Summary Of Maybe A Little More Soy

The cartoon ‘Maybe a little more soy?’ by the cartoonist Alan Moir of the Sydney Morning Herald refers to the subject of whaling in the Antarctic Ocean and how the Japanese whalers justify their killings by claims that they for ‘research.’ The cartoon focuses on the sympathetic response of readers to seeing a whale harpooned and two gentlemen of oriental appearance oblivious to the whale’s suffering.

The issue arises immediately after the 1968 whaling ban, when the Japanese launched its scientific whaling program. However, word leaked out that the program was for commercial purposes. The meat then would be sold, ‘in food markets or given away free or at low costs to schools and hospitals to encourage the consumption of whale meat.’ Japan

The whale seems to look out at the viewer and crying painfully out for help, because it knows it cannot escape the Japanese. Moir drew the whale with only a trickle of blood protruding from its back when in real life the whale would die instantly and in an inhumane and gory way. This allows the cartoonist to emote a greater sympathetic reaction as the whale is staring with big blue eyes at the viewer. The diner’s plates are particularly large for their small portions of whale, which let the viewer, presume that there was a larger amount of whale eaten. This symbolises the fact that in 2012 alone, 242 whales were killed and sold in Japan and since one minke whale can weigh up to 9,200 kg, this results in a mass of whale meat stored, but not always eaten, in Japan. This creates a sympathetic response towards the whales and a negative reaction towards the whaling ships and its

This refers to the Japanese subterfuge about their commercial whaling enterprise and is the fallacy that covers the operation. The colour white usually means innocence or safety; however the act of whaling resembles a malevolent and cruel quest especially to the cartoonist. One of the ship’s crew states ‘Maybe a little more soy.’ This is mocking the whalers and depicts the ships men as callous and greedy. This contributes to the viewer feeling sympathetic towards the whales and undermining Japanese claim that they are carrying out important scientific