8/18/2019 Cartoons and Culture

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Additional resourcesAssociation of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)http://editorialcartoonists.com/

Daryl Cagle’s Pro Cartoonists Indexhttp://cagle.slate.msn.com/

Get out your newspaperGather a collection of political cartoons from yournewspaper over the next two weeks. Using theCartoon Evaluation Worksheet (available online atthe NIE Website) analyze each cartoon andexplain the issues addressed and determine the

point of view of the artist. Which symbols do youthink would be difficult for a foreign audience tounderstand? Which would work across cultures?

Cartoons for the Classroom is available through Newspaper in Education programs. Copyright Online Publications Inc. and NIEOnline.com

Cartoons for the ClassroomPresented in cooperation with the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)

T his cartoon by Chilean cartoonist Alen Lauzan Falcon, is agood example of an image that readers around the worldwould understand, but would make no sense to Americans.To Americans, hamburgers are just fast food. Tothe rest of the world, hamburgers are ametaphor for the United States -- a way tocharacterize our reputation for cultural andeconomic hegemony and arrogance. To most

Americans, Lauzan's cartoon appearsmeaningless. To the rest of the world, it’san obvious indictment of the U. S. asmurderer because of its greedy hungerfor oil. Two other recurring symbols asstand-ins for America in foreign car-toons are Superman and Dracula.Superman is usually depicted suf-fering or defeated in foreign car-toons. Again, Americans would easi-ly miss the implication. In Muslimcountries that don't have the"devil" character culturally avail-able, Dracula is often a convenientreplacement. For the foreign cartoonist, it’s just anotherway of getting an anti-American point across.

Talking points1. Who is the intended audience for Alen Lauzan Falcon’scartoon?

2. If a cartoon’s message can’t be deciphered by everyone,does that make it an ineffective cartoon?

3. If you were to draw a political cartoon criticizingAmerican dependence on oil, what symbols would you use?

4. Is a hamburger a good symbol for America? Why?

5. If America is represented as a hamburger, what mighta symbol for Britain be? What about France? Germany?

Cartoon and lesson provided by

Daryl Cagle / Pro Cartoonists Index

 Alen Lauzan Falcon / cagle.com

Obscure symbols often carry verydifferent messages in foreign cartoons

Cartoons and culture