Ways in Which Political Cartoons Are Circulated on the Internet - Term Paper Example

Ways in which political cartoons/political humor is circulated on the internet and how the circulations can change the meaning Introduction The editorial cartoons are a form of illustration that consists of a commentary that relates to current events or certain personality traits. It must combine various skills and other aspects to bring out their real humor. Most of these cartoons are found on the editorial page of most newspapers and comic strip pages. However, they get to be circulated more by the social media, which is inclusive of the internet. The cartoonist gets to use visual metaphor and caricatures to be able to address complicated political situations and thus sum up a recent event with an emotional picture. The editorial cartoonists try to draw attention to the important social and political issues (Hess and Northrop 3). Political cartoons Cartoons seek to entertain readers and to lampoon vice and folly in the political life. They basically intend to be of influence at the edges in political debate. They throw little incendiary bombs and stir things every now and then (Rall 13). Moreover, they trigger the public to think harder about issues that are discussed especially in the political arena. Put into practice, cartoons enjoy a special privilege in modern democracies because they are allowed to be extravagantly critical of people and institutions in the public life. Political cartoons are used in most of the countries that experience political eras, political democracy and have extreme political debates (Hess and Northrop 4). They are presented to be comically entertaining or society sage on public issues, actions of leaders or both at the same time. Of important to note is that, they are guaranteed of continuous audience ranging in thousands of audience while some of the readers being said to enjoy the amusement that the cartoons have created with laughter (Rall 12). Whatever other social benefits the genre puts forward, political cartoonists maintain that their aim is to censure the actions of the powerful public figures through the force of ridicule. In other words, cartoonists assert to be satirists who have all the right to ridicule, parody, metaphor and archetype. Needless to say, these cartoonists use their license in various ways, ranging from comic commentary to revolutionary satire. They use various types of cartoons in relation to what they want to portray or criticize. The types of cartoons include: descriptive cartoons, which give a description of situations or public figures. Laughing satirical cartoons, which are aimed at giving reforms to administrations rather than playing the part in the destruction of the system (Rall 12). On the other hand, destructive satirical cartoons, which do not accept the legitimacy of the system but works consciously revolutionary. These kinds of cartoons are mostly found in journals that are owned by radical groups among others. Circulation of Political cartoons in the internet Political cartoons are basically placed on editorial pages of various newspapers all over the world and are rarely mistaken for distillations. They portray a testament to pluralism in political and media culture where cartoonist often ridicules national leaders to an extent of bring up contradictions to the editorial opinions. Never the less, the technology has now pushed the essence of Politian cartoons a notch higher through the innovation of internet facilities where people can be able to access the cartoons without necessarily having to read the newspapers. In the internet, there are various ways in which information cab be accessed more so through the social media, for instance, where people are in a position share information with hundred of friends in various places throughout the world (Duranti 26). According to anthropologist, mutual bearing of activities and thoughts in a culture other than our own makes it possible to have accounts of human action that rely on the understanding of the actors of the social cultural milieu. In particular, it attempts to understand how language works in reference to locally prevalent observations about the presented nature of those persons in which language is used. Basically, humor can serve as a unique key in understanding of the social and cultural processes. Humor has accompanied human society from its very beginnings, its changing form, the circumstance and style in reaction to social, cultural and technological trends. In essence, the present era has been dominated by digital media like the internet that has been used in the production and distribution of the humor especially that which relates to political cartoon, which have been used to mock the politicians in issues that relate to politics (Duranti 57). In fact, several websites have devoted themselves to produce and distribute huge loads of emails that contain humor of various kinds including those that have political humor. The socials media has also been eroded with various political humor and cartoons. This new phenomenon of internet based humor is highly important in the acknowledgement of both the internet and the humor. Hence, the humorous messages in the form of verbal, visual, interactive or none interactive materials and the different websites that it appears in are meant to give criticism provide fun and light heartened feelings to the audience (Duranti 43). Practically speaking, political humor or cartoons belong to humor hub. A humor hub is a large lively storehouse of visual and verbal humor that entails various topics. The hubs tend to embody the strong linkage