Political Cartoons During World War II

The cartoon known as “Join or Die” published by Benjamin Franklin, is widely regarded as the first political cartoon in America. This cartoon was published in the newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, in May of 1754. Political cartoons were used extensively during the second world war to communicate opinions and ideas. They were a way to communicate feelings and persuade an audience about certain ways of thinking. During World War Ⅱ, cartoons were a main source of information for many people around the war. Political cartoons were important at the time to portray events in a lighter way and change viewer’s thoughts on an event or group. Successful political cartoons have the power to change someone’s mind and agree with the side the cartoonist

Cartoons used all of these features to reach citizens of the United States and convince them to feel hate towards the Japanese. NCpedia states “Not every cartoon includes all of these techniques, but most political cartoons include at least a few. Some of the techniques cartoonists use the most are symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, and irony “ (“Analyzing Political Cartoons”, ncpedia.org). “Symbolism is the idea that things represent other things” (“What is symbolism”, liberalarts.oregonstate.edu) for example, red may stand for blood or anger. Many similar rhetorical strategies are used to convey an opinion or thought about a conflict. An example of a political cartoon using these strategies is called “Oppression or Freedom”. This cartoon displays a military soldier grabbing a woman wearing a shirt with the words “British liberty” and two young children labeled “democracy” and “humanitarianism” gripping on the woman’s skirt. The woman is drawn very lightly while the military man has harsh shading. This is used to display purity and the “enemy”. The military is shown to be dark, scary, and powerful against the British society. Since the directed audience can place themselves in their shoes, they will most likely see the military power as an oposing source and agree with the

Images can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on the viewer, any updates to the conflict, and forms of conflict. For example, news broadcasts most likely deliver the information in a factual way that does not leave room for discussionor other interpretations. Political cartoons mostly adress interorganizational conflict or man vs. soicety, while news broadcasts usually focus on man vs. man or group vs. group conflicts. Different forms of conflict being addressed can influence a person’s stance on a particular topic. Ellawood Atfield states “They offer a coloured alternative to formal news reporting, providing light relief from the ever-increasingly gloomy political discourse. With the ability to distil news and opinion into a caricature, cartoons present accessible and instant commentary and analysis of current affairs” (“The Importance of Political Cartoons”, ellawoodatfield.com) Since political cartoons can be understood in many different ways and give light to different forms of conflict, political cartoons are the more effective form of