Editorial+Cartoons

=Editorial Cartoons=

toc Editorial cartoons, also known as political cartoons, are illustrations or comic strips that have a political or social meaning. They are often found on the editorial pages of most newspaper and sometimes found on the regular comics page. However, many editorial cartoons have made its way to the Internet where editorial cartoonists are no longer under the constraints of conservative newspapers (wikipedia.org). On their own, they have produced creative, insightful and caustic work.

Political cartoons are for the most part composed of two elements: caricature, which parodies the individual, and allusion, which creates the situation or context into which the individual is placed (xroads.virginia.edu). Though editorial cartoon are stylistic, many portray visual metaphors and caricatures that reflect or explain complicated political situations and current events with a humorous or emotional twist.

Most editorial cartoonists hold a middle political ground (often because of necessity to be impartial in the newspaper publications). However, there is a wide spectrum of cartoons that range from extreme left to extreme right. This also holds true for religious political cartoons. Editorial cartoons have a history of being controversial due to its critical nature. It raises awareness but at the same time, can also be seen as a channel for propaganda.

Editorial Cartoonists
Editorial cartoonists (also kinown as political cartoonists, are artists who draw images/cartoons that contain that sort of political or social statement or commentary. Political cartoonists usually work for editorial pages of the newspaper. However, there are editorial cartoonists who also work alongside “mainstream” comic strips. Also, many radical minority issue editorial cartoonists have found their audience on the Internet. There are also self-editing cartoonists who do not work within the constraints of the newspaper industry.

First Editorial Cartoon
While caricature originated around the Mediterranean, editorial cartoons developed in Germany where reformation. They made extensive use of visual propaganda. A successful example is of Martin Luther's socio-religious reforms and the discipline of political cartooning depended on a level of civilization neither too primitive nor too advanced (Shikes 1969). The factor that probably influenced the rise of cartoons more than any other cultural condition was a high illiteracy rate. Luther recognized that the support of an increasingly more powerful middle class was crucial to the success of his reforms, but in order to lead a truly popular movement he would need the sheer weight of the peasantry's numbers. The distribution of simple broadsheet posters or illustrated pamphlets throughout population centers proved to be an effective strategy because the images would reach a large amount of people and enjoy the greatest possible amount of comprehension.

According to earlyamerica.com, America's earliest cartoons were political in nature. The first political cartoon appeared in Ben Franklin's newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754. (http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/cartoon/) It appeared as part of an editorial by Franklin commenting on 'the present disunited state of the British Colonies.' The woodcut drawing entitled 'Join or Die' pictures a divided snake in eight pieces representing as many colonial governments. The drawing was based on the popular superstition that a snake that had been cut in two would come to life if the pieces were joined before sunset. The drawing immediately caught the public's attention and was reproduced in other newspapers. The image had an explicitly political purpose from the start, as Franklin used it in support of his plan for an intercolonial association to deal with the Iroquois at the Albany Congress of 1754. It came to be published in virtually every newspaper on the continent.

Controversies
In fall of 2005, a Danish newspaper printed a set of cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. There was a tremendous amount of controversy concerning these cartoons all over the world and were eventually republished in a number of other countries, including in Canada.

Recent Editorial Cartoons
Toronto Star:

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