• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Chris Glaittli
Publication: None Date:None
Cartoonist: Dave Granlund U.S./International: US
Title of cartoon:"Obama and gun control" Cartoon: #9
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
This cartoon is depicting President Obama with a pen labeled “executive order”. Within the picture there is a picture labeling the pen as President Obama’s “assault weapon”. No true action is taking place but this cartoon kept the idea of the calm, controlled, actions of many of President Obama’s photos and posters viewers see all the time. It looks as if Obama is preparing to use his “assault weapon” in the near future for something very important that very much connects with the current debate on gun control within the US.
It seems as if Grunland is persuading the viewer that President Obama only needs his pen and these executive orders to be a great president. When evaluating the Cartoon Persuasive guide, this cartoonist is using the techniques of symbolism. “Cartoonist use simple objects, or symbols, to stand for larger concepts or ideas” (Library of Congress 2012). The pen saying “Executive Order” stands for the idea that Obama doesn’t need anything else to make the future happen. According to Votetocracy, “An executive order is any directive issued by the leader of an the executive branch. They are usually used to direct certain tasks or actions to Cabinet members and other executive officers. Executive orders have been used in the past to create large policy changes” (Votetocracy, No Date). It almost is a reverse of the famous saying “Actions speak louder than words” because being a leader of the Cabinet, President Obama can use his signature to bypass Congress or anyone else if needs be for laws he wants passed.
It seems as if Grunland is persuading the viewer that President Obama only needs his pen and these executive orders to be a great president. When evaluating the Cartoon Persuasive guide, this cartoonist is using the techniques of symbolism. “Cartoonist use simple objects, or symbols, to stand for larger concepts or ideas” (Library of Congress 2012). The pen saying “Executive Order” stands for the idea that Obama doesn’t need anything else to make the future happen. According to Votetocracy, “An executive order is any directive issued by the leader of an the executive branch. They are usually used to direct certain tasks or actions to Cabinet members and other executive officers. Executive orders have been used in the past to create large policy changes” (Votetocracy, No Date). It almost is a reverse of the famous saying “Actions speak louder than words” because being a leader of the Cabinet, President Obama can use his signature to bypass Congress or anyone else if needs be for laws he wants passed.
Tone of the cartoon:
1) Which side is supported by the framing of the cartoon?
Observing the cartoon, it is unclear exactly which specific side is being supported but you can tell that it isn’t in favor of President Obama. The sarcastic tone of the title means that the cartoonist is no fan of Obama and his ability to push these executive orders, more specifically, over the topic of gun control. One cannot assume that this is just a cartoon in support of the Republican party but the cartoon does have a conservative taste to it since a large majority of conservatives are against regulations of guns.
2) What evidence can you give that shows the cartoonist supports one side or the other?
It is quite evident that the Grunland is not a supporter of President Obama. The exaggeration (another technique in the Cartoonist Persuasive guide) of Obama’s features, although it served no persuading purpose, does show the cartoonist agreed that some features of President Obama are big and comical. The biggest indicator of the cartoonists unsupport of Obama is the title. “Obama’s assault weapon”. An assault weapon is a more powerful than just an ordinary rifle because it can fire multiple rounds at once without needing any reloading. Essentially the symbolism behind this cartoon shows that Obama can “fire” multiple executive orders without any sort of permission that will affect gun control laws.
According to a recent article from Forbes Magazine, David Davenport, a contributor to the magazine, has stated that President Obama’s “Executive Power Pen Is Already Worn Out”. In the article, Davenport explains that President Obama has used his position as president to bypass Congress, reshaping laws, and is not really executing laws but instead making new ones. (Davenport, 2014)
3) What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue?
The reality is, as stated above, President Obama has this executive power and Granlund is stating that Obama is using it a little too much. According to a database provided John Wolley and Gerhard Peters, co- founders of the American Presidency Project, in both of Obama’s terms, Obama has issued a total of 168 executive orders. That seems like a large number but compared to George W. Bush’s 291 executive orders passed in his term and Franklin D. Roosevelt 3,522 executive orders, it is a very small number ( Wolley and Peters, 1999). The Forbes article does say that it isn’t exactly the number of executive orders passed but the major differences between a standard executive order’s purpose and what President Obama executive orders are doing, namely, the creation of new laws. (Davenport, 2014)
Team Member Name: Christopher Campbell
Publication: Dave Granlund Date: April 2013
Cartoonist: Dave Granlund U.S./International: U.S.
Title of cartoon: Obama CT gun control visit Cartoon# 10
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
In April 2013, President Obama went to Connecticut to use the Newtown shooting to put pressure on Congress to pass his gun control laws (Applebome & Weisman, 2013). These laws, which he proposed in January 2013, included a requirement to have background checks for every gun sale, a ban on assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for ammunition magazines (Dann, 2013; “What’s in
Obama’s” 2013).
The men in this cartoon are part of the United States Secret Service, who are authorized to have firearms (“Frequently asked questions,” 2014).
Tone of the cartoon:
1) Which side is supported by the framing of the cartoon?
The framing of this cartoon is against President Obama’s gun control proposals. It is critical
of the president for going to Newtown as a way to push legislation, and it portrays him as hypocritical.
2) What evidence can you give that shows the cartoonist supports one side or the other?
The cartoon says President Obama is going to Connecticut to talk about gun control, and there are a bunch of armed Secret Service agents standing around. It implies that in flying to talk about gun control, he is bringing people holding guns with him.
3) What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue?
President Obama is a hypocrite for expecting Congress to pass his gun control proposals while all this time he is being protected by men who are armed with guns.
Analysis:
This cartoon uses irony to prove its point that the president is a hypocrite. It implies that while he is going to Newtown to address gun control he is actually bringing more guns to the state. He is a beneficiary of people being allowed to carry firearms.
It also uses exaggeration in a couple of ways. It makes it look like there are a lot of agents in different positions, including the top of the plane, all carrying military-grade firearms. The message itself is also exaggerated by saying he wants to put a ban on guns, but the people who protect him have them. His idea in the proposal was to ban armor-piercing bullets on everyone except for those involved in law enforcement or in the military (“What’s in Obama’s,” 2013).
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