Analysis of Two Editorical Cartoons

 

 

• Topic: The key issue the cartoons are addressing is how cartoons such as SpongeBob can reduce the attention spans of the viewers.

• Story: Cartoon 1: After the politician gives a presentation on the “depressing new economic numbers,” he says that he is going to answer questions. Before he does so, he says that the audience will watch SpongeBob.  Therefore, their attention on the previous presented numbers will be forgotten and ignored.Cartoon 2: The cartoonist is making a point that SpongeBob would be a good spokesperson for the Republican Party, due to the fact that he give a speech about a bill and the audience will forget about it just by looking at him.

• Audience: Both were produced in the United States September 2011. Cartoon 1 was first published in the Washington examiner and cartoon 2 was first published in the Toledo Blade.  Both also appeared online. Both cartoons are aimed at SpongeBob by saying it reduces the attention span of its audiences.

• Author: Both artists typically create political cartoons.

• Argument:  Both cartoons show how cartoons, such as SpongeBob, take away from the attention span of the viewers.  Both cartoons also have elements of irony.  In the first cartoon, it is ironic that the speaker would show a SpongeBob cartoon.  The second cartoon is ironic because both SpongeBob and the audience forgot what they were talking about.

• Composition: Both cartoons are single frames.

• Word and image: Both of the cartoons rely on words and images and both are equally important.

• Imagery: The drawings in both cartoons are not realistic.  Both rely on the character of SpongeBob, which the artist makes reference to the recent study of SpongeBob reducing attention spans in the viewers.

• Tone: The tone is sarcastically comical by the way it takes away the attention span of the audience in the cartoon when presented data.

• Character and setting: Cartoon 1: The first cartoon features SpongeBob on a TV screen, a Caucasian man behind a podium, and an audience.  It takes place in the White House.  Both the speaker and the audience represent actual people. Cartoon 2: The second cartoon features SpongeBob behind a Republican podium and two men, one Caucasian and one African American, asking him questions.  SpongeBob does not represent a real person; however the men that are asking the questions do.  The setting is unknown.           

•  Cultural resonance: Both cartoons use pop culture icons because they use SpongeBob, which is a pop culture icon.  His character is used as a symbol, and both cartoons speak to a broad audience.  SpongeBob is used to make the argument because the cartoons use the study that was made on SpongeBob reducing the attention spans of the viewers.