between emails, the social media like facebook and the website. These humor hubs are based on the contribution of the material that had been circulated through the ‘pass along syndrome’ emails, a situation that encourages strangers and visitors to distribute the contents to friends through email or social media. Interactivity is alleged to be an indispensible key in understanding the social implications of the internet, although definitions and ways of operations remain in row. In relation to this, different dimensions are used to give out more clarity in which the political cartons and humor are circulated in the internet. Technology Technology is denoted as degree in which a medium assist in the exchange of reciprocal of messages, way of communication and the perspective of the communicative setting, and the message dependency level. Thus, through technology interactivity acts as reply that relates to the previous and the preceding messages to the extent of being imbedded in online humorous texts. Moreover, multimedia as a digital technology has the ability to convey and combine all existing communication morphologies such as static pictures, sound and moving images. Additionally, the internet has the capacity to store and deliver content that are digitized for media that was formerly differentiated with the inclusion of television and articles from the newspaper. This is through applications such as chats and emails, which have taken over, and replaced some of the influence that the written words had in the last century (Cagle and Fairrington 35). Apparently, the internet has been said to be the most recent platform for that has facilitated the movement from the script based kind of communication when the political cartoons were place on the editorial of newspapers to the present where political humor or cartoons are easily accessed in the internet and can even be retrieved by thousands of people all over the world. Essentially, the turn to visual began with photography intervention and technology based on moving pictures. This was later followed by the launching of electronic media –television and shortly after the video. Of important to note is that through the internet, the universal Web as mirrored by its name, has continually provided exceptional potentials that have created and made it possible to distribute contents globally. Hence the new notion of having the world as the global village, a situation that gives suggestion that the internet has facilitated the transformation of former passive television viewers into active citizens in the entire ‘global village’ (Cagle and Fairrington 23). A perfect proof of the rapid and developed process of the complex interconnection between cultures, societies, institutions and individuals globally. With this digital age, political cartoons and humor are mostly regarded as visual forms of humor that are considered to be more global as compared to verbal forms since it has been said to use visual language that can move across culture as compare to verbal language. This is because political cartons and humor generally have content that focus on various universal topics with the inclusion of local content that is regarded to be closer to the ‘global’ end. The circulation of the political cartoons and humor has continually being in the internet with the advancement of technology. Many people who can access the internet and other related facilities have the privilege to view political cartoons at their own will. Some who are more familiar to the facilities that surround the internet are able to maneuver the cartoons and other humors articles to their advantage. All these factors that are related to the internet and the essence of having global village have been influenced by the fact that technology world and its essence has been gradually become accessible and availably (Cagle and Fairrington 40). Moreover, the political cartoons and humor are found in most of the countries that are experiencing political democracy where there is a lot to talk about and mimic. Those who are mostly involved in the circulation of the political cartoons are persons who work with media in various parts of the worlds. They take the initiative of criticizing what has been said by the public figures in a bid to help them change their ways of looking at issues politically, socially and economically. In fact, some of these people get the information from the materials that they prepare for media to the audience. They then circulate the information to the public in the fastest way, which is placing the articles in the internet as bulk. These information then moves swiftly as per type of sharing that is present and the type of social media that are with different people (Cagle and Fairrington 24). As every person now is engaging them with the latest form of technology, which is being developed better every now and then, it is seen that information becomes part of the needful resources that we can find easily. The internet has been enhanced to be in a position to handle better graphics, voice, video and data. Furthermore, this same information is the only mode where the cartoons get to be shared in different forms around the internet. These cartoon editorial group have the latest facilities and software that assist them in designing attractive political cartoons with high definitions in the best way they can (Cagle and Fairrington 16). This latest technology helps them to also network with the neighboring society and the whole worked. There has also been the development in the mode of networking through the social sites and other communicating areas through the internet. This