will be “melted and transformed” into effective programs. This describes how politicians make all problems seem easy, while giving the Americans the illusion that they will come to solve all of their problems.
What we have here is a clever comic that mimics politicians and late night infomercials. The cartoon seems to be making fun of diet programs that are utter nonsense. One often sees commercials for diet supplements that promise no effort with much weight loss in just 24 hours.
Politicians also promise things and make it seem as though they can solve all of the world's problems instantly.
The cartoonist is effectively making fun of both politicians and infomercials in one shot.
Although Mankoff’s cartoon of a political candidate’s address is quite humorous, there is actually a lot of sad truth about the glibness of it. The cartoon is analogizing diet pill commercials to our political candidate’s commercials. Just as the diet pill commercials promise the listener an illusory promise that he will lose twenty-five pounds overnight, so too, our candidate promises the constituent that he will fix all of the problems of the nation overnight. Mankoff conveys this in the cartoon by using words such as “flab” and “trim” and underlining key phrases such as “amazing crash program” and “melts and transforms.” Both political advertisements and diet commercials make illusory promises because it is virtually impossible to lose twenty-five pounds and fix all of the nation's problems in one day. However, I believe that this is a mechanism that many advertisers use to sell their products and, unfortunately, many consumers fall prey to such tactics. This is the sad truth.
The artist of this satirical cartoon is mocking two very different types of people in a single image. He hits “two birds with one stone” by simultaneously making fun of two characters in one image. The first person portrayed is a politician on a TV screen who is giving a campaign speech. Below the image there is a key phrase said by the politician filled with promises and guarantees that the he will execute. The image is making fun of the politicians who always promise numerous things they never fulfill and give people false hope in order to gain their vote. Secondly, the artist is mocking the person sitting on the couch watching TV, trying to convey the idea that Americans are lazy. The phrase that is mentioned on the bottom has certain words that are underlined such as “amazing crash programs,” “just 24 hours,” and “melts and transforms.” With these words, the artist is using the politicians phrase to discreetly make fun of the man watching TV by calling him fat and falsely promising that he has the ability to “trim the ugly fat and waste” away.
When surfing through channels, one can easily come across commercials or infomercials that feature overly enthusiastic salespeople pitching new, innovative diet pills or other methods for losing a tremendous amount of weight in a very short time. These ads are recurrent and loaded with clichés and platitudes, much like political speeches. When running for office, candidates tend to promise a higher quality of life and a better country for the citizens. Particularly in our current economic situation, candidates are offering budget cuts and programs that will create a flurry of job openings. By portraying a man watching a politician deliver a trite speech containing a number of classic weight loss commercial lines, the cartoonist has cleverly satirized weight loss commercials and political speeches.
The rhetoric of the speech alludes to current issues that our government faces each day. The speaker, who vows to “trim ugly fat and waste from government,” is clearly a target of mockery due to his overzealous language. He includes phrases that allude to extreme weight loss commercials in his address regarding government. The picture elicits chuckles and smirks because this is a concept that we all know too well. We are all familiar with the jargon of politicians, the ever reassuring and far-fetched ideas that they present to their voters. Just turn on a television and one can listen to any politician claiming that they will solve the world’s biggest problems. At the same time, turn on the television to find infomercials with salespeople bragging how they can transform an overweight man into a trim and healthy figure. This is most appropriate now because we are on the verge of the 2012 presidential election, and we are already beginning to see the idealistic bids for election from many candidates.
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