has enabled the political cartoon editorial team to be able to circulate their cartoons around the different nations within different places like a net linked and connected web (Hess and Northrop 6). These cartoons are mostly taken to be a form of bringing up humor into the lives of people. They are depended on a certain particular communal, economic and cultural context. The selection of a particular target, the direction and also the content of mockery stems from the complicated interaction of these same factors. But most of the times the political aspect of the societal context is the one that plays a more influential role, seen in the manner that, politics downplays the social, economic and cultural frameworks in the case of a domineering regime system. As the jokes get circulated in a different manner, the humor in their content has to be directed to the right recipient who will be able to understand it and get what it really means in terms of the relationship, it was related to (Gershon 221). The print media has been shifting from print to the new media, which has taken it to a great deal of profit (Hess and Northrop 13). Several newspapers firms and companies around the globe have launched online editions in the effort to stay ahead of their spectators. This is a great arena for the circulation of the political cartoons because everyone now is concentrating of getting their information from the online newspapers. The cartoons can be easily accessed from here and even sent to your friends and colleagues after reading it. Sooner the politicians do find themselves the subject of political cartoons. In the very hands of a skillful and talented artist, the political, editorial cartoon can be a very strong weapon. This is because the point that it tries to make or is making to the community is quickly absorbed and transmitted to different people and places. For at this juncture, a certain meaning that may be intended as a joke by the editorial team may be perceived differently by other group of individuals. (Hess and Northrop 21).The true meaning of the cartoon has not been changed, but the diverse ideologies of the different community’s and cultures are the one that is gives a different angle of view to the cartoon. Cartoons need to be studied, and this should be done by taking into consideration the form of political regimes, different forms of media ownership and regulations that govern the production of cartoons. Political cartoons are other avenues where the powerful interests reinforce their views on the society. Cartoons are for amusement, their messages point and provide a resent social commentary on the world around them (Hill 18). The most powerful weapons that a cartoon posses is its innocent humor whose message can be easily taken in, without any reflection and resistance. When this is taking place the important facts are missed out or the wrong idea taken in. The main difficulty with analyzing editorial cartoons is by trying to find the best theoretical frame that perfectly suits with the matter at hand or which needs to be addressed. C Cartoons are an avenue of protest, words and pictures represent the freedom of expression of cartoonists. Furthermore, the recontextualization of certain events receives reference points in a way that other forms of explanations cannot, thereby, assisting in educating the society on government policies. This same discussion holds that cartoons challenge the manner we accept official images as real and true (Hess and Northrop 43). The cartoons are designed by professionals who are the graphic editorials, not just simple illustration that try to pass judgment without having the idea how much or whether at all they have an effect on the public. If it is possible to create a cartoon image that has very closely links with the real subject, then the other interpretations that may be seen to be arising may be impossible (Hess and Northrop 43). Certainly the comprehension of the message does not fully guarantee is acceptance or endorsement, also they are generally seen as a source of entertaining people rather than a source of information. Conclusion Political cartoons have been in society since a long time ago. They have been used as a form of passion information and lessons in very creative and illustrative manner. In the recent years with the introduction of the latest technology, the same editorial political cartoons have been developed in different ways. Furthermore they have been able to circulate through the social media to different people. There are different ways that the political cartoons get to circulate. For example through the social media, internet et cetera. But as far as it has been taken to be a better way of communicating certain issues in the society, it has also side factors that influence the community in the wrong perspective. Woks cited: Cagle, Daryl and Fairrington, Brian. The best political cartoons of the year. Indianapolis, Santa Babra, California: Cagle cartoons publisher. 2009. Print. Duranti, Alessandro. Linguistic anthropology: a reader. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print. Gershon, Ilana. The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting over New Media, Ithica: Cornel University Press. 2010. Print. Hess, Stephen and Northrop, Sandy. American political cartoons: the evolution of a national identity, 1754-2010.New Brunswick, N.J: transaction Publishers. 2011. Print. Hill, Jane. The Everyday Language of White Racism, Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell. 2008. Print. Rall, Ted. Attitude: the new subversive political cartoonists. New York NBM. 2002. Print. Read More